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India national cricket team wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson struck an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls to guide the team to a five-wicket win over West Indies cricket team at Eden Gardens in Kolkata and seal a place in the semifinals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 on Sunday, March 1, 2026. After the match, the ICC shared a video on social media in which former India captain Rohit Sharma’s message to Sanju Samson ahead of the tournament gained wide attention. Rohit, who is serving as an ICC ambassador for the T20 World Cup, met the Indian team ahead of the USA fixture and had a brief word with the Kerala born batter. “Don’t be disheartened. It is a long tournament. You’ll get your chance. The opportunity can come anytime,” Rohit told Samson.Watch Video Here: Samson had started the competition on the bench and did not feature in the opening matches. He returned to the side in the Namibia match and made a quick impact. He then featured against Zimbabwe before producing his best performance of the tournament against West Indies at Eden Gardens. His 97 not out anchored the chase and helped India reach the last four. India will next face England in the semifinal in Mumbai on March 5.Speaking after the match, Samson described the knock as a special moment in his career. “It means the whole world actually to me. I think right from the day I started playing, started dreaming to play for the country, this is the day I was waiting for. And I'm very grateful, very thankful. I've always had a very special journey with lots of ups and downs, but I kept on doubting myself, kept on thinking: what if, what if... can I make it? But I kept on believing, and thanks to the Lord Almighty for actually blessing me today. So I'm very happy," he said.”Samson said years of experience in the Indian Premier League and time spent with the national team helped him understand different match situations. “Yeah, I think that's why I have been playing this format for a very long time. Playing IPL for around 10 to 12 years and being with the Indian team for the last 10 years... I have not always been playing, but I was looking from the dugout, learning from greats like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. It's very important to observe, learn, and see what they were doing,” he said.He added that observing from the dugout played a key role in his growth. “I think that really helped me. With my experience, I have only played maybe 50-60 games, but I've seen around 100 games. I've watched how the greatest players finish games and how they change their approach according to the situation. In the last game we were batting first, so it was all about setting a very high score,” he said.Samson said the approach against West Indies was different from the previous match. “So that's why I wanted to go big right from ball one. But this game was completely different. As soon as I tried to go a bit harder, we were losing wickets. So I wanted to build a partnership, focus on my process. I never felt that I would do something special like this - I was just focusing on my role, taking it one ball at a time, and I'm very grateful,” he said.The 29-year-old called it one of the greatest days of his life. He admitted there were moments of doubt but said he stayed in the present and trusted his ability. "Yeah, definitely they do bring a lot of energy and support. But on the other hand, there's always a question - what if not? That keeps playing in your mind. But whenever that thought came, I brought myself into the present moment, looked at the ball, and trusted myself to react based on its merit. That worked pretty well today, Samson said.Samson also broke a record held by Virat Kohli for the highest individual score by an Indian batter in a run chase in a T20 World Cup match.

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