How ‘soul searching’ helped Sanju Samson score match-winning 97 in must-win T20 World Cup match | Cricket News – The Times of India

Sanju Samson said time away from his phone and social media, along with self-reflection, helped him return to form as he scored an unbeaten 97 to guide India into the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026.India defeated West Indies by five wickets in their Super 8 match on Sunday at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Chasing 196, Suryakumar Yadav’s side reached the target with Samson making 97 not out from 50 balls.Samson had struggled for runs before the tournament. In the five-match T20I series against New Zealand at home, he scored 46 runs in five innings and was left out of the playing XI for the match against USA in the World Cup. He also did not feature against Pakistan, Netherlands and South Africa. He returned for the match against Zimbabwe, scoring 24 off 15 balls, before producing the match-winning knock against West Indies.Speaking on JioHotstar, Samson spoke about dealing with a difficult phase and making small technical adjustments.“Our human nature is that we often start from a negative thought like, ‘Can I do it? I don’t think I can.’ When I have that thought, I try to alter it with a very positive one. When I had a series like New Zealand where I wanted to perform and be part of the World Cup team, things did not work out well, but luckily I got a 10-day gap. I did not play any games and was not in the side. I kept thinking, ‘Sanju, what else? Why didn’t it work? What else should I do?’ So I did some soul-searching. I worked on my base, how I set myself up, and came back to it,” Sanju Samson said.He said he chose to step away from outside opinions during that period.“A lot of people had suggestions and I saw a lot of valid points, but at the same time I felt, ‘Sanju, you have scored three international hundreds with the same setup.’ Shot selection was something I kept working on. I did not want to change too much because I knew I had performed with the same setup, so I kept believing in myself, switched off my phone, switched off social media and listened to my own self. I am very happy it happened in a very special game,” he added.Samson described the innings as a moment he had long imagined.“More than a hundred cricketers in India dream about a day like this. I dared to dream. A young guy from Trivandrum, Kerala, dreaming about playing for the country and winning a game in such a crucial match. I dared to dream and it happened,” Samson said.In the match, India won the toss and chose 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. Despite a quick 27 off 12 balls from Shimron Hetmyer, West Indies were 119/4 in 14.1 overs.Jason Holder (37 not out off 22 balls, two fours and three sixes) and Rovman Powell (34 not out off 19 balls, three fours and two sixes) then added 76 runs in 35 balls to take West Indies to 195/4 in 20 overs.Jasprit Bumrah was India’s leading bowler with 2/36 in four overs. Varun Chakaravarthy and Hardik Pandya took one wicket each, conceding 40 runs in their four overs.India lost two early wickets and were 41/2 in the powerplay. A 58-run partnership between Samson and Suryakumar Yadav (18) steadied the chase. Samson then added runs with Tilak Varma (27 off 15 balls, four boundaries and a six), Hardik Pandya (17) and Shivam Dube (8 not out) to seal the win with five wickets in hand.