Indian opener Sanju Samson was delighted after playing a match-winning knock against Bangladesh in the third T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad on Saturday. It would be fair to say that Samson, who has all the talent under his belt, hasn’t quite lived up to the lofty expectations.
However, on Saturday, he showed the world what he can do when he gets going. The Kerala batter was able to hit the ground running with four fours on the bounce against Taskin Ahmed. Samson kept finding the gaps on regular intervals and raced to a 22-ball fifty with a six against Rishad Hossain.
The gifted batter kept finding boundaries and smashed five sixes in the 10th over against Rishad Hossain. Samson completed his hundred off just 40 balls, which is the second-fastest T20I century for India.
The 29-year-old scored 11 fours and eight sixes in his blistering knock of 111 runs off just 47 balls. Thus, he was awarded Player of the Match after India’s comprehensive win of 113 runs.
He said in the post-match presentation, “The dressing room energy and the boys really have lots of happiness for me. I am very happy. They are happy that I did well. It can get frustrating knowing what you can do out there and the way I have been batting, I thought that could have done much better. Those thoughts keep coming in your head. With lot of experience and so many games I have played, I know how to deal with the pressure and failures. I have failed a lot, so I know how to manage my mind accordingly. I keep telling myself I just need focus on the process, keep doing my training, keep believing in myself and one day it’ll come soon.”
Samson added there is always pressure of playing for the country but he wanted to prove his mettle at the top level. The flamboyant batter said he receives a lot of backing from the team management and captain, Suryakumar Yadav.
Samson concluded, “Playing for the country, you come in with a lot of pressure. That pressure was there, I wanted to perform and I wanted to show what I am capable of. I kept reminding myself I just need to keep it as basic as possible, focus on one ball at a time, keep playing my shots. The dressing room and the leadership group which we have, they keep telling me, “I know what type of talent you have and we back you no matter what,” Not in words, in actions also they’ve shown me. In the last series I got two ducks and went back to Kerala thinking, “kya hoga bhai,” but they backed me in this series and I am very happy that I gave something to smile for my captain and coach.”
Samson will look to keep up the good show in the upcoming matches.
