India vs. West Indies, World T20: Date, Time, Live Stream, TV Info, Preview

India and West Indies go head-to-head in the second semi-final of the ICC World Twenty20 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.

Tournament hosts India made it through from Group 2 thanks to a victory over Australia on Sunday that was inspired by batsman Virat Kohli.

West Indies, meanwhile, topped Group 1. Darren Sammy's side won three on the spin at the start of the competition, beating ICC Full Member opponents England, Sri Lanka and South Africa. However, they finished the Super 10 stage with a shock loss to Associate nation Afghanistan.

Now they go up against opponents they have not faced in the shortest format since 2014.

Venue: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai

Date: Thursday, March 31

Start time: 7 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m BST)

Live on: Channel 9 and Fox Sports (Australia), Ariana TV Network (Afghanistan), BTV (Bangladesh), ESPN Star and Star Sports (India), Sky Sport NZ (New Zealand), Sky Sports 2 (United Kingdom), Willow TV (USA and Canada), PTV Sports and Ten Sports (Pakistan), SuperSport (South Africa), OSN Sports (Middle East)

Weather: According to AccuWeather.com, it will be clear and warm in Mumbai. Temperatures will be around 27 degrees Celsius, making for excellent conditions for cricket.

Overview

PUNIT PARANJPE/Getty Images

India’s path to the last four has been a bumpy one.

A surprise defeat to New Zealand in their opening match left the hosts in a hole, but Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s side dug themselves out of it with three wins in a row.

They looked set for an early exit on home soil when Bangladesh needed just two runs from the final three balls in Bangalore, only for their opponents to lose their heads when it mattered. The Tigers lost three wickets in a dramatic finish to somehow lose by one run.

India looked in serious trouble against Australia in the winner-takes-all showdown, too, as they needed 47 from the final four overs in Mohali.

However, Kohli came to his side’s rescue. The right-hander hit an unbeaten 82 from 51 deliveries to secure a six-wicket triumph, sending India through to the next round while Australia flew home.

As for West Indies, they booked a spot in the semis in a hurry, only to trip up in a dead rubber at the end of the round-robin stage.

They failed to chase down a target of 124 against Afghanistan on Sunday, although their cause wasn’t helped by the absence of Chris Gayle and a hamstring injury picked up by Andre Fletcher, forcing him to retire hurt at the end of the sixth over.

West Indies struggled to cope against the Afghan slow bowlers, and they can expect a further trial by spin against India.

But the men from the Caribbean will be happy to be back playing again at the batting paradise that is the Wankhede Stadium. They have already played there once in the tournament, easing to a six-wicket win over England thanks to an unbeaten hundred from opener Gayle.

Skipper Sammy admitted after the loss to Afghanistan that it is crucial someone in the top order makes a telling contribution with the bat, per Karthik Krishnaswamy of ESPN Cricinfo:

"

At the end of the day, we just didn't play smart enough. We backed ourselves. The games we have won, every match somebody took responsibility to bat through. Chris [Gayle] did it in the first game, [Andre] Fletcher did it in the second game, Marlon [Samuels] did it in the third.

This time nobody did it. Nobody took responsibility, just left it for the next man to come.

"

Gayle’s return will boost West Indies’ batting. Although he sat out the last game, he still got involved in proceedings, as he joined in with Afghanistan’s celebrations.

Fletcher’s injury, though, could rule him out. He did return to the crease against Afghanistan but was clearly in pain.

According to Zee News, Lendl Simmons—who had to withdraw from the initial squad due to a back injury—has flown out to India. The player himself confirmed as much on his Twitter account:

Dew can be an issue under the floodlights in Mumbai, so expect the captain who wins the toss to field first.

While the tactic brings the pressure of chasing for a place in the final, England showed what can be achieved at the venue when they reached a target of 230 against the Proteas with two deliveries to spare.

Key Players

India

It's Kohli, of course. After his stunning knock against Australia (he scored 32 from the final 12 deliveries he faced) the batsman has amassed 184 runs in the tournament at an average of 92.

He also made 54 in a seven-wicket victory over West Indies in the last meeting of the teams in the format, at the 2014 World T20 in Bangladesh.

West Indies

Gayle will return to the top of West Indies' batting order hoping to repeat his unbeaten 100 against England at the same venue.

The left-hander hit 11 sixes and five fours as he became the first man to score two centuries at the World T20—his other came against South Africa in the very first match of the inaugural tournament in 2007.

Squads

India

MS Dhoni (capt & wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pawan Negi, Mohammed Shami, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah, Harbhajan Singh, Hardik Pandya.

West Indies

Darren Sammy (capt), Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Carlos Brathwaite, Dwayne Bravo, Johnson Charles, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Evin Lewis, Jerome Taylor.