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Indian batter Sanju Samson played a statement knock against England in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium, equalling batting icon Virat Kohli's record for most runs by an Indian in a T20 World Cup knockout.
Brimming with confidence and authority after a masterclass 97* against West Indies in the final Super Eight clash, a virtual knockout clash, Sanju continued his fine form, shrugging off the mental demons due to past failures this year, scoring 89 in 42 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes at a strike rate of 211.90. Virat had also smashed 89* in 47 balls against the West Indies in the semifinal of the 2016 T20 World Cup at the same venue. The highest score by a batter in T20WC knockouts was made yesterday by New Zealand batter Finn Allen, who scored a record-breaking 100* in just 33 balls while chasing 170 against South Africa at Kolkata's Eden Gardens. This stands as the fastest century across T20 and 50-over World Cups. Samson has been exceptional against slow deliveries in the T20 World Cup, scoring 71 runs in 28 balls at an average of 35.30 and at a strike rate of 253.57, with five fours and seven sixes. Notably, slower/pace-off deliveries have been India's weakness in this T20 World Cup overall. Samson, with his 16 maximums this edition, went past Rohit Sharma's 15 sixes in the 2024 edition to have the most sixes by an Indian during a single T20 WC edition. In this tournament, Sanju has made 232 runs in four matches at an average of 77.33, with a strike rate of 201.73, with two fifties, and a best score of 97* coming against West Indies at Kolkata in a virtual quarterfinal. Coming to the match, England won the match and elected to field first. Abhishek Sharma (9) once again fell to off-spin, but a 97-run stand between Samson (89 in 42 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes) and Ishan Kishan (39 in 18 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) brought India back in the game big time as the duo went hammer and tongs. Samson stitched another useful 43-run stand with Shivam Dube, who was hitting the ball his signature fluency and brutality, scoring 43 in 25 balls, with a four fours and four sixes. Cameos from Hardik Pandya (27* in 12 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Tilak Varma (21 in seven balls, with three sixes) took India to 253/7. Will Jacks (2/40) and Adil Rashid (2/41) were the top bowlers for England. (ANI)
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