Sanju Samson stole the show in India’s five-wicket victory over the West Indies in a must-win Super 8 clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday (March 1).
The wicketkeeper-batter slammed 97 not out off 50 balls with 12 fours and 4 sixes to help India chase down a stiff target of 196 runs with four deliveries to spare. As a result, the defending champions qualified for the semifinals.
After scripting India’s win in the virtual quarterfinal, Samson opened up about shutting down his phone and social media accounts to ensure that he did not lose self-belief during a lean patch before the T20 World Cup.
"Shot selection was something I kept working on. I did not want to change too much because I knew I had performed with the same setup, so I kept believing in myself, switched off my phone, switched off social media and listened to my own self. I am very happy it happened in a very special game," Samson said on Star Sports.
During the chase, the Men in Blue were reduced to 41/2 within the powerplay. It was a 58-run stand between Samson and Suryakumar Yadav (18) which brought the hosts on track. Then Sanju went on to stitch partnerships with Tilak Varma (27), Hardik Pandya (17) and Shivam Dube (8*) to take India over the line.
Reflecting on the chase, Samson said: "It was a bit of a difficult chase. Looking at our batting power, I felt that chasing 190-odd at Eden Gardens, when dew comes in, gets a bit easier, but losing wickets at regular intervals made it challenging."
"To be honest, that's where my experience and my role played a big part. I got a good start, but when the wickets kept falling, I felt I needed to finish the game and take it till the last moment.
"Normally you feel like doing it, but it doesn't happen all the time, so I am very grateful it happened in this game...when you are chasing a score like this in a pressure game, you take different options and play more boundaries rather than looking at risk-taking options," he added.
Samson also explained the changes he made to his technique after producing paltry scores of 10, 6, 0, 24 and 6 in the home T20I series against New Zealand.
"Our human nature is that we often start from a negative thought like, 'Can I do it? I don't think I can.' When I have that thought, I try to alter it with a very positive one. When I had a series like New Zealand where I wanted to perform and be part of the World Cup team, things did not work out well, but luckily I got a 10-day gap," he said.
"I did not play any games and was not in the side. I kept thinking, 'Sanju, what else? Why didn't it work? What else should I do?' So I did some soul-searching. I worked on my base, how I set myself up, and came back to it.
"A lot of people had suggestions and I saw a lot of valid points, but at the same time I felt, 'Sanju, you have scored three international hundreds with the same setup'," he added.
For Samson, the Kolkata heroics was something he had always envisioned. "More than a hundred cricketers in India dream about a day like this. I dared to dream. A young guy from Trivandrum, Kerala, dreaming about playing for the country and winning a game in such a crucial match. I dared to dream and it happened," he said.
India will now face England in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on March 5.
