Cometh the hour. Cometh the man. Sanju Samson possibly played a career-defining knock on Sunday, taking India into the T20 World Cup semi-finals. The right-handed batter from Kerala hit an unbeaten 97 to help India chase down the target of 196 in the must-win Super 8s Group 1 match against the West Indies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata with five wickets and four balls to spare. Samson’s knock was so good that even Virat Kohli, India’s chase master, would approve. During his knock, Samson registered the highest individual score for an Indian batter in a run chase in T20 World Cups, surpassing the 82 not out by Virat Kohli against Australia in Mohali in 2016 and against Pakistan in Melbourne in 2022.
Samson’s knock was all the more special given the backdrop. Initially dropped due to poor form and Ishan Kishan’s stunning run, Samson returned to the playing XI in the Super 8s as the management looked to shake things up. They wanted a right-hander at the top to counter the opposition’s plan of opening with off-spinners during the Powerplay.
Against the West Indies, Samson anchored the innings against in a chase that occasionally appeared tricky. He lost Abhishek Sharma and Kishan as partners at the other end but continued to mix caution with aggression, and eventually, took India home. After hitting the match-winning boundary in the final over off the bowling of Romario Shephard, Samson went down on his knees and thanked the almighty. He was quickly surrounded by his teammates, who rushed in to mob him in celebration of the milestone.
Samson, who made his T20I debut for India 11 years ago, was deservedly adjudged Player of the Match. In his post-match interview with Ian Bishop, the 31-year-old said he had waited all his life to play an innings like that and could hardly explain his happiness after taking India over the line in a crucial encounter.
“It means the whole world actually to me, I think right from the day I started playing, started dreaming to play for the country, this is the day I was waiting for and very grateful, very thankful and I have always had a very special journey with lots of ups and downs but I have kept on doubting myself, kept on thinking what if, what if, can I make it, can I make it but I kept on believing and thanks to the Lord Almighty for actually blessing me today. So I am very happy,” said Samson.
“I have been playing this format for a very long time, I think playing IPL around 10 to 12 years and playing for the country from last 10 years, I have not been playing but looking from the dugout, learning from the greats like Virat Kohli, from Rohit Sharma, like all the greats, I think it’s very important to observe and learn and see what they were doing. I think that really helped me, too. I think with my experience. I have only played maybe 50-60 games, but I have seen around 100 games,” he added.
‘Learned from the best’
Samson also admitted he hasn’t played many games for India, but said he learned a great deal from watching the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, observing how some of the best in the business construct their innings.
“I have seen how the greatest people have finished the games and how do they change their game according to the game. So I think as last game 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,” said Samson.
Talking about his game plan, Samson said that his focus after losing wickets at regular intervals was to build partnerships and take the game deep. Samson was involved in valuable partnerships with Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya, with the small, yet steady stands helping India stay ahead of the curve ball.
“So I think I wanted to build a partnership, wanted to keep on focusing on my process, and I never felt that I would do something special like this, but I was just focusing on my role and just keeping one ball at a time, and I was very grateful. I think this is one of the greatest days of my life,” said Samson.
“I just brought myself into the present moment and just looked at the ball and trusted myself to react according to the ball in merit. So I think that worked out pretty well today,” he added.
The West Indies posted 195/4 after being asked to bat first. India chased down the target in 19.2 overs, thanks to Samson’s unbeaten knock, with Tilak (27) and Hardik (17) chipping in with valuable contributions.
The defending champions will now face England in the second semi-final on Thursday, March 5, at the Wankhede Stadium.
