Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], March 6 (ANI): Indian opener Sanju Samson expressed delight after delivering a match-winning performance against England in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final at Wankhede Stadium on Thursday, stating that he wanted to make the most of the form he carried into the knockout clash.
Samson, who was named Player of the Match for his brilliant innings, said he entered the contest with confidence after performing well in the previous game and focused on giving himself enough time at the crease to build a big score.
“Feels great, I knew I got some form going from the last game. I thought I needed to make the most out of my form, so I gave myself extra time. We know no score is stoppable, wanted as much as possible. England came close and played really well. Good semi-final. You need to assess conditions. We’ve played a lot of cricket here, know chasing is easier,” Samson said after receiving the award.
India’s innings was powered by a crucial partnership between Samson and Ishan Kishan, which helped the team push towards a massive total. The duo’s aggressive yet calculated approach allowed India to maintain momentum through the middle overs and set up a formidable score against a strong English bowling attack.
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.
Samson revealed that during the partnership, both batters believed that a total of around 250 runs was achievable given the conditions and the rhythm they had built.
The Indian batter also reserved special praise for star pacer Jasprit Bumrah, calling him a “once in a generation” bowler for his impact with the ball during the match.
“But the way Ishan and I were batting, we knew 250 should be possible. Very happy. All credit goes to Bumrah, once in a generation. Think this award should go to him. Unbelievable feeling to play here, we wanted to put in a positive result. Hundred doesn’t matter, it’s not a Test or an ODI game where you can go up and down. Happy to get whatever I’m getting and in a winning effort,” Samson added during the post-match presentation.
Put to bat first, a fiery knock from Sanju Samson (89* in 42 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes) and cameos from Shivam Dube (43 in 25 balls, with a four and four sixes), Ishan Kishan (39 in 18 balls, with four boundaries), 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 in 20 overs.
Despite having England down at 95/4, India could not dominate them as Jacob Bethell (105 in 48 balls, with eight fours and seven sixes) and Will Jacks (35 in 20 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes) put a counter-attacking 77-run stand for the fifth wicket.
Bethell continued to march on even after Jacks’ dismissal and a fiery four-ball cameo of 19 from Jofra Archer took England really close, but not to the finishing line, ending at 246/7. (ANI)
