India Qualify for T20 World Cup Semi-finals After Sanju Samson’s Brilliant Finish

The score 97 has a special place in Indian cricket history. Now, another memorable moment has been added. Sanju Samson drops to his knees, removes his helmet, and thanks the heavens. India win this virtual quarterfinal by 5 wickets and secure their place in the semi-finals. Samson ends up being the hero. Remember, he was poised to be the designated opener for the Men in Blue in this World Cup. However, he fell out of favour a fortnight before the start of the tournament. Yet, he got up, came back and tonight, scripted a fairytale tonight that he might be narrating to his grandkids one day.

Sanju Samson’s Heroics Send India to Semi-finals

West Indies put a big score on the board. Roston Chase, who was promoted to open the batting top-scored with a 25-ball-40. Hetmyer played an effervescent cameo and then, Powell and Holder provided the finishing touches. Most Indian bowlers were carted around. Arshdeep, Varun and Hardik conceded over 10 runs per over. Axar Patel went wicketless. However, one man stood tall. Yet again, Jasprit Bumrah showed that he is a class above the rest. He was difficult to put away and returned the important wickets of Rutherford and Hetmyer. Perhaps, the 10-15 runs that he saved was the difference.

India's fielding was a mixed bag. Abhishek was guilty of dropping two catches, while Varun missed a runout chance. The co-hosts needed to better their highest successful chase in T20 World Cups by more than 20 runs. The start was not ideal. Both Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan fell cheaply. But Samson kept the hopes alive. His strokes were full of panache, belief and flamboyance. He did have some crucial partnerships along the way. A 58-run stand with Suryakumar and a 42-run partnership with Tilak Varma. 

Two boundaries off Shivam Dube's bat at the fag end was just as crucial. So were the two catches that West Indies put down. One of Suryakumar by Motie and the other of Hardik Pandya by Holder. However, the protagonist of the story, Sanju Samson, did not give them any chances and eventually shepherd the team over the line in style, with a six and a four.