West Indies' T20 World Cup 2026 campaign concluded after three weeks of good cricket following a five-wicket defeat against India in the last Super 8 match at Eden Gardens on Sunday. In what was a virtually quarterfinal encounter, India chased down 196 in a spectacular performance by opener Sanju Samson, registering one of the most memorable wins of the tournament. West Indies elected to bat and posted a competitive total of 195. The side made a bold choice of opening with captain Shai Hope and Roston Chase, leaving Brandon King on the sidelines as the anchor. While Chase provided initial momentum, Hope struggled to find his rhythm against the Indian pacers' discipline and precision at the start of his innings. He amassed 32 off 33 balls with a strike rate well below 100 in a crucial fixture where every run was critical. The West Indies innings managed to reach a challenging score thanks to late contributions from Jason Holder and Rovman Powell. Also Read | Faf du Plessis Credits IPL for Aiden Markram’s T20 Rise Hope Takes Blame for Slow Start In the post-match presentation, the captain was unfazed when presented with tough questions. When asked if the team had fallen short by 15-20 runs and if he accepted responsibility for that, Hope replied plainly. “Yes - that’s my answer. Yes.” Commenting on his innings he conceded that he had not been able to get going. “Sometimes you just don’t get the ball away. As much as you would love to come and hit every single ball for six, it doesn’t happen. I hit a few straight to fielders as well, so it doesn’t help.” Hope added: “And I thought they bowled pretty well, to be fair, but again – it’s something you want to be better at, especially at the top of the innings. You want to set the tone as a batter, and even as a captain. Especially when you’re leading – you want to put your hand up, but it didn’t happen today." Pressurized by questions about accepting blame, his candid reply illustrated both a sense of honesty and frustration. “You all make me laugh, man. Yes, I’ll take the blame if that’s what you want me to say. I should have batted a lot faster. That’s what you wanted me to say. But in situations like this, when you’re struggling, everyone struggles. But like I said, I don’t think I was batting badly. It’s just that I was hitting the fielders and then trying to play the situation a bit more. Obviously, I wanted to bat a little bit deeper into the innings and face most of the spin threat in the middle. But I just didn’t get going today. But yes, I’ll take the blame. So that’s what you want me to say.” Also Read | Controversy at Eden: Was Shimron Hetmyer Really Out Against Bumrah? Samson's Innings Seals Record Chase for India Amidst Hope's assessment of the situation, the star of the night was undoubtedly Sanju Samson. India's opener provided the platform for the chase of 196 under the lights at Eden Gardens and played fearlessly and with great composure throughout his knock. Samson's remarkable 97 off 50 balls guided India to their highest successful run chase in the history of T20 World Cups as he effortlessly punished pace and spin, finding gaps and clearing the boundary on numerous occasions. Hope was gracious in his appreciation of the Indian batter. He said: “He played really well, he’s a good player. And it’s also a good surface. Especially at night time when you’re chasing on a pitch like this at Eden Gardens, it’s usually easier to score freely. But taking nothing away from him, like I said, he’s a quality player. He’s been playing really well for so many years now, and it’s one of those things – the batter just gets the better of our bowlers. It’s part of the game as well. You must give credit for the innings that he played today." For West Indies, this loss was a disappointing end to an otherwise spirited campaign while for India, Samson's innings was a major milestone in another successful chapter of their T20 World Cup campaign.