Kolkata, March 2 – Indian opener Sanju Samson said he switched off his phone and social media to listen to himself and maintain his self-belief during a difficult period, which ended with his match-winning 97 in the Men’s T20 World Cup Super Eight clash against the West Indies on Sunday.
Samson smashed 12 fours and four sixes in his 50-ball innings to guide India to a five-wicket victory by chasing 196, thus keeping the defending champions' campaign alive and setting up a semi-final clash against England in Mumbai on Thursday.
"Shot selection was something I kept working on. I didn't want to make too many changes because I knew I had performed well with that setup, so I kept believing in myself, switched off my phone, switched off social media, and listened to myself. I am very happy that it happened in such a special game," Samson told Star Sports at the end of the game.
He reflected on how doubts crept into his mind when he was not scoring runs in the lead-up to the tournament. "Our human nature is that we often start with a negative thought, like, 'Can I do it? I don't think I can.' When I have that thought, I try to change it with a very positive one.
"When I had a series like New Zealand, where I wanted to perform and be a part of the World Cup team, things didn't work out well, but luckily I had a 10-day break. I didn't play any games and I wasn't in the team. 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 basics, how I set myself up, and came back to that. Many people gave me suggestions, and I saw a lot of valid points, but at the same time, I felt, 'Sanju, you have scored three international centuries with that setup.'"
Samson was recalled to open the batting for India with the aim of breaking the left-handed top-order monotony, and he almost single-handedly led the team to victory in the daunting chase, especially when he lost partners from the other end.
"It was a bit of a challenging chase. Looking at our batting power, I felt that chasing 190-odd at Eden Gardens, when it's wet, makes it a bit easier, but losing wickets at regular intervals made it challenging. 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 to the last moment. Normally, you feel like that, but it doesn't always happen, so I am very grateful that it happened in this game.
"When you are batting first, you want to set up a big score and hit a lot of sixes, but when you are chasing a score like this in a pressure game, you take different options and play more boundaries rather than taking risks. The ball was coming nicely, they were bowling with good pace, so I kept timing it, and it worked well."
He concluded by saying what the unbeaten 97 in Kolkata will mean to him. "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."
