Sports Reporter :West Indies reached the final of the ICC World Twenty20 beating India by seven wickets in the second semi-final at Mumbai in India on Thursday.Batting first India piled up a mammoth total of 192 for the loss of two wickets in the stipulated 20 overs.In reply, West Indies reached the winning target making 196 for the loss of three wickets when thay had just two balls to spare.West Indies had a poor start as they lost their early two wickets for 19 runs.Batting genious opener Chris Gayle (5) was cleanly bowled out by Jasprit Bumrah when the Caribbeans’ total was just 6.One-down Marlon Samuels (8) was caught Rahane off Ashish Nehra when West Indies’ score was 19 for the loss of two wickets.Then J Charles and Lendl Simmons rescued their team from early debacle contributing together 97 runs for the second wicket partnership before Charles was caught by Sharma off Nehra when the islanders’ total was 116 for the loss of three wickets.Charles hammered a windy 52. His 36-ball innings was studded with seven fours and two sixes.Simmons played the key role for the Caribbeans victory. He remained unbeaten with 83. He cracked five sixes and seven fours.Russell remained unbeaten with 43.Earlier, India made a solid start as Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane, the two openers contributed together 62 runs before Rohit Sharma was trapped leg before wicket by S Badree.Then Virat Kohli and Rahane built another notable partnership. They added together 66 runs for the second wicket partnership before Rahane was caught at the mid-wicket by Darren Bravo off Andre Russell when India’s score was 128 for the loss of two wickets. Virat Kohli remained unbeaten with 89. His splendid 47-ball innings was belted with 11 fours and a sixer.After dismissal of Rahane, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni put on together 64 runs for the unfinished third wicket stand.Rohit Sharma hit a worthy 43 from 31 balls featuring three sixes and three fours while Rahane made a respectable 40 off 35 balls hitting two fours.MS Dhoni remained unbeaten with 15. He hit one four in his nine-ball innings.S Badree and Andre Russell got one wicket each conceding 26 and 47 runs respectively.
