There is no stopping Sanju Samson as he once again raced away to a fifty in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday (March 8). The 31-year-old got to his third fifty in a row in the showpiece tournament, thereby getting himself into an elite club of T20 World Cup cricketers.
Virat Kohli (2014) and Shahid Afridi (2009) were the only cricketers to produce fifty-plus totals in the semifinal and final of a T20 World Cup. With this innings, Samson joins the two legends in an elite club, cementing his position as India's reliable opening batter in the T20 format.
Samson did have a few moments of luck early on as some mishits fell safe and some also cleared the ropes. However, he seemed composed more often than not and once he got a start, there was no looking back. Samson became only the seventh batter in the history of T20 World Cups to have three fifty-plus scores in a row.
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Three of those seven have come in the 2026 edition, Sahibzada Farhan and Kusal Mendis being the other two players to achieve this feat in this T20 World Cup. Samson's efforts coupled with Abhishek Sharma's 18-ball fifty meant that India went off to a record-smashing start at the top of the order.
India recorded the first-ever fifty partnership opening stand in a T20 World Cup final and also set a benchmark for the highest PowerPlay score in a summit clash. Plenty of fireworks were on display and India look set for another total of 250-plus, or maybe more if they continue this intent. Ishan Kishan has also begun in stellar fashion for the defending champions.
