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Indian batter Sanju Samson overtook Virat Kohli's record, scoring the highest individual score for India during a successful run-chase in the history of the T20 World Cups.
Samson achieved this record on Sunday with a masterclass against the West Indies at Kolkata's Eden Gardens during a match which was essentially a virtual quarterfinal, with the winner sealing the last semifinal spot. He smacked an unbeaten 97 in 50 balls, with 12 fours and four sixes, outdoing Virat's 82* against Australia at Mohali in 2016 and against Pakistan at Melbourne in 2022. Sanju has batted as an opener 29 times during a run-chase across IPL and T20Is, and this is the first instance of him staying unbeaten till the end. This is India's highest chase in T20 World Cup history, outdoing their 173 runs against South Africa at Mirpur in 2014. With this win, India secured a joint-highest sixth semifinal appearance in T20 World Cup history, joining Pakistan (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2021, 2022) and England (2010, 2016, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2026). Sanju's knock is also the second-highest individual score for India in T20 World Cup history, with Suresh Raina's 101 against South Africa at Gros Islet in 2010 being the best knock by an Indian in T20 WC history. Coming to the match, India won the toss and elected to field first. Roston Chase (40 in 25 balls, with five fours and a six) and skipper Shai Hope (32 in 33 balls, with three fours and a six) put on an opening stand of 68 runs for first wicket, but WI slipped to 119/4 in 14.1 overs, despite a fiery cameo by Shimron Hetmyer (27 in 12 balls, with a four and two sixes). It was the pair of Jason Holder (37* in 22 balls, with two fours and three sixes) and Powell (34* in 19 balls, with three fours and two sixes) who put on a fiery stand of 76 runs in 35 balls, taking WI to 195/4 in 20 overs. Jasprit Bumrah (2/36 in four overs) was India's leading bowler, with Varun Chakaravarthy and Hardik Pandya dropping a spell of 1/40 in four overs each. In the run-chase, India was reduced to 41/2 within the powerplay. It was a 58-run stand between Samson and Suryakumar Yadav (18), which brought the chase back on track. Then Sanju went on to stitch partnerships with Tilak Varma (27 in 15 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Hardik Pandya (17) and Shivam Dube (8*), taking India to a five-wicket win with five wickets left. (ANI)
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