Sanju Samson delivered a record-breaking knock under pressure and then spoke candidly about the mental battle behind it.
His unbeaten 97 in a tense T20 World Cup chase not only carried India into the semifinals but also made him the country’s highest individual scorer in a run chase at the tournament, surpassing Virat Kohli’s unbeaten 82s from previous editions.
Chasing a stiff target in a knockout clash, Samson played with control and clarity. His 50-ball innings featured 12 fours and four sixes. He stayed till the end. India crossed the line with four balls to spare.
After the match, Samson admitted that doubt tried to creep in during the chase. “There is always a question — what if not? So definitely that keeps on playing in your mind,” he said. But he found a way to shut out the noise. “When that thought kept on coming, I just brought myself into the present moment, looked at the ball and trusted myself to react according to its merit. I think that worked out pretty well today.”
He credited years of observation for his calm approach. Samson has been around the Indian setup for nearly a decade and has spent over ten years in the IPL. Even when he was not in the playing XI, he was learning. “I have not always been playing, but I have been watching from the dugout, learning from greats like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, all the greats,” he said.
Watching how senior players handled chases shaped his mindset. “It’s very important to observe and learn and see what they are doing. I think that really helped me,” Samson added. “I’ve seen how the greatest players finish games and how they change their approach according to the situation.”
He described the innings as one of the finest moments of his life. The 97 is now the second-highest score by an Indian in T20 World Cup history, behind only Suresh Raina’s 101 in 2010.
