Star Indian batter Sanju Samson played a brilliant innings in the T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand. India won the match by 96 runs on Sunday, March 8, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Batting first, India put up a huge total of 255/5. Samson scored an impressive 89 runs from just 46 balls, hitting five fours and eight sixes with a strike rate of 193.48. His knock gave India a strong start and set the stage for the other batters.
India also bowled extremely well. They did not let New Zealand get close to the target and bowled them out for 159 in 19 overs. With this win, India lifted the T20 World Cup trophy for the third time. They also became the first team to win the tournament at home and successfully defend the title after their victory in 2024.
Samson played a key role in India’s historic win and performed consistently throughout the tournament. For his outstanding performance, he was named the Player of the Tournament. Now, let’s take a look at five major records broken by Sanju Samson in the T20 World Cup 2026.
#5 Highest Sixes Hit in a Single T20 World Cup Season
Sanju Samson showed his incredible six-hitting ability throughout the T20 World Cup 2026. He repeatedly cleared the boundary with ease, displaying his powerful batting. In just five matches, Samson hit 24 sixes, setting a new record for the most sixes in a single T20 World Cup edition. He went past players like Finn Allen and Shimron Hetmyer in the list. Allen hit 20 sixes in this tournament, while Hetmyer managed 19.
#4 Record for Highest Individual Score in a T20 World Cup Final
Sanju Samson’s 89 runs from 46 balls is now the highest individual score in a T20 World Cup final. He broke the previous record held by former West Indies batter Marlon Samuels, who scored an unbeaten 85 from 66 balls in the 2016 final against England. New Zealand captain Kane Williamson had also scored 85 runs off 48 balls in the 2021 final against Australia.
#3 Third Player to Hit Fifties in T20 World Cup Semifinal and Final
Sanju Samson joined an elite group by becoming only the third batter to score half-centuries in both the semifinal and final of the same T20 World Cup. He scored 89 runs from 42 balls in the semifinal against New Zealand and followed it up with another 89 in the final. Former Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi and Indian star Virat Kohli are the only other players to achieve this. Afridi did it in the 2009 T20 World Cup, while Kohli achieved the feat in the 2014 edition.
#2 Three Back-to-Back 80+ Scores in T20 World Cup
Sanju Samson achieved a special milestone by becoming only the second batter to score three consecutive 80-plus scores in a single T20 World Cup. He first scored an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies and then followed it up with two more knocks of 89 against England and New Zealand. Before Samson, Sri Lanka legend Mahela Jayawardene was the only player to achieve this feat, doing it during the 2010 T20 World Cup.
#1 Highest Runs by an Indian in One T20 World Cup Edition
Sanju Samson also broke Virat Kohli’s record for the most runs scored by an Indian in a single T20 World Cup. In just five matches, Samson scored 321 runs at an average of 80.25 and an impressive strike rate of 199.37, including three half-centuries. Earlier, Kohli held the record after scoring 319 runs in six matches during the 2014 T20 World Cup, with an average of 106.33 and a strike rate of 129.14, including four fifties.
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