Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], March 2 (ANI): Sanju Samson played the best knock of his international cricket career and that too came in a virtual quarter-final of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 against the two-time T20 World Cup winners, West Indies, at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, which helped India enter the semis comfortably.

Samson's 97 not out off 50 balls came when India needed that sort of knock from the top order, and former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri hailed his composure, calmness and batting prowess after the match.

'It is Sanju's special Samson today, and that innings was special, because just his calmness, his composure, and just the sublime touch right through that innings,' Shastri said on The ICC Review.

Samson was under a lot of pressure before coming into this match, having spent most of his time on the bench in the tournament and not having any big knock under his name in the couple of matches he played.

'This was not a league game. This was a knockout contest. People's expectations of Samson have been huge right through his career. No one has questioned his talent, but they have been disappointed with his consistency. He brought everything to the fore today and made millions around the globe happy,' said Shastri.

In the match, West Indies posted 195/4 after opting to bat, powered by contributions from Roston Chase (40), Hope (32), Shimron Hetmyer (27), and an unbeaten 76-run partnership between Jason Holder (37*) and Rovman Powell (34*). India's bowlers were led by Jasprit Bumrah, who returned figures of 2/36.

In reply, India overcame an early setback before a series of partnerships guided them home. Sanju Samson played a key role in the chase, stitching crucial stands with Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, as India sealed a five-wicket victory to progress further in the tournament.

'He is a world-class player. We all know how good a player Sanju is. I actually thought that he never accelerated the innings. It was just a very, very normal cricketing shots, and I never saw any muscling the ball as well, and that is the kind of talent he has,' head coach Gautam Gambhir said after the victory. (ANI)