ICC World T20 Final 2016: Date, Time, Live Stream Info and Semi-Final Lineup
Virat Kohli’s masterful, match-winning innings for India on Sunday set up a quality semi-final cast for the 2016 World Twenty20 with a thrilling knockout stage in store.
India’s win over Australia means the hosts will face a West Indies side reeling from their shock loss to Afghanistan, while New Zealand, the only side to win all of their Super 10 games in the competition, will tackle a dangerous England outfit.
With a spot in Sunday’s final at Eden Gardens, India, up for grabs for these four sides, expect some thrilling, high-intensity cricket in the two semi-finals.
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Here is the schedule for the remainder of the tournament, the key viewing details for the two games and how each match is set to pan out.
| Semi-final 1 | Wednesday, Mar. 30 | 3 p.m. | New Zealand vs. England | Delhi |
| Semi-final 2 | Thursday, Mar. 31 | 3 p.m. | India vs. West Indies | Mumbai |
| Final | Sunday, Apr. 3 | 3 p.m. | TBC | Kolkata |
All matches can be streamed via Sky Go (UK)
England vs. New Zealand
New Zealand have been immaculate in the tournament to this point and will be the favourites to progress when they face England.
The Black Caps may be without the now retired Brendon McCullum, who was such a force in this format, but they’ve found a brilliant balance in their side. With the assuredness of Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill at the top of the order, they have great batting quality, while the spin-bowling attack, especially Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner, has been key to limiting opponents.
Speaking to Sky Sports News HQ, former England bowler Dominic Cork thinks that handling this duo will be vital if England are going to make it to the final:
Although they did struggle with Afghanistan’s spin options, England do have good players of the slower ball in Joe Root and Eoin Morgan, although they have been in contrasting form as of late.
Composure is vital at the top of the order, and provided they can set a platform, players such as Ben Stokes and particularly Jos Buttler can take matches away from sides.
That’s exactly what happened as England got the better of Sri Lanka in their vital Super 10 contest; Bleacher Report UK summed up the wicketkeeper’s brilliant knock:
Of the two teams, England have the more match-winners, and Root is the Super 10’s second highest run-scorer behind Kohli. So there’s little doubt they’re capable of squeezing through this one.
But New Zealand are a well-oiled machine at the moment. Williamson is emerging as a superb leader as well as a tremendous batsman, and there are so many players in the XI capable of adapting to different match situations. Expect a very tight contest but for the Black Caps to battle through to the last two.
Prediction: New Zealand
India vs. West Indies
On a couple of occasions, India have been on the brink of falling out of contention for this title, but the hosts have battled gamely to the end of all their matches.
Against Bangladesh, they took three wickets from the final three balls to protect a one-run advantage, and in what was effectively a knockout tussle against Australia, they moved through the gears late on to snatch a win. And it was Kohli’s remarkable unbeaten 82 that has had everyone talking since.
As this remarkable statistic from the ICC Twitter feed illustrates, when it comes to hunting down a total in this format, there’s nobody better:
The grace and composure with which Kohli swatted away a dangerous Australia attack was sensational on Sunday as he sent the Mohali fans into raptures. The win and the style with which the batsman saw his team over the line will provide massive momentum coming into this clash with the Windies, too.
BBC Sport’s James Gheerbrant is unsure whether the Caribbean side will be able to measure up to this India outfit, especially with their talisman in such tremendous form:
Although the West Indies did lose to Afghanistan, they’ve played some good cricket in this tournament overall. Additionally, in the likes of Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and particularly Chris Gayle—who struck an unbeaten century against England earlier in the tournament—they are in possession of some game-changers.
India’s frailties have been exposed at times, and if someone like Gayle can get going early on with the bat, he’ll punish them. But overall, the hosts have far too much quality and, in Kohli, by far the finest limited-overs player in the world at the moment.
Prediction: India
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