Former India player Abhishek Nayar has lauded Sanju Samson for playing a game-defining knock in the Men in Blue’s T20 World Cup 2026 clash against the West Indies. He noted that the wicketkeeper-batter seemed to be in his zone and was only planning where he could hit the next ball without bothering about the score.
The West Indies posted 195/4 after being asked to bat first in the final Super Eight stage game in Kolkata on Sunday, March 1. Samson then scored an unbeaten 97 off 50 deliveries to help the co-hosts achieve the target with five wickets and four balls to spare.
During a discussion on JioHotstar, Nayar was asked whether Samson was at his calmest best in India’s T20 World Cup 2026 clash against the West Indies.
“Every player has a zone. When they go into that zone, they don’t see the scoreboard. They only see what ball can be bowled and where they can hit that ball, and Sanju Samson was looking something like that today (Sunday). He was using the crease and the angles,” he responded.
The former India all-rounder added that Samson’s impeccable footwork showcased his excellent mindset.
“Generally, an in-form batter and a batter who is batting with a good mindset has different, different impact points, which means he is going towards the ball and also allowing the ball to come to him, and playing the ball in different, different areas. The footwork was confident. He was going fully forward when he had to and wasn’t taking a big stride when he had to play the short-arm pull. He hit the perfect zone,” Nayar elaborated.
Sanju Samson struck 12 fours and four sixes during his unbeaten 97-run knock. His effort is the highest score by an Indian batter in a T20 World Cup chase.
“It never seemed like Sanju Samson was overhitting the ball” – Abhishek Nayar
In the same discussion, Abhishek Nayar praised Sanju Samson for his shot selection.
“He said his role was clear at the start, that he had to bat aggressively. Every batter is aggressive, but the shot options he used, and the strategic and tactical options he used, showed the mentality and zone he was in because it never seemed like Sanju Samson was overhitting the ball,” he said.
The former India assistant coach was particularly appreciative of Samson for planning his innings perfectly under pressure.
“It never seemed like he was slogging. He was using both finesse and power, and using them properly. It was a special innings. You need caliber, but in a chase, when wickets are falling in front of you, to hold your fort and to take chances at the right time and execute it under so much pressure, hats off to him,” Nayar observed.
Barring Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma was the only Indian batter to score more than 20 runs in Sunday’s game. The left-handed batter scored 27 runs off 15 balls and added 42 runs for the fourth wicket with Samson.
Edited by Kartik Iyer
