Kolkata: After Sanju Samson struck an unbeaten 97 to guide India into the Men’s T20 World Cup semi-final after a five-wicket victory over the West Indies at Eden Gardens, head coach Gautam Gambhir lauded 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 hunted 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 a player 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 conclusion of the game.
Asked about what really stood out from Samson’s unforgettable innings, Gambhir said the wicketkeeper-batter timing his shots well from the get go 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 any muscling 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 had and obviously he knew that the wicket was very good. A quick outfield as well 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 off that pressure situation as well. We always knew that whenever we needed him in the World Cup game, he’ll come and deliver it for us,” he elaborated.
Gambhir also felt India conceding only 45 runs in the power-play, though they didn’t 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’ve got 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 away from us, which was very important because once the powerplay goes away from you, it’s very difficult to control.”
Talking about Shivam Dube’s four-ball eight that 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 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.”
(IANS)
