Masters of own destiny: India must beat West Indies at Eden Gardens tonight to secure a place in the semifinals

India’s fate has been in the hands of the West Indies once in this tournament already, and the co-hosts managed to be on the right side of the result. That is to say, South Africa helped India along by beating the West Indies in their Super Eights match, just before India were to take on Zimbabwe.

Every time a West Indies batsman hit a six or four, India’s hopes of progressing took a beating. And this did not go down well universally as Arshdeep Singh explained. “My family was in the room and when the West Indies batters were hitting, papa gaali dete the ki kya kar raha hai [my father would use an expletive, saying what are they doing.]” India were tracking that match closely and there would have been many moments when even choice curses were not enough to relieve the tension. After all, even as South Africa’s bowlers kept taking wickets, West Indies’ batsmen refused to be cowed down. The big hits kept coming and West Indies marched to a competitive score.

On the same day, Tilak Varma revealed that India’s approach was not particularly different. After getting into a slightly diffident mode earlier in the tournament, when they were unsure of how to respond to pitches that were not absolute belters, India’s batsmen course-corrected. “If a wicket falls, I will hit a six next ball. And then I will look for a four,” said Tilak.


There would be conditions in which India would have to temper their expectations, but you do not want to begin an innings, as a team or as individuals, second-guessing yourself.

And so it comes to pass that once again India’s fate in the tournament is tied up with the West Indies. Except, at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata there is nothing indirect about the influence the men from the Caribbean will have.

Typically, you expect a clash of cultures when teams from two disparate geographies separated by almost the span of the earth take on each other. On Sunday, it’s simply a question of who can do the job better.

The stakes are the same for both teams: a spot in the final four. But, India have a lot more to lose. Indian fans will consider anything short of lifting the trophy on March 8 a failure; experts who have backed the team will expect them to make the final at the very least; even the most realistic of watchers expect at least qualification for the semifinal.

In contrast, West Indies entered the tournament without much expected of them. They may be two-time winners, going all the way in 2012 and 2016 — and are joint most successful with India and England having won as many times — but, hardly anyone backed them to go all the way.

Australia are never ruled out of contention, England and India have strong teams, South Africa have built a great unit, Pakistan are dangerous, Sri Lanka have home advantage, New Zealand always find a way … these were the narratives that were most repeated. All through this, West Indies flew under the radar.

No longer. Ryan ten Doeschate, India’s assistant coach, said that his team would look to take wickets all through the 20 overs when West Indies batted because the game was no longer about trying to bowl quiet overs or restrict the opposition. This was a chance to fight fire with fire, said ten Doeschate while impressing on the Indian players that it was an honour and a privilege to play a knockout match at one of the great cricketing venues in the world.

Before the last game, India may have been entertaining ideas of finding place for Kuldeep Yadav in the eleven against West Indies. The possibility of a slightly tacky pitch in Kolkata combined with the West Indies’ propensity to go hard at spinners even when they did not read them out of the hand made this tempting. But, the only person Kuldeep could come into the mix for was Arshdeep Singh. And, after his showing in the Zimbabwe game it would be difficult to keep the left-arm quick out. After all, Arshdeep gives you wickets with the new ball and does a job at the death.

At the end of the day, though, it is the team that enjoys the occasion more will have the best chance of coming out on top. Yes, there is pressure, but there is also a great opportunity here: be fearless, have fun, and the victory you chase may come looking for you.