The inconsistency has been frustrating, but there is no denying life has been more unfair to Sanju Samson than it has been not. So when he finally blazed an unbeaten 50-ball 97 that eased India into the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup at Eden Gardens on Sunday, Samson couldn’t help but call it “one of the greatest days of my life”. “I never felt that I would do something special like this but I was just focusing on my role,” said Samson after India’s five-wicket win. “Just keeping one ball at a time and very grateful, I think this is one of the greatest days of my life.”
Samson has been in, out, in and then again in the India team, all within the span of a month. In the five T20Is against New Zealand last month, Samson’s scores read 10, 6, 0, 24, 6. That’s 46 runs at an average of 9.20. India were convinced Samson was given enough chances, so he was quietly passed over for Ishan Kishan who had blitzed his way through domestic cricket before cementing his place in the same series Samson flopped. A chance came against Namibia only because Abhishek Sharma was down with a stomach infection. Followed by a long wait, this time for two weeks, till India decided to play all three openers against Zimbabwe in Chennai after a colossal defeat to South Africa.
This time the target was 196, achieving which would have made this the highest for India in the T20 World Cup. But India lost Abhishek early, then Kishan, followed by captain Suryakumar Yadav just before they could reach 100. Samson weathered all those setbacks though to craft an innings that is now the highest for India in a chase at the T20 World Cup, bettering Virat Kohli’s 82 not out against Australia in 2016 and Pakistan in 2022.
Nothing about Samson’s innings was hurried, neither did he panic nor did he fret. Every time any pressure built up, Samson almost always carved a boundary to ease the nerves. “I actually thought he never accelerated the innings,” said India head coach Gautam Gambhir. “It was just very normal cricketing shots. I never saw him muscling the ball. That is the kind of talent he has. When you know that you’re in control of the game and feeling good, he was hitting the ball really well in the nets. It was about going in the middle and showcasing that skill.”
In matches of such intensity, it’s more about the psyche than the technique that dictates the outcome. Samson’s skills were never doubted, but he has at times failed those pressure tests. “I’ve always had a very special journey with lots of ups and downs, but I’ve kept on doubting myself, kept on thinking, what if, what if, can I make it?,” said Samson. “But I kept on believing.”
This belief has got Samson through some of the lowest lows in the past year. Only after he had got two T20I hundreds in South Africa in 2024 did Samson become the first-choice opener. Soon enough, poor scores caught up with him till India felt Shubman Gill should open. When Gill came in with the official designation of vice-captain, Samson was sent down the order to find his place. The Gill experiment didn’t work out and Samson returned to the top, only for the shuffling to continue till Samson wasn’t even considered a starter for the World Cup.
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India are convinced Abhishek Sharma is a star in the making, so there is no dearth of support for him. Kishan has forced his way through in domestic cricket, followed by the New Zealand series and lastly, and most importantly, a 77 against Pakistan. So he is golden for now. Somewhere along, it was getting clear Samson was running out of road. It was just a quirk of strategy that India turned to him again in Chennai, also helped by the fact that he is a right-handed batter in a dominantly left-handed batting order.
Beyond the scores and the lack of it, Samson has also wisened from a career that never seemed to take off properly. “I’ve only played maybe 50-60 games, but I’ve seen around 100 games,” Samson said. “I’ve seen the greatest people finish games and how they change their game according to the game . So, last game (in Chennai against Zimbabwe) we were batting first, so it was all about setting a very high score, so that’s how I wanted to go big, right from ball one. But this game was completely different, I think as soon as I wanted to go a bit higher, we were losing wickets, so I wanted to build a partnership and wanted to keep on focusing on my process.”
That process allowed Samson to remain tethered to the chase without being emotional about it in a highly charged up atmosphere against a side packed with T20 experts. Never before had Samson stayed unbeaten till the end of the innings he opened in the 29 run-chases in T20Is and the IPL. Never before had he scored a fifty in T20Is. To think this occasion—a high-stakes chase in a virtual quarterfinal—chose Samson to change all of that is a sign of how life too can at times give back what it takes. “Good things happen to good people who wait, who have a lot of patience,” said Suryakumar. He couldn’t have put it better.
