'Respect the name - Sanju Samson': Social media goes bonkers as India complete record chase to qualify for semis
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Respect the name - Sanju Samson': Social media goes bonkers as India complete record chase to qualify for semis")
Social media goes bonkers as India complete record chase to qualify for semis Photograph: (X/@BCCI)
Sanju Samson's masterclass 97 off 50 balls leads India to a historic record-breaking chase against West Indies at Eden Gardens. India seal their T20 World Cup 2026 semi-final spot to set up a blockbuster clash with England. Get viral fan reactions here.
Sanju Samson, remember the name! The batting dynamite did a tremendous job with the bat in hand to see his team home against West Indies in their last Super 8 match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Sanju smashed an unbeaten 97 to help India beat West Indies by six wickets and qualify for the semifinal of the T20 World Cup 2026. Samson, who wasn’t the first pick in the XI when this tournament began, marched into the XI from the Zimbabwe game onwards, and he delivered massively to complete a famous win for the hosts.
Chasing a mammoth 196, India lost two wickets inside the Powerplay, including the in-form Ishan Kishan on just 10. Captain Suryakumar Yadav played a handy role with Samson in the middle, but departed on a 16-ball 18 inside the 11th over. With pressure back on India, as the required rate was swelling over 10 runs per over, Samson and Tilak Varma stitched a match-winning 42-run partnership for the fourth wicket, putting India in the driver’s seat.
Following Tilak’s departure, Hardik Pandya joined the party and smashed 17 off 14 balls, including two fours, with Samson silently doing his job at the other end. By the time Pandya departed in the penultimate over, India had almost sealed the chase. While Shivam Dube’s two fantastic fours pulled India closer to the win, Samson’s six and a four on the first two balls of the last over sealed India’s fate.
Not only did he register the highest score by an Indian in a T20 World Cup run chase, surpassing the great chaser himself, Virat Kohli, Sanju’s unbeaten 97 also saw India complete its highest successful chase in T20 WC history.
India finished second in Group 1 and will face the top-ranked team from Group 2, which is England, in the second semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on March 5.
Until then, check out how the social media reacted to Sanju’s powerful knock and India’s famous win at the Eden -
Trending Stories
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
