GETTY Virat Kohli starred for India with the bat but he was outshone by Lendl Simmons' heroics

Virat Kohli's unbeaten 89 had led the home side to an imposing 192 as India plundered the three West Indies seamers for 129 runs. And although Chris Gayle fell in only the second over, half-centuries from Johnson Charles and an unbeaten Lendl Simmons saw West Indies get into the World T20 final with two balls to spare.

England's T20 squad Thu, March 10, 2016 Express Sport brings you England's T20 squad Play slideshow IDI via Getty Images 1 of 14 Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) (capt)

But to see Kohli playing the full array of attacking shots that could have come straight out of any 1950s batting manual. You don't have to start fast - just finish fast A new opening partnership for India saw Shikhar Dhawan dropped and local lad Ajinkya Rahane take to the field with Rohit Sharma in Mumbai. But the pair struggled to get India off the to flier they so badly wanted to get the crowd up and never let the West Indies into the game. Only two runs came off the first over from Andre Russell and while consecutive sixes in the fifth over meant India managed 55/0 from the powerplay, they found themselves tied down in the middle overs. Badree, Bravo and Brathwaite tightened the screws and India couldn't clear or even that often find the boundary rope to get the score bouncing along.

But they crucially didn't lose wickets and that proved crucial. Rahane proved the perfect foil for Kohli and though Dhawan's replacement was dismissed with 27 balls to go, MS Dhoni came in. The ultimate finisher Those last 27 balls went for 64 runs and Dhoni only got 15 of them. India are no longer the kings of spin In a country where even the glass turns and bounces, you'd think India would have quality spin bowling coming out of their ears. And on paper they do. R Ashwin's box of tricks is seemingly bottomless while Ravi Jadeja provides a unique brand of skiddy slow-left-arm bowling.

But neither shone against the West Indies powerful top-order and when push came to shove, it was Kohli's golden arm which did the trick to get rid of Johnson Charles. Jasprit Bumrah is a terrific discovery in the seam-bowling department but any spinner who fancies himself in India colours should see April's IPL as a chance to stake a claim to a place, especially in the context of the inevitable inquest into the side's failure to reach the final. Chris Gayle is human but there is more to the West Indies The safe money at the the halfway stage said that India would win if they got rid of Chris Gayle early, and if they didn't 192 might well not be enough. There are few grounds big enough to restrain the huge Jamaican as England found out in their first game of the tournament when he hit an unbeaten hundred. But Bumrah undid him with a fast inswinging yorker that got past Gayle's enormous blade to leave him walking back for only five. The little things will still win you games Lendl Simmons wasn't even in the squad for the tournament but Andre Fletcher's injury meant he was brought into the squad on Monday as cover.