T20 World Cup: Samson powers India to biggest total in a knockout match

MUMBAI: Sanju Samson’s blistering knock of 89 runs off just 42 balls helped India set a big target of 254 runs for England in the semi-final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday.

This score stands as the highest-ever total in a T20 World Cup knockout match, surpassing the previous record of 205/4 held by the West Indies Vs Australia in 2012 in Colombo. Asked to bat first in the must-win match, the Indian openers went berserk from the word go, collecting 12 runs from the first over. Samson hit a couple of boundaries in the first over of Jofra Archer to give India a blistering start.

Will Jacks came to bowl the second over, and Abhishek Sharma hit him a couple of fours before losing his wicket on the last delivery. He made nine runs off seven balls. Ishan Kishan joined Samson, who hit three boundaries in the next over, to keep the scoreboard moving.

The duo added two more boundaries in the fourth over. Jamie Overton was introduced into the attack in the fifth over, and Kishan hit him a couple of fours to take India past 50 inside the powerplay. India managed to collect 67 runs in the power play, with the loss of Sharma’s wicket.

Samson completed his half-century with a six in the eighth over, which was Liam Dawson’s first over. He leaked 19 runs in that. Curran came to bowl the next over, and he conceded 20 runs. Samson and Kishan made a new record of the highest partnership for India in a T20 World Cup knockout match. The duo added 97 runs for the second wicket.

No stopping Sanju Samson

Second half-century in a row and he gets there with a biggie
#T20WorldCup broadcast details https://t.co/NPykWM7qqY pic.twitter.com/OB4USOuQK4

— ICC (@ICC) March 5, 2026

Kishan lost his wicket in the 10th over after making 39 runs off 18 balls. Shivam Dube joined Samson and they kept finding boundaries at regular intervals.

Samson was the aggressor. He hit Adil Rashid for two sixes in the 12th over and targeted Jofra Archer in the next over to collect two more sixes. He lost his wicket while trying the same in the next over when Phil Salt took a fine catch over covers.

Suryakumar Yadav made a quick six-ball-11 before he lost his wicket to Adil Rashid. He became the joint-second highest wicket-taker in the T20 World Cup. He joined Adam Zampa, who has taken 44 wickets in the T20 World Cup. Shalib Al Hasan is at the top with 50 wickets.

Dube and Hardik Pandya added 22 runs for the fifth wicket before Dube lost his wicket in a bizarre runout. He made 43 runs off 24 balls with the help of four sixes and a four. Pandya made 27 runs off 12 balls, and Tilak Varma made 21 runs off just seven balls, which helped India set the biggest total in a T20 World Cup knockout match.

This is India’s sixth 250-plus total in the format. India hit 19 sixes in their innings, which is the joint-most in a T20 World Cup innings. India holds the record for most 250-plus scores in Men’s T20 Internationals, with impressive totals like 297/6 against Bangladesh, 283/1 against South Africa, and 271/5 against New Zealand.

India’s 250+ scores
297/6: Bangladesh, Hyderabad (2024)
283/1: South Africa, Johannesburg (2024)
271/5: New Zealand, Thiruvananthapuram (2026)
260/5: Sri Lanka, Indore (2017)
256/4: Zimbabwe, Chennai (2026)
253/7: England, Mumbai (2026 T20 World Cup)
India’s 19 sixes against England joined two other teams at the top of the all-time tournament list:
19 Sixes: India vs England (2026)
19 Sixes: West Indies vs Zimbabwe (2026)
19 Sixes: Netherlands vs Ireland (2014)

India also set a new team record for the most total sixes in a single T20 World Cup edition, currently at 80+ (surpassing their previous best of 61 in 2024). Samson overtook Rohit Sharma to record the highest number of sixes for India in a T20 World Cup edition. He has made 16 sixes in this edition. Sharma had made 15 in the 2024 edition.

Now, England need to pull off a historic run-chase to win this match and book a place in the final, which is set to be played against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday. (ANI)