The second semifinal of the ongoing T20 World Cup turned into a night of fireworks at the iconic Wankhede Stadium as Sanju Samson played one of the most explosive innings of the tournament. Sanju Samson smashed 89 runs from just 42 balls and powered India to a massive 253/7 against England.
Later, India successfully defended the target to make it to the final. The Indian wicketkeeper-batter attacked the England bowlers from the start. Even Samson has put England’s pace spearhead Jofra Archer under pressure with his fearless intent.
Sanju Samson breaks Rohit Sharma’s record in T20 World Cup 2026 semifinal
This was his second big performance in a row after his 97* against the West Indies in the must-win Super 8 stage clash. In just four innings in the tournament, the right-handed batter crossed the 200-run mark and blasted 16 sixes, breaking Rohit Sharma’s record of most sixes as an Indian in a single T20 World Cup edition.
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With his knock, Sanju equaled Virat Kohli’s record of the highest score by an Indian batter in T20 World Cup knockouts. Kohli had scored 89 runs at the same venue in the 2016 semifinal against the West Indies.
Shoaib Akhtar opens up on Samson’s long struggle in India
Following his remarkable efforts that took the defending champions to the T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand, legendary Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar talked about Samson’s long and difficult journey with the Men in Blue. He pointed out that the Kerala star had to wait for years because the team already had big names like MS Dhoni in the wicketkeeper role.
Shoaib Akhtar said on a Pakistani TV show, “Sanju Samson has been in the circuit since 2014. Back in the day, I used to work in India. He was very popular in 2015. He waited a long period of time because of the keepers. Dhoni, then Karthik, then Pant. Then, constant selection and dropping. Even now, Gambhir fought hard for Sanju’s selection.”
Gautam Gambhir fought criticism to bring Samson back: Shoaib Akhtar
Akhtar also gave full credit to India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir for bringing Samson back into the team. Despite criticism and strong debate around his selection, Gambhir backed Samson strongly and pushed for his place in the playing XI. Now that decision is paying off in the biggest way possible.
The Rawalpindi Express added, “Today, if Sanju is in the Indian team, the full credit goes to Gambhir. Gambhir strongly backed him and fought to bring him into the team. Sanju’s selection did not happen easily; it came after a lot of criticism and pressure. Gambhir played a major role in pushing for his inclusion despite all the debate around his selection.”
SHOAIB AKHTAR ON SANJU SAMSON 🗣
Shoaib says Sanju Samson name was no where due to many keepers but Gautam Gambhir fought and brought Sanju Samson in the team 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Y97Z0Qrlz2
— Venky Mama (@venkymama100) March 6, 2026
Sanju Samson happy with match-winning impact for India
Meanwhile, Samson missed centuries on both occasions in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. But the Indian wicketkeeper-batter was not worried about missing the milestone. Sanju said that he is happy to contribute to India’s winning cause and happy with whatever he is scoring.
Samson said after the semifinal clash, “I think not at all. I think 100. I think, you know, 100 actually. You can’t actually score a hundred. It actually comes in the process of you actually—you can’t actually; it’s not a Test game, it’s not an ODI game where you can go up and down. Once you’ve got the start, you’re batting first. There is no other way. You just have to keep going hard.”
