Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar praised Sanju Samson after India’s stunning opening match knock against England cricket team in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final. Speaking exclusively to India Today, Gavaskar said that Samson looked like he was batting on another planet during his innings.
Samson’s explosive 89 off 42 balls helped India to 253/7 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai before the hosts beat England by seven runs to book their place in the final against the New Zealand national cricket team. Speaking to India Today after the match, Gavaskar praised the quality of Samson’s stroke play.
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IND vs ENG T20 WORLD CUP 2026: MAIN | SCORECARD
“You can say he is batting on another planet. It is like he is seeing a ball the size of a planet. Everything is so clear to him, just like the full moon today. Some of the shots were just outstanding. The ground shots, the cut shot he played and the pull shot were very, very good. He gave the people an exhibition of pure batting,” Gavaskar said.
“Cleanliness of batting is very rarely seen in T20 cricket because there is a lot of batting, a lot of runs and flops. But you hardly saw any of that in Sanju Samson’s innings. You saw it in Kolkata and he did it today too,” he added.
SANJU SAMSON: THE FIT MAN
Samson’s knock came at a crucial moment of the tournament for India. The opener has already revived his campaign with an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies cricket team in a must-win Super 8 clash at the Eden Gardens.
Carrying this momentum into the semi-finals, Samson again under pressure. Although given an early lifeline when England captain Harry Brook dropped him for 15, Samson made England pay. After negotiating an early spell from Jofra Archer, he found his rhythm and played a series of elegant knocks to guide India to their highest ever total in a T20 World Cup knockout round.
England mounted a strong reply thanks to a brilliant 105 off 48 balls from Jacob Bethell. However, India held their nerve in the final overs thanks largely to Jasprit Bumrah, whose exceptional spell at the death ensured England finished on 246 for seven, falling short of the daunting target.
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Issued by:
Debodinna Chakraborty
Published on:
March 6, 2026 11:35 AM IST
