Sanju Samson hit 12 fours and four sixes en route his unbeaten 97
Wicketkeeper-batter stayed there from start to finish to shape India's chase
His knock helped defending champions win by five wickets, enter semi-final
Cometh the hour, cometh the man! Sanju Samson stood up to be counted just when it mattered, essaying an exhilarating, unbeaten 97-run knock to almost single-handedly propel India's chase in the must-win Super Eights face-off with West Indies. The wicketkeeper-batter held the Indian innings together and stayed there till the end at Eden Gardens to seal the defending champions' semi-finals berth at ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Samson got to his fifty off 26 balls with a searing boundary through the offside against Gudakesh Motie. He struck three sixes and six fours to get to the mark, and despite the dismissals of key batters like skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya, stayed firm right till the end to finish on 97 not out off 50 balls.
Samson carted Akeal Hosein for two sixes and a four in the third over to make his intentions clear at the outset. He unleashed his trademark backfoot pulls to destructive effect, and stroked the ball sweetly to all parts of the ground.
Having lost two key wickets inside the powerplay, India had reached 53/2 after six overs. But the pair of Samson and captain Suryakumar Yadav responded well by keeping the run-rate around 10 per over. Suryakumar eventually fell for a 16-ball 18, but Samson kept propelling India towards the 196-run target.
ALSO READ: India Vs West Indies Highlights
Earlier, India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and decided to bowl first. The hosts played an unchanged XI from their previous game, meaning Rinku Singh did not get a look in. For the Windies, Akeal Hosein returned in place of Brandon King.
The last Super Eights clash of the 20-over showpiece was a virtual quarter-final as the two competing teams were level on points and South Africa had already qualified from Group 1.
India Vs West Indies, ICC T20 World Cup 2026: Playing XIs
West Indies: Shai Hope (wk/c), Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Akeal Hosein, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph
India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Hardik Pandya, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah
How many fours and sixes did Sanju Samson hit in his knock?
Sanju Samson smashed 12 fours and four sixes en route his unbeaten 97 off 50 balls.
How many balls did Samson take to get to his fifty?
Samson took 26 balls to get to his half-century, hitting Gudakesh Motie for a four through covers to cross the 50-run mark.
Who will India face in the T20 World Cup 2026 semi-finals?
India will take on England in the second semi-final of ICC T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5.
