Mature Samson wins praise as India enter final four at T20WC

Former India coach Ravi Shastri believes Sanju Samson's match-winning innings against the West Indies at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in Calcutta on Sunday could prove to be just the start for the in-form opener.

Samson scored an unbeaten 97* to successfully guide India into the semi-finals at the T20 World Cup, with the right-hander earning the Player of the Match award for his scintillating innings that included 12 fours and a quartet of massive sixes.

It was Samson's biggest haul of the T20 World Cup thus far and bodes well for India ahead of their cut-throat semi-final against England in Mumbai on Thursday, with Shastri singling out the opener's poise and ability to handle the pressure on the big stage.

"It is Sanju's special Samson today, and that innings was special, because just his calmness, his composure, and just the sublime touch right through that innings," Shastri told Sanjana Ganesan on The ICC Review.

"You had everything. You had timing, you had placement, you had explosive power, you had class and what I liked best was even with wickets falling around him, he never lost his cool. He was calm and composed in front of a big crowd.

"This was not a league game. This was a knockout contest. People, their expectations of Samson have been huge right through his career. No one has questioned his talent, but they have been disappointed with his consistency. He brought everything to the fore today and made millions around the globe happy."

India looked to be in trouble when skipper Suryakumar Yadav fell for 18 in the 11th over of the run chase, but Samson combined well with Tilak Varma (27) and then Hardik Pandya (17) to bring the side within sight of victory.

While India didn't get past the West Indies' total until the final over, Samson always had the run chase in control according to current coach Gautam Gambhir.

"He is a world class player, we all know how good a player Sanju is," Gambhir said after the victory.

"And it was all about backing him. And then when the team needed him the most, obviously today was a day where he probably showed his true potential as well. And hopefully, This is a time for him to kick off and probably two more games to go, hopefully.

"I actually thought that he never accelerated the innings. It was just a very, very normal cricketing shots and I never saw any muscling the ball as well and that is the kind of talent he has.

"When you know that you're in control of the game and you know that you're feeling good, he's hitting the ball really well in the nets and it's about going in the middle and showcasing that skill that you had and obviously he knew that the wicket was very good, quick outfield as well but again I have always said that he is a world class player, he is a great talent and hopefully he can kick off from now and hopefully we can see a lot more innings like this from Sanju."