Overview:
Samson hit the winning boundary and was given a standing ovation by his teammates, support staff and the fans.
Sanju Samson broke Virat Kohli’s record for the highest individual score for India in the history of the T20 World Cup. Samson scored an unbeaten 97 runs off 50 balls as the Men in Blue defeated the West Indies by 5 wickets to qualify for the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
Chasing 196 runs, the defending champions reached the target in 19.2 overs at the Eden Gardens. Samson struck 12 fours and 4 sixes in a must-win game for the sub-continent team. Virat Kohli amassed 82 runs on two occasions in the global tournament, with Australia and Pakistan being the rival teams.
Samson went past the legendary batter on March 1 in Kolkata. India kept losing wickets, but Samson didn’t give up and relied on big shots, singles and doubles to take Suryakumar Yadav’s team to the knockout stage of the event.
India were in trouble early on with Abhishek Sharma (10) and Ishan Kishan (10) returning to the dressing room.
He added 58 runs with captain Suryakumar, who posted 18 runs. The real push came when Tilak Varma came to the middle, and he stitched a 42-run stand with Samson. When Tilak was dismissed, Hardik Pandya joined hands with the wicket-keeper batter, and the two took the team close. The opposite numbers undid the all-rounder.
Shivam Dube ensured that Team India crossed the finishing line without losing another wicket. He hit two fours in his knock of 8 not out. Samson hit the winning boundary and was given a standing ovation by his teammates, support staff and the fans.
Earlier, the West Indies reached 195/4 in their allotted 20 overs. Roston Chase (40 off 25), Jason Holder (37* off 22), Rovman Powell (34* off 19) and Shimron Hetmyer (27 off 12) were among the runs.