India vs WI: Escape to victory
Kolkata: Sanju Samson, unsung and treated like a standby, showed heart and courage to pilot India into the semi-finals of the ICC T20 World Cup at the Eden Gardens on Sunday night. Chasing 196 for a win, Samson batted brilliantly, showing that even conventional strokes can fetch runs in the T20 format. His knock of 97 runs, with useful contributions coming from southpaw Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and Shivam ensured India won by five wickets, literally against all odds.
This was a mountain of a chase for India, and one man showed he was going to enjoy the pressure. For anju, so much has happened to him in the last three months, in and out of the team, treated like a wastrel. But then, on Sunday, he was there to bat from start to finish as he produced a valuable knock runs which makes him the hero for India in this World Cup.
Cricket is a team sport, yet if you look at the way India messed up with dropped catches, where two out of three were put down by Abhishhek Sharma and a run-out also looking ugly, the West Indies piled on 195 runs. Chasing it was near improbable, but the way Sanju Samson showed character and the mindset of a champion the Kerala-born wicket-keeper batter saved India the blushes, where close to 60,000 spectators were cheering for him.
The way Sanju handled pressure and emotions, there is a lot for youngsters like Ishan Kishan, Abhishek Sharma and even seasoned Suryakumar Yadav to learn. For sure, Sanju kept wickets well as well and took two catches. But the big deal was as the right-handed opener. His monk-like serenity, which was a manifestation of intense concentration and calm allowed him to keep all negativity aside. He had been treated shabbily, and he had been treated like an ‘extra’ in the Bollywood cast.
No, Sanju did not look at anything negative. The way he forged partnerships, useful ones with Surya, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya and then with Shivam Dube was defining. Sanju’s unbeaten 97 was studded with 12 fours and four sixes. The first part of his innings, when he got to his half ton was about preservation. Once he got to his 50, he did the ‘cross’, a sign of Faith for a Christian and then took fresh guard. That was defining, Sanju wanted to hang on till the end. And that he did for the sake of India, even as Tilak Varma scored 27, Hardik Pandya 17 and an unbeaten 8 from Dube.
There are many lessons for India from this match, how the top order is shaky, how the fielding is jittery. Of course, one man shone with the ball, as Jasprit Bumrah grabbed two wickets for 36 runs. For the West Indies, Roston Chase (40), Rovman Powell (34) and Jason Holder (37) did the bulk of scoring.
It showed they had depth in batting, though in the ultimate analysis, West Indies handled the pressure poorly. They fumbled on the field and allowed India to escape to victory
