Sanju Samson has picked up from where he left off. It wasn’t as if he were 0 (0) when Jofra Archer came to bowl the first ball of the India vs England semifinal. But instead, it felt like he was 97 (50)*, resuming his scintillating knock against the West Indies.
Archer threat dealt with
Archer, against whom he averages 8.30 and was dismissed 3 times in 5 innings in T20Is, couldn’t even cause him any problem. In the first over of the match, Samson smashed 2 boundaries off Archer to set the tone. He was given a reprieve by England captain Harry Brook in the 3rd over, which allowed him to hit Archer for 14 in the over. What impressed the most was Samson’s ability to not just withstand short deliveries from Archer but also punish them.
Will Jacks, who’d dismissed Abhishek Sharma, wasn’t spared either. Sam Curran was greeted by 2 boundaries as well. After the powerplay, Samson was 41 (20). In the 8th over, by hitting a beautiful six to Liam Dawson over wide long off, he registered consecutive fifties in his T20I career for the first time.
But much like the West Indies, Samson didn’t celebrate. He was adamant about continuing. Nothing less than a century was going to please him. That decision came out in the 9th over. Curran tried to outfox him with his variations, but Samson was up for it.
Highest score in a T20 World Cup knockouts (for India)
- 89 (42) – Sanju Samson vs England, Wankhede 2026
- 89* (47) – Virat Kohli vs West Indies, Wankhede 2016
- 77 (58) – Virat Kohli vs Sri Lanka, Mirpur 2014
- 76 (59) – Virat Kohli vs South Africa, Bridgetown 2024
- 75 (54) – Gautam Gambhir vs Pakistan, Johannesburg 2007
A slight lull came when Adil Rashid got the better of Ishan Kishan, but Samson was unmoved. Brook brought Archer back for a third over, and once again, Samson smashed him. 2 more sixes took him to 89. With 7 overs left, Samson could’ve ended the match by himself.
But England’s trump card, Jacks, returned and got him. Samson fell 11 runs short of what could’ve been just the 2nd hundred for India in the T20 World Cup and the highest score in the tournament’s knockout matches. But it wasn’t to be. Nevertheless, Wankhede gave him a standing ovation as Suryakumar Yadav walked in.
Highest scores in T20 World Cup knockouts
- 100* – Finn Allen vs SA, Kolkata, 2026 semifinal
- 96* – Tillakaratne Dilshan vs WI, The Oval, 2009 semifinal
- 89* – Virat Kohli vs WI, Mumbai, 2016 semifinal
- 89 – Sanju Samson vs ENG, Mumbai, 2026 semifinal
- 86* – Alex Hales vs IND, Adelaide, 2022 semifinal
Cricket
Sanju Samson ups Virat Kohli's greatest T20 World Cup knockout innings in IND vs ENG semifinal
