West Indies and India will play on March 1 in Kolkata with winner going into the semis.
Former Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq has alleged that something was wrong with the way the West Indies played in their recent T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8s game against South Africa. This game was played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on February 26.
West Indies were put into bat by South Africa and reduced to 83/7 at one stage before Jason Holder (49) and Romario Shepherd (52*) fought back to take the Windies to 176/8 in 20 overs. Lungi Ngidi took three wickets, while Kagiso Rabada and Corbin Bosch took two wickets each.
South Africa was brutal in their chase as Aiden Markram made 82* and Ryan Rickelton made 45*, while Quinton de Kock fell for 47 runs as the Proteas chased down the total with 9 wickets to spare in 16.1 overs. South Africa has qualified for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2026.
Following the Ahmedabad game, veteran Pakistan spinner Saqlain Mushtaq questioned the West Indies team's plans and unexpected adjustments. He pointed out that the West Indies changed their lineup altogether, claiming they made a huge mistake by dropping Akeal Hosein for Chase.
Saqlain felt the bowlers looked ordinary against the Proteas, and the way the West Indies concluded the match suggested something was wrong, implying match-fixing to enable India to advance to the semifinals. He was taken aback when Hosein was suddenly dropped for such a crucial match.
"The West Indies have changed all their plans. They made Akeal Hosein sit out and brought in someone else (Chase). All the bowlers were looking very ordinary today,” Saqlain said on Tapmad.
The West Indies had produced a complete 180-degree performance against Zimbabwe in their previous game, where they smashed 254 runs and won the game by over 100 runs. But at the same time, against South Africa, the West Indies lacked the energy, and the plans did not click, as per Saqlain Mushtaq.
“And the way they have finished the match, it doesn't look like they are the West Indies, the same team who played very dominant cricket just a few days ago. And today they played very ordinary cricket,” Mushtaq added.
West Indies and India will now face off in the virtual quarterfinal on March 1 in Kolkata, with the winner qualifying for the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026.