Story byVishal MenonWed, March 4, 2026 at 8:36 AM UTC·2 min readMoments after Sanju Samson played the defining knock of his life, a regal 50-ball 97* against West Indies in a virtual quarterfinal of the T20 World Cup at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, he made a disarming admission. "Had lots of ups and downs," Sanju said at the post-match press conference. "I kept doubting myself thinking will I ever make it?" It was a far cry from the chest-thumping, "I-always-belonged-here" monologues that often follow such knocks.