Kolkata, March 2 – After Sanju Samson scored an unbeaten 97 to guide India into the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final following a five-wicket victory over the West Indies at Eden Gardens, head coach Gautam Gambhir praised him for stepping up when the team needed him the most to make big runs.
Samson smashed 12 fours and four sixes off 50 balls to delight a capacity crowd of 67,000 as India chased down a challenging 196 with four balls to spare and set up their semi-final meeting against England in Mumbai on Thursday.
“He’s a world-class player, we all know how good Sanju is. It was all about backing him. When the team needed him the most – obviously this was the day – he showed his full potential,” said Gambhir at the end of the game.
Asked about what stood out from Samson’s unforgettable innings, Gambhir said the wicketkeeper-batter’s timing of his shots from the start stood out for him. “Look, I actually thought that he never accelerated the innings. It was just very, very normal cricketing shots, and I never saw him muscle the ball as well, and that is the kind of talent he has.”
“When you know that you’re in control of the game and that you’re feeling good, he’s hitting the ball really well in the nets, and it’s about going in the middle and showcasing that skill that you have, and obviously he knew that the wicket was very good. There was also a good outfield, but again, I have always said that he is a world-class player. He is a great talent, and hopefully, he can kick off from now, and hopefully, we can see a lot more innings like this from Sanju.”
“Obviously, he had a tough series against New Zealand, so sometimes it’s important to give him a break as well, because you want to get the guy out of that pressure situation. We always knew that whenever we needed him in the World Cup game, he would come and deliver for us,” he elaborated.
Gambhir also felt that India conceding only 45 runs in the power-play, though they didn't take many wickets, was another crucial factor in winning the virtual knockout game. “I thought we started off really well, especially when you play this kind of a game of this magnitude. You have to start off really well with the new ball, which Arshdeep and Hardik did.”
“I think the way they started off in the first three overs was really good, and then Axar bowled two overs in the powerplay, which was again a great job done by him. It’s never easy on this wicket on their ground to bowl two overs in a powerplay, but Axar did that really well. The powerplay didn’t go against us, which was very important because once the powerplay goes against you, it’s very difficult to control.”
Talking about Shivam Dube’s eight off four balls, which eased the pressure on India to complete the chase, Gambhir said, “For too many years, we’ve only spoken about certain contributions. This is a team sport, and it will always remain a team sport.”
“For me, I think Shivam’s two boundaries are as important as Sanju’s 97, because had Shivam not been able to hit those two boundaries, you wouldn’t have even spoken about Sanju. The big contributions make headlines, but those small contributions help the team go across the line, and that is the philosophy in the team.”
