Team India face BIG concern ahead of semi-final against England, despite Sanju Samson's HEROICS
Sanju Samson's unbeaten 97 helped India reach the semi-finals, but concerns remain over the Men in Blue's batting form ahead of their crucial clash against England.
Team India face BIG concern ahead of semi-final against England
T20 World Cup 2026: Sanju Samson, who was not included in the playing XI during the first half of the T20 World Cup 2026, grabbed everyone's attention after his heroic knock against West Indies in the virtual quarter-final at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata .
India faced an early set back, while chasing a challenging target of 196, but Samson steadied the innings with an impactful unbeaten knock of 97 off 50 balls, which featured 12 bounadries anf four sixes, helping India secure five-wicket over the West Indies and advance to the semi-finals.
Although India defeated the West Indies and sealed their semi-final spot, Suryakumar Yadav's side faces a major batting concern as the overall performance has not been particularly impressive.
Gambhir and Suryakumar face 'batting' concern ahead of semi-final
Apart from Sanju Samson, no other batsman was able to make an impact. This is a major concern for head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav ahead of the semi-finals. SKY, who scored an beaten 84 in the first match against the USA, has failed to deliver since then, while big hitter Abhishek Sharma, who made a solid comeback in the Super 8 match against Zimbabwe, was dismissed cheaply at 10 by the Caribbeans.
Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan scored 10 runs respectively. Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed for 18, while Tilak Varma, who played an explosive 41-run knock against Zimbabwe was dismissed at 27.
Hardik Pandya scored only 11 runs while Shivam Dube was removed after scoring 8 runs. If the runs scored by all these players are combined, the total is just 84 - 13 runs less than Sanju Samson's knock alone.
Team India's middle order struggled to deliver consistently
Team India's batting has been a major concern throughout this T20 World Cup campaign. The batting line-up collapsed completely against South Africa, and the middle order has struggled to deliver consistently. Indian batters have also looked uncomfortable against spin, which remains a key issue the team needs to resolve before the knockout stage.
India will have to address these problems quickly ahead of the semi-final against England, which is scheduled to be played on March 5 at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.
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