Samson and Abhishek power India’s start in second T20I at Ranchi
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma led India’s brisk start in the second T20I against West Indies in Ranchi on October 9, 2026, with Samson reaching a fifty — his ninth in T20Is — as India raced along in the early overs.
India began with openers Sanju Samson (WK) and Abhishek Sharma, and West Indies opened the bowling with Akeal Hosein; the match began in front of a full house in Ranchi after the two Indian openers walked out to start the chase. Samson told reporters the side had a decent hit in the nets after a travel day, that preparation had been “pretty much the same” and that he was excited to play at what he described as a well-built stadium; he said he aimed to trust his game plan and express himself. West Indies named Shai Hope (C/WK), Kamil Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph and Gudakesh Motie (In for Matthew Forde); India’s XI was unchanged: Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav and Kuldeep Yadav.
Akeal Hosein’s opening over yielded 10 runs after Abhishek Sharma launched a six over the off side, and India moved quickly through the Powerplay, going at better than 13 runs an over early on. India were 64/1 after 5 overs and had passed the team’s 50-run mark during Samson’s assault. Romario Shepherd returned to close the Powerplay.
Sanju Samson brought up his fifty with a series of boundaries and sixes, repeatedly backing away to free his arms and at one stage clearing the cover and cow corner fences; the scorecard notes this was Samson’s ninth T20I fifty. Samson had a couple of close calls in the field: Gudakesh Motie was unable to hold a diving chance that went for a couple of runs, and Kamil Pooran spilled a catch after Akeal Hosein had overstepped to concede a no-ball and a Free Hit.
Abhishek Sharma made an attacking contribution, clearing the cover fence and timing several drives, including boundaries off Romario Shepherd’s slower deliveries at around 104.5 kph, before he was dismissed by Roston Chase. Chase’s length breached Sharma, who miscued and lobbed the ball to mid-on where Gudakesh Motie completed the catch; the scoreboard showed India 42/1 after 4 overs following that dismissal.
Ishan Kishan provided singles and punished loose short balls, but also had a mix-up that left him at risk of a run-out during one exchange with Samson; Romario Shepherd’s pace and variations featured in his over to Kishan, with one delivery recorded at 130.5 kph as he sought to contain the scoring. Fielding contributions for the Windies included several diving efforts that prevented boundaries, while Gudakesh Motie’s catch removed Sharma.
The second T20I remained in progress in Ranchi, with India 64/1 after five overs and Samson anchored on his fifty as the middle overs approached.
