NEW DELHI: When Sanju Samson walked out to open midway through the tournament, few could have predicted that he would end up scripting one of the most remarkable turnarounds in ICC Men’s T20 World Cup history. But for India spin legend Anil Kumble, Samson’s performances in the knockout stages reflected a rare blend of two of India’s greatest modern batters — Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!After spending the first half of the tournament on the bench, Samson was drafted into the XI as an opener ahead of the decisive Super 8 clash against the West Indies. The Kerala batter responded with an unbeaten 97 in what was effectively a virtual knockout in Kolkata, before producing back-to-back 89s in the semi-final and the final to power India’s title-winning run.

The explosive streak saw Samson break several records, including the highest individual score in a T20 World Cup final. He also joined Kohli as the only Indians to score fifties in both the semi-final and final of the same World Cup edition, while finishing with a staggering 321 runs in just five innings — the most by an Indian in a single edition of the tournament.For Kumble, the numbers told only part of the story.“If you look at the previous World Cup in 2024, it had Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both are great players, very difficult to replace them,” Kumble said on ESPNcricinfo. “I think Samson is a combination of Kohli and Rohit, in a sense.”ALSO READ: ‘Stop celebrating milestones’: Gambhir’s strong message after India’s T20 WC triumphKumble explained that Samson displayed Kohli’s calculated control when the situation demanded patience, while also unleashing Rohit-like aggression when the momentum needed to shift.“When it required a little bit of Kohli, where you just plan and ensure that you don’t lose wickets,” he said. “And then whenever you need to accelerate in the powerplay, you want to take on the bowlers — like Rohit.”Even while anchoring the innings, Samson did not compromise on his natural flair. As India became the first team to smash 100 sixes in a single World Cup edition, Samson accounted for 24 of them — the most by any batter in the tournament.

India vs Zimbabwe (AP Photo)

CHENNAI: With India’s T20 World Cup semifinal hopes on the line, their fans will pray for a big win against Zimbabwe on Thursday and hope that Blessing Muzarabani stays at arm’s length. At 6ft 8in, Zimbabwe’s pace spearhead in this World Cup has been hard to miss. The 29-year-old leads Zimbabwe’s wicket column and is joint-second overall with 11 wickets, with an economy rate of 7.06.He also set up Zimbabwe’s win over Australia with a four-wicket burst. The lanky bowler has operated in the hardest phases of a T20 innings — taking the new ball up front and returning at the death — and has looked effective in both. His height gives him natural bounce but it is his discipline, backed by changes of pace, that has made it difficult for batters to line him up.

Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons and off-spinning allrounder Ryan Burl were quick to credit Muzarabani’s impact and resilience. He spent four to six months out before the tournament due to a back injury and Burl felt the bowler deserved more credit for how quickly he has found his rhythm again.“He had a lot of doubts coming in, with his own body and how he was feeling. The success that he has had with the ball has been amazing. It’s not something that has only just come about now. He has been doing this in international cricket previously. He’s one of those bowlers that’s obviously very tall and does kind of come a little bit from beyond the perpendicular. So jagging the ball back into the righthanders and across the lefties with that steep bounce poses a challenge for the batters. I’m a lot happier knowing that he’s on my team and not on the opposition,” Burl said.For Sammons, what separates Muzarabani is not just his height but the consistency with which he hits his areas. “He’s been brilliant for us. It’s so good to see him come back and hit the ground running. He’s been really good in the control of his length and his line, so he’s not given the batters too many free, easy boundary balls.If they look for the boundary, there’s an element of risk that they’ve had to take,” the coach said.

Pakistan fan’s hilarious reaction after Saim Ayub dismissal goes viral

NEW DELHI: A hilarious moment from Pakistan’s match against England in the T20 World Cup went viral after a fan’s shocked reaction was caught on camera when opener Saim Ayub got out early at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Tuesday. Ayub was dismissed by Jofra Archer for just 7 runs, caught while trying to pull a fast short ball. Archer embraced the occasion with a unique celebration.

A few seconds later, the camera caught a Pakistani fan’s disappointed and stunned expression, which quickly became a hit on social media.Watch the fan’s reaction to the dismissal:In the match, Pakistan chose to bat first on a good pitch but struggled to score quickly as England kept taking wickets at regular intervals. Sahibzada Farhan was the standout batter, scoring 63 off 45 balls with several boundaries. He added a 46-run partnership with Babar Azam, but England’s bowlers kept things under control. Babar Azam had another slow innings, making 25 off 24 balls before being bowled by Jamie Overton. Spinner Liam Dawson was the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets for 24 runs, while Archer and Overton also took two wickets each. Fakhar Zaman added a quick 25 off 16 balls, and Shadab Khan stayed unbeaten on 23, helping Pakistan reach 164/9 by the end of their innings. However, Pakistan never really accelerated, and England’s disciplined bowling kept them under pressure throughout.ALSO READ: Hilarious Babar Azam memes take over internet after another flop show in T20 World CupEngland had already beaten Sri Lanka earlier in the Super Eights, while Pakistan’s previous match against New Zealand was washed out, making this game important for both teams’ qualification hopes.