{"id":"f-80ae245e0c-2540b93f-90bc-5bb8-b9ff-6d916439a880","title":"Sanju Samson Gets Emotional After 97 Vs West Indies: 'I Kept On Doubting Myself'","description":"Sanju Samson spoke vulnerably after winning India the virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies, revealing his self-doubts and struggles of spending 100 games on bench.","timestamp":1772433600,"category":"sports","headline":"Sanju Samson Gets Emotional After 97 Vs West Indies: 'I Kept On Doubting Myself'","modifiedHeadline":"Emotional Samson reflects on his career-best knock","subCategories":["scid_185ed133"],"subcategoriesName":["Cricket"],"region":"IN","bundleMetaData":{"bundleId":"6ff0e53c-03a9-4fac-a199-00040694f01a","bundleTitle":"Indian Cricket","cardData":null},"iabCategoryId":"491","iabCategoryName":"Cricket","fcSummary":"sanju samson reflected on a long journey of self-doubt after a brilliant unbeaten 97 in india's t20 world cup match against the west indies. he expressed gratitude and credited observing experienced players like virat kohli and rohit sharma from the dugout for his improved performance and composure under pressure. samson acknowledged the emotional significance of the victory, calling it one of the greatest days of his life.","summary":"Sanju Samson, emotional after 97*, revealed self-doubt despite crucial win. Credits learning from Kohli & Sharma during time on bench.","ctaUrl":"https://trends.glance.com/newz/news/IN/en/news18/f-80ae245e0c-2540b93f-90bc-5bb8-b9ff-6d916439a880","sourceUrl":"https://www.news18.com/cricket/sanju-samson-gets-emotional-after-97-vs-west-indies-i-kept-on-doubting-myself-ws-kl-9937137.html","bannerImage":"https://g-mob.glance-cdn.com/public/fc/image/7qDcZ4GeC3m0.webp","content":"

An emotional Sanju Samson allowed himself to be vulnerable after his Player of the Match performance against the West Indies in the virtual quarterfinal in the 2026 T20 World Cup at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata,

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on Sunday (March 1). The right-handed opener scored a sensational 97* off 50 balls, hitting 12 fours and four sixes, to help the team chase a mammoth 199 and take them to the semi-final.

More than the numbers, it was the way of those runs that stood out. Samson was near flawless, hardly getting a foot wrong. It was a knock that involved very little luck, and a lot more maturity, composure and skill. He started at a high tempo and maintained it through the gears by hitting timely boundaries, even as India were losing wickets regularly at the other end.

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After an innings like that, many cricketers in his position would have said that they never lost belief in themselves, but Samson went the opposite way, admitting his mental struggles.

“I think right from the day I started playing, started dreaming to play for the country, this is the day I was waiting for. And I’m very grateful, very thankful. And I’ve always had a very special journey with lots of ups and downs, but I’ve kept on doubting myself, kept on thinking, what if, what if, can I make it, can I make it? But I kept on believing and thanks to the Lord Almighty for blessing me today,” Samson said, accepting the award in the post-match presentation ceremony.

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He went onto credit his time away from the game for helping him get enough experience for performing in these pressure situations, saying he used his 100-odd matches on the bench to learn from greats like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.

“I have been playing this format for a very long time. I think playing IPL around 10 to 12 years and playing for the country from last 10 years, I have not been playing, but looking from the dugout, learning from the greats like Virat Kohli, from Rohit Sharma. I think it’s very important to observe and learn and see what they were doing. That really helped me. I have only played maybe 50, 60 games, but I’ve seen around 100 games and I’ve seen how the greatest people have finished the games and how do they change their game [style] according to the game [situation],” he said.

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“I never felt that I will do something special like this, but I was just focusing on my role and just keeping one ball at a time and very grateful. I think this is one of the greatest days of my life,” Samson concluded.

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Sanju Samson Gets Emotional After 97 Vs West Indies: 'I Kept On Doubting Myself'

SUMMARY