Sanju Samson went berserk in the T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Initially, the Kerala batter took some time to settle down, with Abhishek Sharma dominating the early exchanges. However, once he got out, Samson shifted gears and showed no mercy, hitting 89 runs off 46 balls.
With the knock, Samson joined an elite list featuring Virat Kohli and Shahid Afridi as players who have scored half-centuries in both the semi-final and final of a T20 World Cup. Notably, the keeper-batter launched a scathing attack on England in the semi-final, smacking 89 runs to help India win by seven runs. He was also adjudged the Player of the Match.
It needed to be seen if Samson could carry on with the momentum and he did it in some style. Ishan Kishan, who was moved down to number three after Samson’s inclusion, kept up with the momentum, having hit a half-century in just 23 balls. Their efforts helped India achieve a historic milestone, as it became the first instance in T20 World Cup history where the top three batters each scored a half-century in the same match.
India lose three quick wickets
James Neesham was introduced to the attack in the 16th over and he changed the complexion of the match with three quick wickets. He dismissed Samson for 89 and soon after, Ishan went back to the pavilion for 54 runs off 25 balls. All of a sudden, India had two new batters in Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya in the middle.
However, captain Suryakumar registered a golden duck, putting India on the back foot. Meanwhile, the Men in Blue could have lost another wicket in the following over, Finn Allen dropped a catch of Tilak Varma, who came out to bat at number six, ahead of Shivam Dube.
India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah
New Zealand (Playing XI): Tim Seifert (wk), Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Mitchell Santner (c), Matt Henry, Lockie Ferguson, Jacob Duffy
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