KOCHI: All the world saw was Sanju Samson smashing experienced bowlers like Ravindra Jadeja and Piyush Chawla out of the park during the Rajasthan Royals' 16-run upset win over Chennai Super Kings on Tuesday.
But, only a few (if any) know about the long hours Sanju and his mentor Raiphi Gomez spent at the makeshift net facility built on the terrace of Raiphi's residence in Thiruvananthapuram during the lockdown to help pave the way for this.
After his whirlwind 32-ball 74 that included nine sixes, Sanju had an impressive outing behind the stumps with two lightning-quick stumpings and two catches - one of which was plucked out of thin air - and picked up the Man of the match award.
Once the dust settled, he took to social media to post a thank you message while singling out Raiphi who has been working closely with him for the past six months.
"I would like to thank you all for your lovely messages and wishes and thanking everyone who supported me during the lockdown period to train and practice and specially Raiphi Gomez for throwing more than 20,000 balls at me during the lockdown period !!..." Sanju wrote on Facebook.
Sanju might not have had to undergo a 'Rocky Balboa' kind of training regimen, but had his share of challenges. Raiphi gives a glimpse.
"It was very difficult during the lockdown because we did not have access to a lot of facilities. We initially trained on my terrace where I would give him throwdowns. We focused a lot on having him face different kinds of deliveries. Bouncers, yorkers and as many variations as possible. His head position, balance, everything was looked at so that it became kind of muscle memory. We trained every day for 6-7 hours. We wanted it to get to a point where if he was dragged out of bed in the middle of the night, he should still put away the loose balls for sixes," said the former Kerala Ranji captain, now a Deputy Manager at the State Bank of India.
Raiphi and Sanju are from Thiruvananthapuram and have shared the Kerala dressing room previously. "I have known him since he was 12 years old and we get along really well. That's why we are able to team up so well," said Raiphi.
Sanju 2.0
The 34-year-old knows the demands of the IPL well having had stints with the likes of Rajasthan Royals, Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors India and he suggests that what we are witnessing is the evolution of Sanju into a cricketer who is also a great athlete.
Raiphi said that besides polishing his cricketing skills, Sanju has paid special attention to his diet, nutrition and fitness.
"A lot of cricketers have talent and skills but not everyone realises their potential. In this day and age, just talent is not enough and fitness is extremely important. Sanju told me to give equal importance to fitness, diet and nutrition. He is definitely inspired by Kohli in the way. Usually, cricketers don't get such an extended downtime and these past five-six months really helped that way. Sanju steered clear of all distractions and trained hard," said Raiphi.
His diet was carefully monitored by Raiphi, who designed a diet plan and started him on a vegan diet for two months before introducing eggs, chicken etc.
They also hired fitness coach Amal Manohar to help Sanju build lean muscle mass, become stronger and more agile.
"Those sixes out of the ground showed that he's become stronger. And that catch where he jumped so high was testimony to his improved fitness. The results are showing. We worked really hard despite the many obstacles that were there due to the lockdown," Raiphi said.