World T20: Spirited West Indies shock sloppy India to enter final

Star batsmen Lendl Simmons smashed an unbeaten 83 alongside Johnson Charles's 52 as a spirited West Indian side chased down a challenging total to outclass India by seven wickets in the second semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium here on Thursday to enter the final of the World Twenty20 cricket tournament.
Batting first, India posted a competitive total of 192/2 in 20 overs, thanks to Virat Kohli's 89.
Read more from our special coverage on "WORLD T20"

• World T20: Australia post competitive total against India
• World T20: Australia win toss, elect to bat against India
• World T20: Impressive Afghanistan shock Windies by 6 runs
• World T20: Clinical New Zealand thrash Bangladesh by 75 runs
• World T20: West Indies beat South Africa to enter semis

In reply, a brave Windies side chased down the total posting 196/3 in 19.4 overs, thanks to Simmons' 51-ball 83 and Charles' 36-ball 52.
West Indies will now face England, who earlier beat New Zealand in the first semis on Wednesday, in the final at the Eden Gardens on April 3.
Chasing a challenging target of 194, West Indies got off to a worst possible start losing hard-hitting opener Chris Gayle (5) in the second over. Young pacer Jasprit Bumrah cleaned the left-handed batsman to have West Indies at 6/1.
As his opening partner Johnson Charles and incoming batsman Marlon Samuels (8) were looking to build a partnership after the first wicket, veteran Indian pacer Ashish Nehra struck in the third over to send Samuels back to the pavilion and leave the Windies struggling at 19/2.
But next up, Charles and Simmons used their experience to good effect and score at a good pace to bring up 50-run partnership for the third wicket in just 34 balls and help team post 84/2 in 10 overs.
But Charles, soon after he brought up his third T20I half-century in just 30 balls was sent back to the pavilion by none other than skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni's surprise package bowler Kohli. The 97-run partnership for the third wicket was finally broken which helped India make a comeback into the game.
Set batsman Simmons, who was caught twice off two balls, eventually brought his fifty up in just 37 balls to keep Windies alive in the game.
From there on, Andre Russell (43 not out off 20 balls) and Simmons remained unbeaten to steer their team to a triumph.
Earlier put into bat, openers Rohit Sharma (43) and Ajinkya Rahane (40) got India off to a flying start scoring 55 runs without losing a wicket in the powerplay.
But as Rohit was cruising after striking three boundaries and three sixes, leg-spinner Samuel Badree brought the much-needed breakthrough, dismissing him leg before wicket to have India at 62/1 in 7.2 overs.
Incoming in-form batsman Kohli along with Rahane played sensibly, stealing quick singles, twos, and a couple of boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking and help team reach 86/1 in 10 overs.
But as the home side was cruising to take on the Windies bowlers, Russell struck in the 16th over to dismiss Rahane and have India at 128/2.
Next up, Dhoni (15 not out) who promoted himself up the batting order gave good support to Kohli as the duo piled on some useful runs with boundaries and sixes at regular intervals to bring up an unbeaten 64-run partnership for the third wicket and thus help the team post a competitive total.
Badree (1-26) was the pick of the bowlers for West Indies.
Brief scores: India 192/2 in 20 overs (Virat Kohli 89 not out, Rohit Sharma 43, Ajinkya Rahane 40; Samuel Badree 1-26, Andre Russell 1-47) vs West Indies 196/3 in 19.4 overs (Lendl Simmons 83 not out, Johnson Charles 52; Virat Kohli 1-15, Ashish Nehra 1-25, Jasprit Bumrah 1-42)

World T20: India, Pak set to clash in Dharamsala on Mar 19

Arch-rivals India and Pakistan were today placed in the same group for next year's ICC World Twenty20, setting the stage for a high-voltage clash between the two sides on March 19 in Dharamsala.

The ICC today unveiled the groups and schedule of the event, which will be staged across eight venues in India from March 8 to April 3.

The two countries are currently undecided on whether to engage in a bilateral series later this month owing to political tensions.

India will open their campaign against New Zealand on March 15 in Nagpur before taking on Pakistan. India's other matches will be against the qualifying Group A winners in Bengaluru on March 23 and Australia in Mohali on March 27.

A total of 58 matches, including 35 men's and 23 women's games, will be played in the 27-day tournament in Bengaluru, Chennai, Dharamsala, Kolkata, Mohali, Mumbai, Nagpur and New Delhi.

New Delhi and Mumbai will host the semi-finals on March 30 and 31, respectively, while Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be the venue of the April 3 finals.

ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar, who attended the launch ceremony in Mumbai, said: "India is a country where cricket is a religion and not many places can match the passion for the game like India. I am fully confident that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will deliver an outstanding world cricket event, just like the ICC Cricket World Cups in 1987, 1996 and 2011."
"The ICC and BCCI are fully committed and will work together to make this a memorable event. I invite fans from across the world to witness fast-paced cricketing action on the field and enjoy the hospitality and culture of India, off it."

BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur promised a well-organised World Cup and said: "We, as hosts, are fully prepared to organise one of the most entertaining spectacles in world cricket. We draw experience from hosting three ICC Cricket World Cups and are ready to make the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016 one of the most memorable events.

"Our preparations are in full swing, and BCCI and ICC is working together to make it a lifetime experience for the players and the fans. India is a vibrant country - young, full of colour, energy and exuberance - and is very much like the concept of Twenty20 cricket itself. We would encourage everyone involved with the game to experience the best of India," Thakur added.

The women's semi-finals and final will be followed by the men's knock-out matches. There is a reserve day for the finals.

The men's event will carry a total prize money of USD 5.6 million, which is an 86 per cent increase from the 2014 tournament, while the total prize money for the women's event is USD 400,000, which is a 122 per cent increase from the Bangladesh event.