Sanju Samson scored a fifty in a must-win match against the West Indies in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Chasing 196 runs at the Eden Gardens, the Men in Blue were in trouble after the dismissals of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan inside the powerplay overs.
Abhishek was not given easy lose balls by the Windies bowlers, and the southpaw managed just 10 runs in 11 balls, including two boundaries. Although Ishan hit two fours, he couldn’t carry on.
Samson, who was recalled to the Playing XI in the previous game against Zimbabwe, was impressive from the start in Kolkata. He took 26 deliveries to amass 53 runs, with his runs coming at a strike rate of over 200.
The right-handed batter smashed 6 fours and 3 sixes. He added 58 runs with captain Suryakumar Yadav, who was dismissed after accumulating 18 runs in 16 balls, laced with 1 four and 1 maximum.
Earlier, the visitors were magnificent in the batting department, scoring 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) dominated the Indian bowlers. Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets for the Men in Blue. The winner of the IND vs WI match will qualify for the semifinals and will meet England on March 5.