First high-pressure clash without Virat and Rohit. Is new-look India ready?

T20 World Cup 2026, IND vs WI: Speaking to the press on the eve of their must-win Super 8 match against the West Indies, assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate said the Indian players are looking to embrace the pressure of the big contest rather than trying to brush it under the carpet. India will play a high-pressure match in an ICC event for the first time since Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retired from T20Is.

India's assistant coach, Ryan ten Doeschate, offered a glimpse into the mindset of Suryakumar Yadav's men as they prepare for a must-win Super 8 match against the West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, March 1. It will be India's first big-ticket match in a World Cup without Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma - two men who commanded immense authority in the dressing room - but ten Doeschate believes the youngsters are not masking pressure, but embracing it ahead of the crucial contest.

India kept themselves alive in the race for the semi-finals after beating Zimbabwe by 76 runs in their second Super 8 match in Chennai on Thursday. It was a much-needed win following their shock loss to South Africa in Ahmedabad earlier in the week.

While the West Indies are heading into the contest on the back of a crushing defeat to South Africa in Ahmedabad, Shai Hope's side have shown their explosiveness earlier in the tournament. Only last week, the West Indies smashed 254 to deflate Zimbabwe, who had conceded 256 to India in Chennai.

It will be a battle between two heavily stacked batting line-ups, and India's bowling attack is perhaps better equipped to get the job done. But the big question is: is this young Indian side ready to absorb the pressure of a high-stakes contest? Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is after winning the World Cup in 2024. India won the Champions Trophy last year with both of them in the squad.

"I do not think you ever want to mask pressure. I think you want to go towards pressure, and that has been the message throughout - not just the World Cup, but all our preparation leading up to this," Ryan ten Doeschate told the press at Eden Gardens on the eve of the big Super 8 match.

"More than masking pressure, you want to reframe it. We keep telling the players what a privilege it is to play for your country, and what a privilege it is to walk out at Eden Gardens and play a match to stay in the tournament.