Sanju Samson (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Perpetually under scrutiny, Sanju Samson rose above the noise with a match-winning 97 not out as India defeated West Indies by five wickets in their T20 World Cup Super Eights clash to storm into the semifinals on Sunday.But beyond the runs and the result, it was a captain’s bow that defined the night at Eden Gardens.

India will now face England in the semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5.As the winning boundary was struck and the noise reached fever pitch, Samson began his walk back to the pavilion. That’s when India skipper Suryakumar Yadav did something few captains do.Surya walked down from his position, removed his cap and bowed to Sanju in the middle of the ground before embracing him tightly. It was spontaneous, heartfelt and symbolic — a public acknowledgement of belief repaid.The packed Eden Gardens, with over 65,000 spectators, erupted. Teammates applauded. Fans roared. It was more than celebration; it was respect.Asked to bat first, West Indies followed a clear attacking blueprint. Roston Chase laid the foundation before Rovman Powell (34* off 19 balls) and Jason Holder (37* off 22 balls) launched a late assault to power them to 195/4.Chasing 196 in a virtual knockout, India needed composure. Instead, they lost early momentum as in-form batters faltered under pressure.That’s when Sanju stood tall.Playing only his third match of the tournament, the wicketkeeper-batter produced an innings of poise and authority — 97* off 50 balls, laced with 12 fours and four sixes. He batted deep, absorbed the pressure and ensured India reached 199/5 in 19.2 overs, sealing victory with four balls to spare.In the 19th over, with tension peaking, Sanju brought the scores level by heaving Romario Shepherd’s attempted yorker high over square leg for a towering six — a statement blow under pressure.Moments later, he carved the winning boundary over a leaping mid-on to book India’s semifinal berth and end West Indies’ campaign at the very venue where they had lifted their second and last T20 World Cup title in 2016.As “Maa Tujhe Salaam” echoed through Eden Gardens, Sanju dropped to his knees, removed his helmet and offered a quiet prayer — a moment of relief, gratitude and redemption. The BCCI top brass stood up in applause.And just behind that image stood Surya’s bow — a captain recognising a warrior who had delivered when it mattered most.On a night of pressure and expectation, it wasn’t just about a 97*. It was about faith, redemption and a skipper who wasn’t afraid to bow down to brilliance.

Sourav Ganguly (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: Former India captain and current Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) president Sourav Ganguly described Sanju Samson’s match-winning 97* as “outstanding” and termed him a “very good player” after the wicketkeeper-batter powered India into the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026 with a crucial win over West Indies in a must-win Super 8 clash.Samson smashed an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls as India chased down a stiff 196-run target to secure a five-wicket victory in the do-or-die encounter, guiding Suryakumar Yadav’s men into the last four.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Ganguly heaped praise on Samson and underlined that the Kerala batter deserves consistent opportunities in India’s white-ball setup.“Outstanding. He’s a very good player. He should consistently play for India in the white-ball,” Ganguly said.With both India and West Indies tied on points in the Super 8 standings, the Kolkata fixture effectively turned into a knockout, with the winner advancing to join South Africa, New Zealand and England in the semifinals. India’s victory set up a last-four clash against England on March 5.Ganguly termed the India-West Indies encounter a virtual quarterfinal and lauded Samson’s composure, stressing how dangerous he can be once he settles in.“You know, when he gets in, he’ll hurt the opposition. He played to the situation which is important,” Ganguly added.Looking ahead to the semifinal against England, the former India skipper noted that the Three Lions would pose a tougher challenge than West Indies.In the match itself, India won the toss and opted to field. West Indies openers Roston Chase (40 off 25 balls, five fours and a six) and captain Shai Hope (32 off 33 balls, three fours and a six) added 68 for the first wicket. However, despite a quickfire cameo from Shimron Hetmyer (27 off 12 balls, one four and two sixes), the hosts slipped to 119/4 in 14.1 overs.A late onslaught from Jason Holder (37* off 22 balls, two fours and three sixes) and Rovman Powell (34* off 19 balls, three fours and two sixes) saw the duo stitch together a 76-run stand in just 35 balls, lifting West Indies to 195/4 in their 20 overs.Jasprit Bumrah (2/36 in four overs) was India’s standout bowler, while Varun Chakaravarthy and Hardik Pandya claimed one wicket each, conceding 40 runs apiece in their four-over spells.In reply, India were rocked early, reduced to 41/2 inside the powerplay. A 58-run partnership between Samson and Suryakumar Yadav (18) steadied the innings and revived the chase. Samson then combined effectively with Tilak Varma (27 off 15 balls, four boundaries and a six), Hardik Pandya (17) and Shivam Dube (8*) to guide India home with five wickets in hand, sealing a memorable win and a semifinal berth.

Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav (BCCI Photo)

NEW DELHI: A blistering 97* from Sanju Samson powered India to a thrilling five-wicket win over West Indies at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, sealing their place in the T20 World Cup 2026 semifinals. Under pressure and with his spot in the XI questioned after a lean run, Samson delivered when it mattered most in the Super Eight clash.Chasing under tricky conditions with dew setting in, India stayed on course thanks to a composed yet attacking effort from the wicketkeeper-batter. Samson’s unbeaten 97 off 50 balls is now the highest score in a successful run chase for India in T20 World Cups, surpassing Virat Kohli’s previous record. He struck the winning runs and, as he walked back, skipper Suryakumar Yadav removed his cap and bowed to him in a heartwarming gesture.

In a video released by the BCCI, Suryakumar was effusive in his praise for Samson, even prompting a hilarious response from the match-winner.“Rulayega kya pagle? (Do you want to see me tear up?),” Samson quipped as his captain continued to shower him with compliments.Suryakumar reiterated the belief he has long held about Samson and revealed what the batter had told the team when he rejoined the side.“I always say good things happen to good people and at the right time. No better time, no better stage for someone like him to step up and give the team what the team required. The moment he came into the side, I think the first thing that he said amongst the group when we sat together was, let’s do something which the team wants, not what you want,” said Suryakumar.The skipper chose not to dwell too much on Samson’s difficult phase — being in and out of the side and batting out of position — but acknowledged the mental strength behind the knock.“In life, we’ve seen so many things, so many ups and downs. I don’t want to take you back to what happened in the whole year, losing his position, batting out of position, and then coming back batting at the same position.”He emphasised that such performances define ICC tournaments and lauded the courage shown by Samson on the big stage.“It’s not easy to win the World Cup. The World Cups, the ICC tournaments, the games which you play in ICC tournaments are won by courageous people, and this was a courageous knock. He can already get carried away by a good start, but then the way he was batting, he held one side together, took the team through. And he deserves all the credit. I’m very happy for him, his wife, his family back home, and all the people who love him, support him. We’re just one more step closer. Hopefully, this may continue. I have a lot of things to say, but then, I’m very happy. He deserves everything,” said Suryakumar.India now move a step closer to the title, riding on a knock that could well go down as one of their finest in T20 World Cup history.India will now face England in the semifinal of the 2026 T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Taking responsibility for the West Indies’ elimination from the T20 World Cup, skipper Shai Hope said he should have batted faster at the top to post a more challenging target for India in their must-win Super Eight game here.

Defending champions India chased down a fairly stiff 196-run target to knock the former winners out of the tournament at the Eden Gardens here on Sunday.

The visitors appeared at least 20 runs short as Hope ate up 33 balls for his 32, striking at just over 96, including 17 dot balls that probably cost them heavily in a high-scoring contest.

“Yes, I’ll take the blame. I should have batted a lot faster — if that’s what you want me to say,” said Hope in the post-match media interaction without dodging any tough question, here on Sunday.

“When you’re leading, you want to put your hand up and set the tone at the top. It didn’t happen for me today. I just didn’t get going today,” he conceded.

“But in situations like this, when you’re struggling, everyone struggles. But I don’t think I was batting badly.”

India had the perfect plan to tighten the marauding Windies after Suryakumar Yadav opted to bowl. He went in with Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel in the powerplay and they did their job, keeping Hope quiet early.

It was then that mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, held back deliberately for the middle phase, bowled him with a delivery that skidded through to rattle the stumps.

Though opener Roston Chase’s acceleration and the late flourish from Rovman Powell and Jason Holder lifted West Indies to 195/4, the total felt under-par on a good Eden surface with dew aiding the chase.

Hope, however, said the shortfall of runs was not for lack of intent.

“It was a bit of both. I hit a few fielders and they bowled well. As much as you’d love to hit every ball for six, it doesn’t happen. It’s just that I was hitting the fielders and then trying to play the situation a bit more.

“Obviously, I wanted to bat a little bit deeper into the innings and face most of the spin threat in the middle,” he explained.

Hope further admitted that the powerplay phase could have been better utilised by his team.

“We wanted 65-70 in the powerplay. We were 45 without loss, so we had a platform. With the batting depth we have, I didn’t see it as a big issue at the time, but we didn’t execute as well as we wanted.”

Fine margins

Calling it a fine-margin contest, he said: “It’s always a game of small margins. There are so many moments you can look back at and say maybe we should have done a little more or a little less of something else. But one team has to win.”

He further said the conditions aided the chasing side and rued lost toss.

“Here in Eden Gardens, chasing is usually better, especially with the dew. It always becomes a factor. I don’t think I could win a toss, so I’m always giving the guys the hard way out of it.

“I don’t think – I won a toss this tournament? One? Okay. Probably before that, the rest of the series, maybe one or two. Yeah, so that always putting me on the back foot.” However, looking at the broader picture, Hope chose to focus on the campaign’s positives.

“There are a lot of positives. Our bowling was much better than in previous series. The powerplay bowling especially stood up,” he noted.

Sanju deserves A+

Hope was effusive in praising India’s match-winner Sanju, whose unbeaten 97 anchored the home team’s chase. Having faced criticism and frequent exclusion in recent past, Sanju made the opportunity count in the biggest game.

A natural opener, he was not the first choice of the side at the start of the tournament after Ishan Kishan’s blazing return. Ishan was the preferred one with Abhishek Sharma in the opening position.

But following India’s batting meltdown against South Africa, the management had to fall back on his experience at the top.

He repaid that faith with a blazing start against Zimbabwe and then produced the innings of his life at the Eden.

“He shot the ball very nicely from the beginning all the way through to the end of the innings and he’s paced it really nicely. He was very smart and calculated with the way he went about his strokes.

“You must give him an A-plus with the way he played today. But we wish he didn’t have that innings today,” Hope said.

Published – March 02, 2026 12:46 pm IST

Sanju Samson plays a shot during the T20 World Cup Super 8 match against West Indies. (ANI Photo)

KOLKATA: Sanju Samson has warmed the India benches more often than he would have liked in his decade-long international T20 career. The India opener’s talent has never been in doubt, just that he hasn’t always utilised the opportunities that have come his way.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!On Sunday at the Eden Gardens, another such opportunity landed in the 31-year-old’s path and this time, he wasn’t found wanting. Samson’s commanding unbeaten 97 (50b, 12×4, 4×6) formed the backbone of India’s five-wicket win over the West Indies, and the ride taking his team into the ongoing T20 World Cup semifinals.

England are up next for Suryakumar Yadav’s men, the final two steps that remain in their climb towards a historic title defence.It was quite apt that Samson sealed it with a punch over mid-on.A target of 196 may seem daunting on the face of it, but when the chase is on a flat track and driven by batters who are capable of delivering, it doesn’t seem all that challenging. That India made it look a little turbulent was primarily because Samson was waging a lone battle for most of the innings. A 58-run stand with Surya (18) had Samson as the dominant partner. The 42 he added with Tilak Varma (27, 15b, 4×4, 1×6) was more on equal terms. Similar with Hardik Pandya (17) who survived a sitter.The constant in all these partnerships was Samson, who displayed his array of shots, packing enough punch behind them. This innings is surely among the most memorable that Samson has played, if not the defining one.Earlier, the West Indies once more showed their tendency of falling apart when things seem to be going perfectly for them. Yet, the discovery of this tournament is that they also have the batting depth to fight back. Jason Holder and Rovman Powell produced that fightback when the West Indies innings was in trouble.Opening with Shai Hope and Roston Chase, they were off to a reasonable start, if not a flier.A powerplay of 45 without any loss looked to be the kind of platform they could build on, of course with a little help from Abhishek Sharma, who dropped a simple chance from Chase off Bumrah when the batter was on 14. Losing Hope, who wasn’t as fluent as Chase, in the ninth over at the score of 68 meant West Indies still held the upper hand.Hope’s 32 off 33 balls would be disappointing for an opener who had the advantage of powerplay. Chase was a lot more aggressive for his 40 and Shimron Hetmyer kind of made up for the lost ground with a rocking 12-ball 27. However, his innings proved to be just a cameo, being dismissed to the faintest of an edge.That was in Bumrah’s second over and the innings’ 12th. He accounted for Chase in the same over and suddenly the West Indies innings seemed to be falling apart. It was then that Holder and Powell came together to script a recovery. Their unbeaten fifth-wicket stand of 76 came in just 35 balls. Holder (37*, 22b, 2×4, 3×6), an asset to have in the lower order, continued from he had left against South Africa. Powell (34*, 19b, 3×4, 2×6) showed once again that his calm demeanour masks a fiery batter within.The duo, struck at the India bowlers, the best of them, Bumrah and Varun Chakravarthy, going for 36 and 40 respectively.

NEW DELHI: Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir delivered a stirring endorsement of Sanju Samson after the batter’s unbeaten 97 powered India into the T20 World Cup semifinals, calling the knock a glimpse of the “true potential” the team always believed in.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Samson’s majestic 97* at the iconic Eden Gardens guided India to a five-wicket win over West Indies in a high-pressure Super Eight clash, keeping alive their dream of retaining the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup title at home.“Sanju is a world-class player, we all know how good a player he is. And it was all about backing him. And then when the team needed him the most, obviously today was a day where he probably showed his true potential, and hopefully, this is a time for him to kick off and probably two more games to go,” Gambhir told reporters after the match.

Under scrutiny following a lean run and a difficult series against New Zealand before the tournament, Samson responded in the most emphatic fashion. Chasing 196, India were wobbling early before the right-hander anchored the innings with calm authority, carrying his bat through the chase.Gambhir was particularly impressed by the manner of the innings.“Look, I actually thought that he never accelerated the innings. It was just a very, very normal cricketing shot, and I never saw any muscling the ball as well, and that is the kind of talent he has. When you know that you’re in control of the game and you know that you’re feeling good, he’s hitting the ball really well in the nets and it’s about going in the middle and showcasing that skill that you had,” he said.Highlighting Samson’s composure on a good batting surface with a quick outfield, Gambhir reiterated his long-standing faith. “I have always said that he is a world-class player, he is a great talent and hopefully he can kick off now and hopefully we can see a lot more innings like this from Sanju.”He also brushed aside criticism centred on past scores. “People will keep looking at his scores and stuff, but then coming back into the team and then playing that kind of innings… it must have given him a lot of confidence. Because obviously, the guy had a tough series against New Zealand. But we always knew the kind of potential he had.”

Sanju Samson and skipper Suryakumar Yadav run between wickets. (ANI Photo)

NEW DELHI: A night of reckoning at the Eden Gardens turned into a night of redemption for Sanju Samson, and skipper Suryakumar Yadav could not have scripted it better.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!With India’s T20 World Cup Super Eight campaign hanging by a thread, Samson smashed an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls to power India to a five-wicket win over West Indies, sealing a semifinal berth. Under scrutiny after a lean run, Samson answered every question in style — and his captain made sure the world knew it.

“Obviously, it’s a great feeling. The way we played, it was a do-or-die, like a quarter-final game, and the way the boys showed character, I think it was a great thing,” Suryakumar said after the match.But it was his heartfelt words on Samson that stole the spotlight.“See, I always say, good things happen to good people who wait, who have a lot of patience. I said it just now as well when I met him. But then it’s all his hard work, what he’s been doing behind the doors when he was not playing, and he’s got the fruit of it at the perfect stage. And the way he batted, took the side completely to victory.”Chasing 196 after West Indies posted 195/4 — powered by late fireworks from Jason Holder and Rovman Powell — India stumbled early to 41/2 in the powerplay. But Samson stood tall, blending timing with audacity. Small partnerships, especially a crucial 42-run stand with Tilak Varma (27 off 15), kept the chase alive.Suryakumar revealed the clarity in the dressing room. “I feel everyone bowled according to plans. We knew 200 is always a good score to chase here with the dew and the ball coming on nicely. And the way the batters responded later on with small partnerships, that was the key.”The skipper also addressed the mounting pressure. “Expectations will always be there, but you should always know what you have to do on the field. I told the boys that there will be pressure… but in games like this, you have to be courageous and take positive options whenever under pressure. When there’s no pressure, there is no fun.”Samson’s 97* is now India’s second-highest individual score in T20 World Cups, behind only Suresh Raina’s 101, and marks the first time he has remained unbeaten in a T20I chase.“Very happy to be there,” Surya smiled about the semifinals. “The way we played in the first game, we deserve that spot.”India next face England in the semi-final at Wankhede stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.

Team India will meet the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, March 1 in a do-or-die encounter of the T20 World Cup 2026. Three teams – England, South Africa and New Zealand – have already sealed their semifinal spots. The winner of the Super 8 match between the Men in Blue and the Windies on Sunday will clinch the fourth spot.

India kicked off their Super 8 campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026 with a shocking 76-run loss to South Africa in Ahmedabad. However, they recovered in time to beat Zimbabwe by 72 runs in Chennai and stay alive in the competition. Now, Suryakumar Yadav and co. need to go one step ahead and beat the West Indies as well to qualify for the knockouts.

India made a key change for the game against Zimbabwe, bringing in Sanju Samson at the top of the order. And while he only contributed a cameo, his brisk knock gave the team some much-needed relief. The Men in Blue are unlikely to change their combination for the must-win contest against the West Indies. They might, however, contemplate bringing Kuldeep Yadav into the playing XI.

India vs West Indies Super 8, T20 World Cup 2026 telecast channel list in India

In India, the IND vs WI T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata will be live telecast on the Star Sports network channels. The game will begin at 7pm IST. The live coverage of the match will start at 6pm, while the toss will be held at 6:30pm.

India vs West Indies Super 8, T20 World Cup 2026 live streaming in India

In India, the live streaming of the IND vs WI T20 World Cup 2026 match can be watched on the JioHotstar app as well as the website. Cricket fans, however, will need to have a JioHotstar subscription to watch the all-important clash.

JioHotstar is providing live coverage of all T20 World Cup 2026 matches in five languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada) on both television and the digital platform. Regional feeds are also available in Bhojpuri, Bengali, and Haryanvi. For India matches (and knockout clashes), JioHotstar has coverage in Marathi and Indian sign language too.