Sanju Samson breaks Marlon Samuels’ record, slams highest individual score in T20 World Cup final

Indian opener Sanju Samson broke West Indies’ Marlon Samuels record by registering the highest individual score by any player in a T20 World Cup final during the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup summit clash against New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Samson also bettered compatriot Virat Kohli’s 77, which came in a losing cause against Sri Lanka in the 2014 T20 World Cup final.

Samson also became only the third batter after Kohli and Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi to score a fifty in a semifinal and a final of a T20 World Cup.

Samson was dismissed for 89 by James Neesham as he ended his campaign with 321 runs, breaking Kohli’s another record to score the most runs in a single edition of a T20 World Cup.

Earlier, Abhishek Sharma shed his poor form and stepped up right on time by slamming a half-century in just 18 deliveries. Abhishek’s 50 off 18 balls is the fastest of this World Cup, bettering 19-ball fifties from Aiden Markram, Jacob Bethell and Shimrom Hetmyer. It is also the fastest fifty in a T20 World Cup knockout game.

India recorded 255/5 in 20 overs, the highest ever total by a team in a T20 World Cup final. This is also India’s second-highest total in the T20 World Cup, only second best to 256 scored against Zimbabwe.