T20 WC: Dube's Late Blows Earn Big Applause

Sanju Samson’s unbeaten 97 steered India into the T20 World Cup semi-finals, but head coach Gautam Gambhir and Jasprit Bumrah credited Shivam Dube's two late boundaries for easing pressure in the tense chase against West Indies.

Sanju Samson finally made his prodigious talent count with a fiery unbeaten 97 off 50 balls against the West Indies, in a must-win contest on Sunday, that saw India secure their place in the semi-finals of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup for the sixth time.

Chasing a challenging target of 196 runs at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India were reduced to 41/2 within the powerplay. It was a 58-run stand between Samson and Suryakumar Yadav (18), which brought the chase back on track. Then Sanju went on to stitch partnerships with Tilak Varma (27 in 15 balls, with four boundaries and a six), Hardik Pandya (17) and Shivam Dube (8*), taking India to a five-wicket win.

While Samson hit a six and a four off the first two balls of the last over to finish the chase off with ease, it was Dube who eased the anxiety of Indian fans in the over before.

Shamar Joseph had dismissed Hardik Pandya off the second ball of the 19th over with India still needing 17 to win off 10 balls.

'This is a team sport, and this will always remain a team sport'

Dube then came in and sent the first ball he faced through midwicket for four. The next ball was a dot but a ball later, Dube found the gap between backward point and short third man for another four.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir pointed out that for him, those two shots from Dube were as important as the 97 off 50 that Samson finished on.

'Glad you’re talking about every contribution because for many years, we've only spoken about certain contributions. This is a team sport, and this will always remain a team sport,' Gambhir told reporters after the match on Sunday.

'For me, Shivam's two boundaries are as important as Sanju's 97 because if he hadn't hit those two boundaries, you won't even be speaking about it (Samson's 97-run knock). The big contribution makes headlines. The small contribution, the contribution that can help the team win, cross that line, are very important. So that small contribution was very special,' Gambhir added.

Indian seam bowler Jasprit Bumrah also picked Dube's two boundaries as his favourite moment from the match.

Reacting to a question about his favourite moment from the match, Bumrah said, 'The two fours that Dube hit. Nobody will really appreciate that. But the people who really know cricket know that two fours really released the pressure from us. Because sometimes, 9-8 runs in the last over, it can get tricky sometimes,' he said in a video posted by the ICC on their X handle.