MUMBAI: Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan were wiping sweat off their faces, having a laugh with Rinku Singh near the strip. It was a well-earned drinks break for Samson and India as the scoreboard — in the semifinal of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup — read 67/1 after six overs.
Just before he picked up his helmet and walked back, Samson looked up a little, said his prayers just like he did after taking India across the line in Kolkata on Sunday night.
No one could blame him. It had been that kind of a start to the innings for him. Samson cracked Jofra Archer open in the very first over with a short-arm pull and a hook. However, opening partner Abhishek Sharma got out to Will Jacks. And then he gave a straightforward catch off Archer to England captain Harry Brook, who put it down. It seemed like the luck he needed so badly in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup was finally with him.
If one had kept track of the New Zealand T20Is, where he opened, they would have almost felt sorry for him. Through the five matches, he could not get a break and was tested by the high-end pace of Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson. An outswinger here, a hard length there and a miscue in another game.
And yet, here Samson was in the middle in the most important game of his life so far getting the biggest slice of luck possible. There was no way he was going to let that opportunity go, not with a T20 World Cup final at stake. Last time India were in the final, Samson was in the scheme of things before missing out on the morning of the summit clash against South Africa in Barbados. Though he credited Rohit Sharma for taking time out before the toss to explain the situation, it was an opportunity he did not get. This time, he was not going to let anyone take it away from him.
Over the next ten overs, Samson lived up to what was always expected of him. It was not the measured, calculated attack he made during the chase against West Indies in Kolkata, but a ruthless onslaught that oozed class. In the same over that he was dropped, Samson stood back and launched Archer into the third tier of the Sachin Tendulkar stand. Then came the squeeze between short third-man and point fielder off a fuller delivery. By then, Brooks knew how costly his drop was going to be.
One of the hallmarks of Samson’s batting is the range of shots he has through the off-side. In Kolkata, six of the 12 fours came between gully and cover. Thursday was no different. He stood back in the crease and late cut Adil Rashid in such a way Rohit nodded in awe from the stands. He waited on Curran’s slower ball before lofting him down the ground. He also cut him in front of square. A bottom-handed cover drive against Rashid was followed by a flat-batted swat off Curran into the stands and another cut through the off-side in the same over.
By now, he had already crossed his 50, but the icing on the cake came in the 13th over against Archer when Samson slashed a slower delivery over deep backward point for a six. If it gave flashbacks of upper cuts from Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag from 2003 or even the MS Dhoni one from the 2011 World Cup final at this very venue, Samson went even further as he stayed in the crease to swat a leg-cutter over long-off, bringing down the roof of the Wankhede Stadium. After that over, Samson’s score read 89 not out from 41 balls and India 160/2. Job done.
Three nights ago, Samson laid it all out about waiting in the sidelines, the self-doubts that crept in, insecurities and how he always looked up to the power of the prayer. How the almost cult-like fan following among fans across the country, especially from the Southern part of the country, had almost gotten to him at times when he had not done enough to live up to it.
If Sunday was a validation, Thursday night elevated him to the level that legends — especially at Wankhede — would feel. When he got out to Will Jacks, Mumbai stood as one. Briefly, he raised his bat to acknowledge it while walking back before experiencing one of the iconic moments at Wankhede. Just as he climbed the stairs, fans from the lower stands of the MCA pavilion thronged the railing to get a glimpse of Samson — the kind that have been captured in the past with Tendulkar, Sharma, Dhoni and Virat Kohli. It was the moment that reiterated why Sanju Samson is who he is in Indian cricket.
Brief scores: India 253/7 in 20 ovs (Samson 89, Dube 43, Kishan 39) bt England 246/7 in 20 ovs (Bethell 105, Jacks 35, Buttler 25; Hardik 2/38).