Sanju Samson Turns Pain Into Glory With a Stunning 97 Under Pressure

The Indian team chasing above 180 runs in a T20 World Cup match has not always been good. But when the stakes were high against the West Indies, Sanju Samson stepped up and scripted his comeback. Scoring 97 runs in the virtual knockout, he has helped the defending champions to reach the semi-final stages.

The revenge of the 2016 Semi-final loss has now been taken by the Indian team against the West Indies. Credits for the same goes mainly to Sanju Samson, who took the game away from West Indies and put it comfortably in India's pocket. From being replaced by Ishan Kishan to taking back his opening spot, he has proven his worth to the team.

With 11 years in his cricketing career, . Moreover, he has now become the only player after Virat Kohli to help India chase targets above 150 in a T20 World Cup game. This comes as one of the best comeback stories one has been able to see lately in men's cricket.

Let's see how the events unfolded.

Samson's Poor Form

Sanju Samson was at his peak form in 2024, when India toured South Africa. But after that series, runs seemed to have stopped coming off his bat. This came as a major trouble for him, as his intent was causing him to lose his wicket early in the game. Despite having two tons to his name in T20Is, his average dipped with every game.

Sanju Samson in T20Is in 2025:

• Innings: 11
• Not Out: 0
• Runs: 222
• Average: 20.18
• Strike Rate: 126.85
• 100s: 0
• 50s: 1

In 2025 alone, he was able to bring just one half-century for the Indian team in all the games he played. During the Asia Cup 2025, he also lost his opening spot to Shubman Gill, which also happened due to his form. While Gill was not able to do well in his place, Samson returned to open for the team.

Sanju Samson in T20I Series Since 2025:

• England tour of India: 51 Runs in 5 Innings
• Asia Cup 2025: 132 Runs in 4 Innings
• India tour of Australia: 2 Runs in 1 Inning
• South Africa tour of India: 37 Runs in 1 Inning
• New Zealand tour of India: 46 Runs in 5 Innings

Despite that, the runs didn't just come up from his bat. With the T20 World Cup coming closer, the selectors also had several questions in their minds whether Samson should play as an opener or not. It should be noted that Samson was a part of the T20 World Cup 2024 but he did not play a single game in that edition also.

Replaced by Ishan Kishan

The T20I series against New Zealand seemed to have been the last opportunity for Samson to prove his worth. Although he opened for the team, he was not able to bring up big scores and often lost his wicket early in the game. One man's loss is another man's opportunity came true in this case, as Ishan Kishan seized the chance.

Pic Source: ESPNcricinfo

He was having a tremendous run in the series against New Zealand. After making his comeback to the Indian line-up, he gave some brilliant knocks while batting at number three. Kishan came in absence of Tilak Varma, and the team could not risk dropping Tilak in the T20 World Cup playing XI. So, they decided to go with Kishan's opening.

In the initial games of the T20 World Cup, India played with Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma as the designated openers. While Abhishek Sharma failed to do well with his bat, Ishan Kishan or the rest of the batting line-up was able to contribute well to the team.

Samson's Redemption

in the absence of Abhishek Sharma. He was unavailable to play in the game against Zimbabwe, and Samson took the opening slot. While he didn't get the big score, the confidence looked clearly visible in his batting. Eventually, he got more chances to play for the team.

His real redemption came when the stakes were high in the clash against the West Indies. It was a virtual knockout game for the Indian team, as the West Indies had already hammered the bowlers. Posting a massive total of 196 runs, the target seemed almost impossible to chase.

India also lost early wickets in the form of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. But at the other end, receiving the much-needed support from players such as Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, and Suryakumar Yadav. He eventually finished the game with two consecutive boundaries, staying not out at 97.