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Former Indian cricket team captain and current president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), Sourav Ganguly, called Sanju Samson's match-winning 97*-run innings "outstanding" and hailed him as a "very good player" after the wicket-keeper batter helped Team India reach the semis of the T20 World Cup 2026 by defeating West Indies in a must-win Super 8s clash.
Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls, helping India chase down a competitive 196-run target to guide Suryakumar Yadav's side to a five-wicket win in a do-or-die clash of the ongoing World Cup. Speaking to reporters, Ganguly praised Samson and noted that he is a very good player and that he should consistently be playing in the white-ball format for India. "Outstanding. He's a very good player. He should consistently play for India in the white-ball," Ganguly said. Notably, both India and West Indies, tied on points in the Super 8s points table, needed to win the Kolkata fixture in order to join South Africa, New Zealand and England in the T20 WC semifinals. With the win, India set up their semis clash with England on March 5. Ganguly said India vs West Indies clash was a virtual quarterfinal and praised Samson for his unbeaten 97, adding that when he gets set, he can seriously damage the opposition and showed awareness of the match situation. "You know, when he gets in, he'll hurt the opposition. He played to the situation which is important," Ganguly added. The former Indian cricketer, speaking on India facing England in the semis, said that the Three Lions will be a stronger opposition that West Indies. 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. (ANI)
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