Sanju Samson switched off his phone and stepped away from social media to protect his self-belief during a lean run — a decision that culminated in a match-winning 97 in India’s do-or-die T20 World Cup Super Eight clash against the West Indies at Eden Gardens on Sunday.

Chasing a stiff 196, Samson smashed a 50-ball 97, laced with 12 fours and four sixes, to anchor India’s five-wicket win and keep their campaign alive. The 31-year-old was restored to the opening slot following a heavy defeat to South Africa in the Super Eight opener, as India sought to break the left-handed monotony at the top.

Reflecting on his turnaround, Samson said he focused on clarity rather than wholesale changes.

"Shot selection was something I kept working on. I did not want to change too much because I knew I had performed with the same setup, so I kept believing in myself, switched off my phone, switched off social media and listened to my own self," Samson said on Star Sports after India's five-wicket win here on Sunday.

"I am very happy it happened in a very special game."

Samson stood tall amid a faltering chase, receiving limited support from skipper Suryakumar Yadav (18) and Tilak Varma (27), as wickets fell at regular intervals.

"It was a bit of a difficult chase. Looking at our batting power, I felt that chasing 190-odd at Eden Gardens, when dew comes in, gets a bit easier, but losing wickets at regular intervals made it challenging," the wicket-keeper-batter acknowledged.

"To be honest, that's where my experience and my role played a big part. I got a good start, but when the wickets kept falling, I felt I needed to finish the game and take it till the last moment.

"Normally you feel like doing it, but it doesn't happen all the time, so I am very grateful it happened in this game...when you are chasing a score like this in a pressure game, you take different options and play more boundaries rather than looking at risk-taking options," he added.

Samson also opened up on the technical and mental recalibration that followed a string of underwhelming scores, including the home series against New Zealand.

"Our human nature is that we often start from a negative thought like, 'Can I do it? I don't think I can.' When I have that thought, I try to alter it with a very positive one. When I had a series like New Zealand where I wanted to perform and be part of the World Cup team, things did not work out well, but luckily I got a 10-day gap," he said.

"I did not play any games and was not in the side. I kept thinking, 'Sanju, what else? Why didn't it work? What else should I do?' So I did some soul-searching. I worked on my base, how I set myself up, and came back to it.

"A lot of people had suggestions and I saw a lot of valid points, but at the same time I felt, 'Sanju, you have scored three international hundreds with the same setup'," he added.

For Samson, the Eden Gardens knock was more than a match-winning effort — it was the fulfilment of a childhood aspiration.

"More than a hundred cricketers in India dream about a day like this. I dared to dream. A young guy from Trivandrum, Kerala, dreaming about playing for the country and winning a game in such a crucial match. I dared to dream and it happened," he said.