Indian opener Sanju Samson was the butt of some friendly banter from teammate Axar Patel after India’s nail-biting Super Eight victory against West Indies in the T20 World Cup 2026. India chased down a tough target of 196 to win the match by five wickets and qualify for the semifinals where they will play England on March 5 at Wankhede Stadium.
At one stage of the pursuit, India had their moment of trouble, some time towards the 11th over. Sanju Samson, however, did not attend to the theatrics as he drove the innings relatively well and finished it on a grand display of 97 not out with only 50 balls. His 12-four, 4-six innings at an unbelievable strike rate of 194 made sure that there were no hiccups at the end since India made the line with four balls in reserve.
India’s vice-captain Axar, who is travelling with the squad to Mumbai for the semifinal, playfully asked the wicketkeeper-batter whether he felt relieved after such a sensational performance and how he was processing the moment. While praising Samson for his match-winning knock, Axar ended the exchange on a humorous note, prompting a wide grin from Samson and leaving Suryakumar Yadav in splits beside him.
“Chetta, finally. Kab debut hua tha? (Brother, finally. When did you make your debut?),” Axar asked on Snapchat.
Samson debuted in T20I in 2015, against Zimbabwe, though he has struggled to establish himself in India in the shortest format despite his experience of over 10 years in the international circuit. He has had his share of sizzling games in his 60 T20Is to date contributing three centuries in total, yet a performance on the global scene of the magnitude was long overdue.
And that Moment Finally in T20 world cup 2026, Where he gave India a big run chase with the 97 star score. In the process, the wicketkeeper-batter also made an entry in the record books by becoming the first Indian to score the most by himself in a T20 world cup run chase. The former player, Virat Kohli, was the previous record holder with his memorable innings of 82 which are one against Australia in 2016 and one against Pakistan in 2022.
Samson’s unbeaten 97 is now the highest score by an Indian in a T20 World Cup chase and remains the second-higest individual score for India overall in the tournament’s history. Only one higher score stands — Suresh Raina’s 101 against South Africa in 2010.
