T20 World Cup - Sunil Gavaskar Gives Blockbuster Verdict On Sanju Samson's Historic Knock: "Ups And Downs"

Legendary batter Sunil Gavaskar lavished praise on Sanju Samson after the wicketkeeper-batter led India to a historic win over the West Indies in their T20 World Cup 2026 Super 8 match on Sunday. Playing in Kolkata, the game served as a virtual quarterfinal, with the winner securing a semi-final spot. Chasing 196, India lost two early wickets, but Samson produced a match-winning unbeaten 97 off 50 balls to guide the team to a five-wicket victory. His phenomenal innings featured 12 boundaries and four sixes.

After India's win, Gavaskar said that everyone wanted to see Samson succeed, and his clutch performance must have eased the pressure on both himself and those who have long believed in his talent.

"This knock of 97 not out takes the weight off not just Sanju Samson's shoulders, but off everyone who knows what a fine player he has been. He has had ups and downs, and we have felt them too because he is such a nice guy. Everybody wants him to do well," Gavaskar said on a Star Sports show.

Samson had endured a lean patch heading into the World Cup, with a string of low scores that did not reflect his true potential.

"All Indian cricket fans will be happy that this sincere cricketer has finally got the success he deserves." India will now face England in the semi-finals in Mumbai on Thursday.

Gavaskar added that a hundred would have been the perfect finishing touch to Samson's innings.

"To be the Man of the Match in a must-win game is a dream come true. You could see the emotion on Sanju's face after he hit the winning runs. He was three short of a hundred, and it would have been fantastic had he reached the three-figure mark.

"But maybe another hundred is on the way in some other match. It wasn't an easy target, but this group of players never gave up and pulled off the unbelievable."

Breaking down India's successful chase of 196 against a formidable side, Gavaskar said that minimizing dot balls was crucial.

"Having a set batter at one end is very beneficial. The other batter can look for singles and give more strike to the set batter. That way, you avoid too many dot balls. In T20 cricket, the idea is to keep dot balls to a minimum," he explained.

(With PTI Inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

West Indies Cricket Team India Cricket Team Sunil Gavaskar Sanju Samson T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket