Sanju Samson won back-to-back Player of the Match awards as India defeated England by seven runs to enter their second straight T20 World Cup final, where they will face New Zealand in Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. Samson, coming off a sensational 97 against the West Indies on Sunday, smashed a scintillating 89 to set the platform for India’s gigantic total of 253/6. However, Samson’s effort wasn’t the lone starrer in India’s 7-run win, because had it not been for Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance, yet again, the outcome could have been something else.
England were on the charge with a well-set Jacob Bethell and a dangerous-looking Sam Curran fancying their chances to pull a rabbit out of the hat. Suryakumar Yadav handed the ball to Bumrah to bowl the all-important 17th and 18th overs, giving away just eight and six runs respectively. His two overs allowed India to breathe amid the carnage that was being dished out.
Samson, after collecting the trophy, had no issues in giving the award to Bumrah, whom he described as a ‘once-in-a-generation bowler. “Very happy how the team turned up today, and all credit goes to Jasprit Bumrah. He is a world-class bowler, a once-in-a-generation bowler. I think that’s what he delivered today. I think this [award] should go to him. I think if we didn’t bowl that way in the death overs, I think I would not be standing here,” Samson said during the post-match presentation ceremony.
Samson’s knock equally special
Then again, take nothing from Samson. The Indian opener batted like a man possessed. Despite getting dropped on 15 by England captain Harry Brook, Samson refused to slow down, going hammer and tongs, en route to slamming seven sixes and eight fours. His biggest challenge was always going to be how he fared against Jofra Archer, someone who had troubled him earlier. However, from the moment he took Archer for a four and a six off the pacer’s first over, it was a sign of things to come. He did not spare a single England bowler, continuing from where he left off at the Eden Gardens.
“It feels really great. To be honest, I had a sense after the last game that I was getting into some form, so I just wanted to continue that momentum. It’s not easy to find form in crucial matches for your country, so I told myself that in a big game like this, I had to make the most of how I was batting,” added Samson.
“I gave myself a bit of extra time and tried to pace my innings well. I prepared really well, and thankfully, things came off nicely. I was a little lucky at the start, but once I got going, I just wanted to carry on. At Wankhede, we all know no score is really safe, so the idea was to get as many runs as possible. You have to assess the conditions. We’ve played a lot of cricket at Wankhede, and chasing can become easier here. When they won the toss and asked us to bat, we knew that with the way Ishan and I were batting after Abhishek got out, a score around 250 was possible. That was something we were discussing in the dressing room as well.”
