‘Sanju’ does it in ‘Virat’ style. Has Cricket India found the right combination? #ICCT20WorldCup

 ‘Sanju’ does it in ‘Virat’ style. 

Has Cricket India found the right combination?

#ICCT20WorldCup

This ICC T20 World Cup has seen many heroes, emerging Champions and great comebacks. Sanju Samson, the talented wicket-keeper-batsman, was at the receiving end for not scoring runs in more than the last 12 months and in 20 T20 games for India. This was his day against the West Indies when he rose like a phoenix to steal the show.

In the Indian team context, Ishan Kishan made a big comeback in the bilateral series preceding the T20 World Cup and produced a knock of his life when he thrashed Pakistan in one of the group games in the T20 World Cup. The Cricketing life cycle gives a chance to every talented player to come out bravely from the crisis period.

Virat Kohli is a living example of his bursting into the scene in a majestic way after his two ducks in Australia. Sanju Samson is no exception. He was being ignored, performance watched under a microscope, thereby creating immense mental pressure to perform despite his scoring three T20 International Centuries during October-November 2024.

Barring a score of 57 against Oman in September 2025 in the Asia Cup, Sanju tried his best in all the games he played. A couple of scores in mid 30s and consecutive failures against New Zealand in the bilateral series in 2026 is what his fate had written for him.

The Forgotten Hero :

Suddenly, the failures had made a mark on Sanju Samson, who by now had understood that not being the first choice meant waiting further and not being considered in the T20 World Cup. The wait once again started to be longer. But the mindset, the willpower and the passion, coupled with his talent, Sanju Samson, away from the media lights, just continued to work hard and hard, waiting for one last chance to come back strongly. 

The opportunity came in the T20 World Cup, when, batting in his favourite position, he scored a rapid 22 against Namibia. The score of an explosive 24 against Zimbabwe in a must-win game with a bigger margin paved the way for him to continue as an opener in the most crucial and virtual quarter-final game against the West Indies.

The two photographs……………two stories:

Many in various media had made a mockery of Sanju Samson when he wasn't amongst runs. In fact, he was not included in the playing eleven in this T20 WC.

On the 1st of March, in the must-win game India vs West Indies, Sanju came out as the saviour for India with a brilliant 97 runs; a well-composed & balanced innings when the team required the most. He had shown the character, maintained his maturity and finished the game as an opener.

It was do or die situation for Team India, and Sanju Samson finished it in style. He placed the innings, planned it as per the situation and took India to the victory without even thinking of his personal milestone. His grand efforts truly resemble the heroics of the master batsman Virat Kohli. He broke the record of Virat Kohli while chasing to win for India, scoring 97* valuable runs in 50 balls.

But how do we act so funny in a game which will have a bad day and a bad phase, thereby quickly coming to a negative conclusion.

Talent cannot be erased, cannot be wiped out.....Form is temporary; Class is permanent !!!!!

Justice for Sanju Samson was the call....

And, Justice has been delivered by Sanju Samson...

 

Major gaps- India vs West Indies:

The West Indies Captain Shai Hope had himself mentioned his slow batting, which resulted in 20 to 30 runs short of the score his team had put up. Further, Shimron Hetmyer didn't perish for long, which worked against their team's planning.

Even while the West Indies were defending the target set by them, there were two crucial dropped catches. 

While in the case of India, the fielding was poor, with three dropped catches, with Abhishek Sharma dropping two. The catching really has been a question mark in this tournament. 

Some respite in catching was given by the Indian Skipper by taking a blinder. When the good-looking batter Chase missed a Bumrah delivery, Suryakumar Yadav flung to his front to take a great catch.

Abhishek Sharma has again faltered against spin bowling and seemed to be clueless. With two quick wickets, Ishan Kishan couldn't find his rhythm, and the task of carrying through the innings rested on Sanju Samson. However, the expectations from Suryakumar Yadav to build up the innings were missing. 

Conclusion :

The team moves to Mumbai for the semi-finals against one of the best team of the tournament, England. The Indian think tank needs to work out  the right combination to field the best team against a tough opponent. A lot of deliberations have happened for the inclusion of Rinku Singh and Kuldeep Yadav, but whether the winning combination will be changed is what needs to be seen. 

The Indian coach Gautam Gambhir, while acknowledging the win and the great performance of Sanju Samson, also mentioned the other players who contributed and gave credit to the entire team for this win. While the team comes first, the individual brilliance of players who carry the weight of the team on their shoulders cannot be missed. 

We have seen the same from the era of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma and would continue to experience the individual brilliance from players like Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and others.