“One of the greatest days of my life,” said Sanju Samson after deservedly being named Player of the Match. Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson finally made a much-needed comeback in the ongoing India vs West Indies Super 8 T20 World Cup 2026 game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.
Sanju Samson played a stunning knock of 97 off just 50 balls to guide India to their highest-ever run chase in T20 World Cup history. All thanks to his knock, the Indian cricket team reached the semifinals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026.
Sensational Sanju Samson Helps India Chase Down Record Total vs West Indies to Qualify for Semifinals
Chasing a target of 196 runs, the Indian cricket team kicked off the innings on the worst possible note as Abhishek Sharma failed to perform once again, falling for an 11-ball 10. Ishan Kishan too failed to make it big with the bat as he departed after a six-ball 10.
Sanju Samson then stepped up and formed a brilliant partnership with captain Suryakumar Yadav. He acted as the aggressor and took charge of the innings to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Sanju reached the half-century mark in just 26 balls as India chased the 196-run target set by the West Indies in the must-win clash.
With his sensational knock, Sanju broke Virat Kohli’s record for the highest score by an Indian in a run chase at the T20 World Cup. He went past Kohli’s unbeaten 82 against Australia in Mohali in 2016 and his 82* against Pakistan in Melbourne during the 2022 edition.
Sanju Samson remained unbeaten till the last ball as he smashed the West Indies bowlers to all the corners of the ground. He rained fours and sixed on the Eden Gardens. He slammed 12 fours and 4 sixes during his knock.
Fans Hail Sanju Samson For His Match-Winning Knock
Meanwhile, fans on social media hailed Sanju Samson for his magical knock that Indian cricket fans will remember for a long time.
Check out how fans reacted to Sanju Samson’s comeback:
Respect the name: Sanju Samson!!!
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) March 1, 2026
Sanju Samson. The hands are shivering, the eyes are in tears, thanks for this beautiful generational knock.
— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) March 1, 2026
Sanju Samson the man for India in a do or die game. Focus is never on him but he proves to be the game-changer.
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 1, 2026
Perfect slap by Sanju Samson to his haters today! 👏
What a brilliant innings under pressure! The Cheetah 🐆 roared back with a fiery 50 off just 26 balls 🔥
Finally, the real Sanju is here silencing the critics in this high-stakes clash! 💪 #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/fc6KRde1V4— Manjeet Aggarwal (@ManjeetAgg_07) March 1, 2026
” ‘the’ Sanju Samson of Indian Cricket”, most matured innings of his career by him till now.pic.twitter.com/he9hEIfJZS https://t.co/kFUViVQrTw
— Abhishek (@vicharabhio) March 1, 2026
Local man is in coma 😭😭
Sanju Samson guess player?
53(26) 50(48)#INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/HNVFz5XYqr— Captain Cool (@Captaincoolarmy) March 1, 2026
Sanju Samson’s form in a must win match pic.twitter.com/O1jKqaneSQ
— Sagar (@sagarcasm) March 1, 2026
FIFTY FOR SANJU SAMSON 🫡
– Best decision ever by the management to include him in the mid way and he has taken with both hands.
Fifty in the Virtual Quarter final against West Indies, A Champion innings under pressure. pic.twitter.com/DG2Xh3R9LO
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 1, 2026
Sanju samson The Man of a big match🔥🇮🇳#WIvsIND #INDvWI #INDvsWI#SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/YogFdmgPRR
— Sᴜᴍᴍɪ Bɪsʜɴᴏɪ♤ (@Sumii029) March 1, 2026
SANJU SAMSON >>>> ABHISHEK SHARMA at any point 💛🔥
Pure CLASS PLAYER💛🚨— Cຣᴋ Bᴏʏ 💛 (@abhaysorout02) March 1, 2026
Sanju Samson aura after today’s innings #T20WorldCup2026 #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/foxkXohtWB
— Counter Attack (@Counterattac01) March 1, 2026
been highly critical of sanju samson trade into csk but if tonight bro gets india across the line, i request y’all to storm into my comments and abuse the hell outta me. humiliate me, samson!
— Neeche Se Topper (@NeecheSeTopper) March 1, 2026
Sanju Samson Was Named Man of the Match for His Outstanding 97 Off 50 Balls
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Sanju Samson shared his emotions and said, “It means the whole world actually to me. I think right from the day I started playing, started dreaming to play for the country, I think this is the day I was waiting for. And I’m very grateful, very thankful. And I’ve always had a very special journey with lots of ups and downs, but I’ve kept on doubting myself, kept on thinking, what if, what if, can I make it, can I make it?”
“But I kept on believing and thanks to the Lord Almighty for actually blessing me today. So I’m very happy. Yeah, I think that’s why I have been playing this format for a very long time. I think playing IPL around 10 to 12 years and playing for the country from last 10 years, I have not been playing, but looking from the dugout, learning from the greats like Virat Kohli, from Rohit Sharma, like all the greats. I think it’s very important to observe and learn and see what they were doing.”
“I think that really helped me to, I think with my experience, I have only played maybe 50, 60 games, but I’ve seen around 100 games and I’ve seen how the greatest people have finished the games and how do they change their game according to the game.”
“So I think the 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 focusing on my process. And I never felt that I will do something special like this, but I was just focusing on my role and just keeping one ball at a time and very grateful. I think this is one of the greatest days of my life. Yeah, definitely they do bring a lot of energy and they do bring a lot of support.”
“But I think on the other end, there is always a question, what if not? So definitely that keeps on playing in your mind. But when that thought kept on coming, I just brought myself into the present moment and just looked at the ball and trusted myself to react according to the ball in merit. So I think that worked out pretty well today.”
