Former England captain Michael Atherton heaped praise on Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, referring to how he had become “the toast of India” after his unbeaten innings of 97 runs in 50 balls against the West Indies in Kolkata took the co-hosts into the semifinal, where they will play England on Thursday.
Atherton referred to how the 31-year-old had gone from not being considered for a place in the playing XI to becoming a national hero in the space of a week.
“Samson never looked worried, though, despite the loss of Sharma — who is having a poor tournament — Kishan and by the halfway stage. Varma provided timely acceleration but this was Samson’s show. When he hit the winning runs, he went down on both knees, spread his arms wide and looked to the heavens, just about holding his emotions in check. A week ago, he was nowhere; on Sunday, he became the toast of India,” he wrote in his column for The Times.
The former opening batter praised Samson for his driving down the ground, admitting that he had looked “unflustered” during the course of his stay in the middle. He also added that Samson’s presence gave India balance in their batting line-up.
“Samson, a gifted 31-year-old right-hander from Kerala, who bats with the same solidity, stillness and serenity as Rohit Sharma, had lost his place because of poor form in the build-up to the tournament, but he made a brilliant unbeaten 97 off 50 balls, looking unflustered and in control throughout. His driving down the ground was exceptional. There is no doubt that, in a team full of southpaws, his right-handedness gives India a better balance to their batting line-up,” he wrote.
Atherton said that England would have noted that India’s bowling attack barring doesn’t quite have the same bite and their fielding so far has been sub-par and they could look to capitalise on that aspect on Thursday.
“England’s players flew to from Colombo on Sunday but made it to the city in time to watch their prospective opponents, which some did in the communal team room, others on their own. To a man they were probably hoping to avoid India, a team that beat them 4-1 in a T20 series this time last year.”
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“In broad-brush terms, they will have observed a team that, the excellent Jasprit Bumrah apart, is a touch vulnerable with the ball, lacking excellent alternatives outside the main five bowlers, if one is expensive. They will have noted India’s suspect fielding — in a tournament in which the co-hosts have dropped a rash of chances, three more went down in Calcutta. They will have also observed India’s depth of batting; they chased more than they had ever done in a T20 World Cup match before, and that under the pressure of elimination.”
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“Depending on the pitch, conditions and opposition, India are flexible where Bumrah is concerned but no matter in which phase of the game he bowls — and here he bowled one over in the powerplay, one in the middle and was saved for two overs at the end — he is the standout threat. The rest of the attack is gettable,” Atherton wrote.
This will be the third consecutive T20 World Cup where India and England will face off in the semifinals, with England having won in 2022 and India in 2024.
