Sanju Samson was not meant to play a decisive role at this T20 World Cup until 10 days ago. He had been biding his time on the bench even as Ishan Kishan cemented his place in the playing XI.
But fate seems to have its own plan, and it seemed like the 31-year-old was destined to have a late impact in this tournament. After his aura-defining, unbeaten knock of 97 runs in 50 balls against the West Indies in Kolkata, the right-hander gave further proof of his big-match temperament on Thursday, in a stroke-filled, belligerent innings of 89 off 42 balls against England in the semi-final in front of a packed Wankhede Stadium crowd.
Jofra Archer may have seen eyes light up after seeing the grass in the middle of the Mumbai pitch. Nothing else would have explained why he decided to go short in the first over. Samson has shown a tendency to hang on the backfoot with a high backlift, and the short length from Archer worked to his strengths, as he began his innings with a four and a six in the first over.
It was a sign of things to come. Samson has a lot of attractive shots in his armoury, but the pull shot brings the best version out of him. It is where he earns his bread and butter.
England did not seem to have learnt their lesson after the first over. There was more short bowling dished out to Samson, who gleefully accepted them and crunched another four and a six in the third over of Archer.
The short ball tactic against Samson was particularly perplexing since boundaries at the Wankhede Stadium are nowhere near as big as the grounds in Sri Lanka.
It was only after that over that there was an emphasis to change the line and length. England went full, but Samson seemed ready for it. A carve past short third man. A swing over mid-on.
The short barrage, however, did not stop altogether and it allowed him to enter his zone. He made opposition captain Harry Brook pay, not once but twice. First, for opting to bowl first. Second, for grassing a sitter at mid-on when Samson was on 15.
Despite Will Jacks removing Abhishek Sharma in his first over, Brook opted to go for more pace. It suited Samson perfectly. By the time Adil Rashid was introduced in the seventh over, the right-hander had settled in and found a measure of the conditions.
It helped Samson’s case that in Rashid and Liam Dawson, he could face two bowlers who had the same line of action – taking the ball away from him. In the eighth over, he brought up his fifty with a sumptuous six over long-off.
Much later in the innings, with India soaring to a gigantic score, Archer was brought back into the attack. For some odd reason, the short ball tactic was still running in his blood, and Samson flung in the air and cut him over third man for a six. That was almost his final act for the day with the bat, as Jacks removed him soon after in the 14th over.
Samson’s pyrotechnics were essential after Abhishek Sharma’s early fall. Kishan’s tournament had tapered off a touch following his blitzkrieg against Pakistan in Colombo and took a while before settling in on Thursday.
It was hence imperative that on the big day, in front of a vociferous crowd, India put a massive score on the board, with dew expected to play a big role. Samson, almost single-handedly, took India to that score.
