Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 97 takes India into semi-finals, beats West Indies by 5 wickets. ICC T20 World Cup 2026

India reached semi final In…..

Brilliant innings of unbeaten Sanju Samson

Kolkata, March 1, 2026: Thanks to Sanju Samson’s unbeaten inning of 97 runs, India defeated West Indies by 5 wickets and secured their place in the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. In this Super Eight match played at Eden Gardens, West Indies, batting first, scored 195 runs for 4 wickets in 20 overs, in response to which India achieved the target by scoring 199 runs after losing 5 wickets in 19.2 overs.

This was India’s biggest successful chase in World Cup history. West Indies had a solid start to the innings, with Shai Hope and Roston Chase forming a strong partnership for the first wicket. Hope scored 32 runs in 33 balls, while Chase scored 40 runs in 25 balls. Shimron Hetmyer added 27 runs (including two sixes) in 12 balls, which gave momentum to the team. Rovman Powell scored 34 runs on 19 balls and Jason Holder scored 37 runs on 22 balls, taking the score to 195.

For India, Jasprit Bumrah took two wickets, while Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakraborty took one wicket each. India’s chase got off to a shaky start when Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan were out cheaply in the powerplay itself. The team was at 53/2 after 6 overs. But Sanju Samson along with captain Suryakumar Yadav (18 runs on 16 balls) handled the innings. Samson scored an unbeaten 97 runs off 50 balls, which included six fours and six sixes.

Tilak Verma contributed 27 runs in 15 balls, while Shivam Dubey showed pace in the final overs. Among West Indies bowlers, Jason Holder and Shemar Joseph took two wickets each, but they could not stop Samson’s aggressive batting. With this win, India reached the semi-finals from Group 1, where it will face England. West Indies’ journey ended here.

After the match, captain Suryakumar Yadav said, “Sanju’s innings got us out of trouble. The team’s performance was excellent.” This match became a memorable chase of the World Cup, where India made a brilliant comeback under pressure.