Sanju Samson took India to the semi-finals by playing an unbeaten inning of 97 runs against West Indies in the Super-8 of T20 World Cup 2026. After becoming the Player of the Match, he shared his struggle, faith and the lessons learned from Virat-Rohit.
Ind vs WI Sanju Samson After Match: In the Super-8 of T20 World Cup 2026, Team India defeated West Indies by 5 wickets. With this victory, India booked its ticket for the semi-finals. The biggest role in Team India’s victory was of opener Sanju Samson, who played an unbeaten inning of 97 runs in 50 balls. Sanju thrashed the Windies bowlers all around the Eden Gardens. In his innings he hit 12 fours and 4 skyscraper sixes.
This is the day I was waiting for – Sanju Samson
After winning the match, Samson spoke openly about his innings and career. During the Player of the Match award, Sanju Samson said, this moment is like winning the whole world for him. He said that ever since he started playing cricket and dreamed of playing for the country, he had been waiting for this day, this moment.
Cricket’s journey has not been easy
Samson told that his journey was not easy. There were many ups and downs in it. Many times he questioned himself whether he would be able to do it or not. But he kept believing in himself. He thanked God and said that today is one of the most special days of his life and he is very happy.
Learned a lot from Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma
Regarding his experience in T20 format, Samson said that he has been playing this format for a long time. Has been playing IPL for about 10 to 12 years and has been associated with Team India for the last 10 years. He admitted that many times he sat in the dugout watching and learning the matches instead of playing. He especially took the names of big players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Samson said that by watching these players he learned how to finish a match. Also, how to change your batting according to the situation of the game. Samson said, even though he has played 50-60 matches in his career, he has learned a lot from watching around 100 matches and this experience has been useful to him today.
I was playing the ball on merit- Samson
Samson said about his innings that the last match was different, because at that time the team was batting first and it was necessary to make a big score. But the conditions in this match were completely different. When they wanted to play aggressively, the team was losing wickets. In such a situation, he decided to form a partnership and focus on his process. According to Sanju, he was focusing on each ball and playing according to the merit of the ball. Samson admitted that he never thought that he would be able to play such a special innings, but he had faith in himself and played his role.