Sanju Samson played his career-best knock.
Sanju Samson weaved his career-best knock in a virtual knockout T20 World Cup 2026 fixture against West Indies at the iconic Eden Gardens. It was a timely innings – one that came when India needed the most. He has been inconsistent lately, with his unsettled position also playing a role, but all that won’t be discussed now.
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Sanju Samson has consistently been in good touch with the willow and has had starts in every game this tournament. Before the West Indies game, he had scores of 22 & 24 against Namibia and Zimbabwe, respectively. However, he was more calculated with his approach, at least after settling in.
The West Indies had bowled exceptionally well overall to most of the top-four batters, but Samson was still skilled enough to maximise the powerplay. He scored 24 runs in 13 balls, including two fours and as many sixes, at a strike rate of 184.61, allowing Abhishek Sharma, who has been out of form, take his time. He has done a similar role earlier as well: providing rapid starts during field restrictions with strike rates of 275 and 160 in the previous two matches.
This time, though, India were batting second and chasing a tricky target, unlike in the last two occasions. Earlier, Samson’s role was limited to just maximising every delivery, which, in turn, would help post a big total. However, while chasing a target, particularly after losing two wickets, he needed to strike the right balance between aggression and calculated risk.
So, once the powerplay ended, he didn’t stop and raced away to 55 runs in 29 deliveries by the end of the 10th over. But just when he could continue hammering, India lost Suryakumar Yadav on the second delivery of the 11th over. That’s where Samson’s game awareness came to the fore and made this knock more exhilarating.
“I think last game we were batting first, so it was all about setting a very high score. So that’s how I wanted to go big right from ball one. But this game was completely different. I think as soon as I wanted to go a bit higher, we were losing wickets. So I think I wanted to build a partnership, wanted to keep on focusing on my process,” explained Samson.
In a new role, Tilak Varma came with all guns blazing and took down pacers immediately, scoring a 15-ball 27. During this partnership, Samson controlled his aggression, scoring only 15 runs across 11 deliveries, with seven singles to bring the southpaw on strike. In a 42-run partnership, Tilak scored 64.28% of runs at a strike rate of 180, compared to Samson’s 136.36.
Once Tilak Varma departed after a cameo in the 15th over, Hardik Pandya was scratchy during his stay and couldn’t get his timing right. Only a couple of loose deliveries were hit for a boundary, with West Indies bowlers restricting him with a yorker-heavy strategy, with a few slower ones. So, Samson sensed the opportunity again and took the front seat again to ease the pressure off Hardik.
That’s where his supreme power came to the fore again. Samson is among the finest players of off-pace bowling, and his stable base allows him to power them even on gripping surfaces. Dew certainly made his job easier on this occasion.
He stood tall and powered slower deliveries from the back foot – something Hardik can’t do, despite his immense capabilities. Unfortunately, Hardik was dismissed soon, but India were still in control due to Samson’s timely acceleration. Shivam Dube’s two boundaries helped Samson settle if there was any scoreboard pressure.
It was fitting that Sanju Samson hit finishing runs and took India over the line. He has had cameos before, which were as important as this one, but this knock was a true depiction of his game awareness. He aced the chase with a calculated approach and game awareness, qualities he had often been criticised for lacking earlier in his career.
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