India registered a hard-fought win against West Indies in thefinal game of theSuper Eight leg of the T20 World Cup, which was a virtual knockout as a loss in it would have resulted in the Suryakumar Yadav-led side getting eliminated from the tournament.
The Inning
Chasing 196 runs to win, India lost the wickets of Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan early and were in desperate need of a partnership, and that’s exactly what Samson, who got off to a cautious start at one end, did by stitching a 58-run partnership for the third wicket with captain Suryakumar Yadav.
The Comeback
As the duo was starting to take the game away from the opposition, West Indies struck by dismissing Suryakumar Yadav for 18, thereby shifting the momentum in their favour. However, Sanju, who had completed a well calculated half century till then, kept the scoreboard moving and got thecompany of Tilak Varma.
The Partnership
Sanju and Tilak added crucial runs for the fourth wicket anddid not let the pressure come to India by hitting boundaries at vital moments in the chase, coupled with intelligent running between the wickets to keep the West Indian fielders on their toes.
The Performance
Despite a couple of useful partnership the match was in balance as West Indies kept on chipping away by bowling some tight overs at the backend of the chase and also picked up the wicket of Hardik Pandya, which transferred a little bit of pressure on India.
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The Finish
However, the match was more or less sealed when Shivam Dube, who walked in to bat after the fall of Hardik Pandya’s wicket, hit two fours to tilt the match in India’s favour, which was followed by a six and a four on the first two balls of the last over from Sanju Samson, who remained unbeaten till the end.
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The Record
Samson broke several records during his match, winning an unbeaten innings of 97*. The opening batter became the highest individual run scorer for India in the T20 World Cup, surpassing Virat Kohli’s knock of 82* off just 51 balls, which the former Indian captain played in Mohali against Australia during the 2016 edition of the tournament.
Intrestengtly India found itself in a similar situation in 2016, as well as it needed to win the match in question in order to qualify for the semi-final, having lost the first match of the tournament against New Zealand, and it was Virat Kohli who took the matter into his own hands to take the team over the line and into the top four.
Let’s look at the list of top five highest individual scores for India in the history of T20 World Cup
| Player | Runs | Balls | 4s/6s | Opponent | Year |
| Sanju Samson | 97* | 50 | 12/4 | West Indies | 2026 |
| Virat Kohli | 82* | 51 | 9/2 | Australia | 2016 |
| Virat Kohli | 82* | 53 | 6/4 | Pakistan | 2022 |
| Rohit Sharma | 79* | 46 | 4/6 | Australia | 2010 |
| Virat Kohli | 78* | 61 | 8/2 | Pakistan | 2012 |
Also Read: T20 World Cup Semi Final: Match Results of IND vs ENG in T20 World Cup (2007-2024)
