Singapore Smash: Manika-Sathiyan reach quarterfinal of mixed doubles competition

Ishan had a tournament to remember as he emerged as India's second-highest run-getter, with a half-century in the final and two 'Player of the Match' awards against Namibia and arch-rivals Pakistan being the highlights of his campaign. Before the World Cup, Ishan made a return to the Indian set-up for the first time since 2023 after a scintillating Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), where he led Jharkhand to their maiden title as a captain, scoring 517 runs in 10 innings, with two centuries and two fifties.

Samson scripted a comeback for ages during the recently-concluded T20 World Cup as he battled inconsistency and benching to emerge as India's leading run-getter in the tournament, delivering clutch performances when it mattered the most, with a string of half-centuries from virtual quarterfinal against West Indies to the title clash against New Zealand. When the entire cricketing world had their eyes on world number one batter Abhishek Sharma, a recently-returned Ishan Kishan and skipper Suryakumar Yadav as India's potential top run-getter and 'X-Factors', Sanju's domineering presence and authoritative strokeplay were out of the syllabus for his opponents.

Grinding out in his 20s in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Mumbai Indians (MI) and domestic cricket for Mumbai, Suryakumar struggled to make it to Team India, watching many of his peers get a national cap. Despite a purple patch in the IPL from 2018-2020, which saw him score 400-500 runs consistently, India's very own 'Mr 360' struggled to catch selectors' attention. But when he finally did at the age of 30, his next five years saw him live out a decade worthy of career highs and lows, making him one of the most intriguing figures of Indian cricket.

Samson had a redemption story to remember, as he went from not being a part of the playing eleven in the start and having a frustratingly inconsistent form, he went on to play three of the most important innings of his career when it mattered the most, producing gems right from the virtual quarterfinal to the title clash against New Zealand. Tharoor also wished Samson for a new beginning in the Indian Premier League (IPL) with five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK), a franchise he was traded to after years of association with Rajasthan Royals.

It was another dominant performance for Team India as top-order exploits from Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan and brilliant spells from Axar Patel and Jasprit Bumrah helped Team India become the first home nation to win the T20 World Cup title, beating New Zealand by 96 runs at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium, at the same venue where India had lost the ICC Cricket World Cup title in 2023 after a 10-match dominant run.