Mumbai, March 9 – Legendary cricketer Virat Kohli praised India's wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson on Sunday for his phenomenal performance in the ICC Men's T20 World Cup triumph, for which he was named Player of the Tournament.
Samson, who replaced Abhishek Sharma in the playing XI due to the top-order's poor run of scores, scored three consecutive half-centuries as India rallied from the brink of elimination to win their historic third title in the T20 World Cup. India also became the first nation to win back-to-back titles and achieve victory on home soil.
Samson played a crucial role in this historic triumph, and Virat Kohli highlighted his contribution in a social media post on Sunday night.
"What a remarkable tournament from the most deserving Player of the Tournament, @imsanjusamson. You performed when it mattered the most. Really happy for you, Chetta," Kohli wrote in his Instagram story, which was accompanied by a poster by the ICC declaring Samson as the Player of the Tournament.
Samson proved to be the star of the campaign for India. He first rescued the team with an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies, which helped India win their do-or-die Super 8 stage match.
He then scored 89 in the semifinal against England, which laid the foundation for India's massive score of 253/7 against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, as India won by seven runs.
The 35-year-old from Kerala repeated his feat in the final, scoring 89 to help India post another massive total as they defeated New Zealand by 96 runs.
