Sanju Samson comes of age with match-winning innings as India enter semifinals, acing tough chase against West Indies

“It means the whole world to me. Right from the day I started playing, started dreaming of playing for the country, this is the knock I was waiting for. Kept doubting myself, thinking will I make it? But I am thankful to the Almighty for blessing me today,” the man of the moment said minutes after the win. “This is one of the greatest days of my life.”

Samson’s innings, at a venue of numerous monumental moments, would be remembered for its glorious stroke-play, its un-withering calmness under pressure, and the sheer magnitude of it.

Sanju Samson in action. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

He has been around for a decade, shuttling in and out of the team, shifting spots and never fully blossoming into the world-beating cricketer his fiercely passionate fan base believes he is. In recent times, he has squandered starts, developed a self-defeating trigger movement and seemed to be living on the brink. But he could not err on the undulating and nerve-shredding night that took the last over to decide. The Eden was the canvas for his mellifluous brushstrokes, a T20 knock carved out of the classical template, a thrilling melange of unhurried stroke-making. The pace of the knock was even; he started in fifth gear and never took the foot off the pedal.

His first mission was to calm the raising heartbeat of the sprawling audience. The early minutes were jittery. The crowd cheered every run and four, but fear of a defeat lurked. Until the finish line was crossed, they wouldn’t breathe freely. The grand old city has seen some of India’s bitterest hours. The 1996 semifinal crash; the 1999 Asian Championship Test defeat. Kolkata carries its past as a burden and pride. Nerves jangled when Abhishek Sharma got hit on his helmet from a ricochet of his bat. They sat and stood breathless when the physio gave him the concussion test. It was not the left-hander’s night — he dropped two catches and departed for 10.

Samson’s brio restored the calm. He foiled left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein’s best-laid plans with an effortless array of strokes. A languid cut, off a not-so-short ball, a cracking sweep and a gliding pull refuelled hope among the crowd and imparted momentum into India’s innings. Ishan Kishan crunched a pair of fours too to prop up India’s last-four hopes, but failed to control the extra bounce Jason Holder generated. The mis-controlled pull was pouched near the fence, plunging the crowd into silence and fear. But India bat deep, and it was far from a crossroads of no hope.

Lightning display

The lights then went out, at the stroke of the Powerplay. The audience flashed the torchlights of their smartphones. The DJ continued to belt disco hits, giving the arena a Saturday night pub-floor ambience. When the lights returned, Samson turned on the watts. He brought cheer with a flattish off-drive off Holder, before Suryakumar Yadav, shuffling across, flicked the pacer over deep backward square leg, his malleable wrists winking at the skies.

Samson’s brief seemed precise. To nullify the spinners. He disheveled Hosein; he unsettled Gudakesh Motie with a four through long-on. He plundered 37 runs from the 15 balls he faced from the three spinners. Spinners were the biggest barricade midway through the tournament; Samson removed them with the ease of plucking a flower.

The most eye-warming stroke of Samson was the lofted six off Romario Shepherd. It was a cleverly-disguised leg-cutter. But Samson paused for the stroke and coaxed it over cover. His trusted modus operandi was targeting the first ball of a new bowler or that of a fresh spell. He reached his half-century with a lashing cut off Motie. He was taking the game away from the West Indies with the most cultured array of strokes one would see in T20 cricket.

Samson lost Surya, with whom he stitched 58 runs off 35 balls. But his focus remained firm. When Surya walked back in disappointment, he patted his shoulders and flicked a thumbs up, reassuring him that he will see India through. The responsibility of the chase was on him and he wouldn’t flinch, even though the exits of Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya did escalate suspense.

Sanju Samson in action. (Express photo by Partha Paul)

But it was Samson’s moment and he wouldn’t shirk. He guided the chase with risk-free stroke-play. None as illustrative as the bunted four off Roston Chase in the 14th over.

The biggest difference between his Kolkata knock and the previous stutters was his footwork. In most earlier games, he would lunge on the back-foot and stay almost static, presumably to neutralise the short-ball ploy teams were employing against him. Consequently, he would end up throwing his hands at the ball.

Here, his foot did not move in a predetermined pattern. He judged the length of the ball and made quick and definite adjustments. No premeditations, no inflexible responses, but batting based on pure and polished instincts. And the frame after he hit the winning runs would adore his walls and the mind of the fans.