Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth praised Sanju Samson for taking the attack against England’s gun fast bowler Jofra Archer from the get-go in the T20 World Cup semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Thursday.
Samson smashed Archer for a four and a six in the very first over to set the tone. The Indian opener went on to score another match-winning knock of 89 runs off just 42 balls with the help of eight fours and seven sixes. The flamboyant batter scored his runs at a blistering strike rate of 211.90 as he continued his rich form to help India post 253 runs on the board.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “He set the tone in the first over itself. He smashed Archer wherever he wanted to. It felt like he was intentionally targeting Archer because everyone was talking about him getting out to Archer many times before. Demolishing Archer finished England then and there itself. Archer was clueless because of Samson’s knock. Sanju is playing effortlessly these days. I’ve not seen him bat this well.”
“He played an amazing knock. And it was fantastic of him to say Bumrah deserved the Player of the Match. It shows his leadership qualities. Everyone was hyping Archer’s advantageous matchup against Samson, but he played him brilliantly. He’s so still in his batting, that’s the difference between him and a Harry Brook. Brook keeps dancing around at the crease, whereas Samson is so still.”
On the other hand, Srikkanth also praised Jasprit Bumrah for his match-winning spell. Bumrah returned with figures of 1-33 in his four overs and conceded only six runs in the 18th over. Srikkanth rated Bumrah as the greatest white ball bowler ever.
“India won the 2024 World Cup because of him, and they will win the 2026 World Cup because of him. India are winning big with this one bowler. He’s definitely the greatest white-ball bowler ever. He’s incredible even in Tests. To go at eight runs an over in a 250 run chase is beyond amazing. He just increases the required run rate with shut-down overs,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
“Whenever there is trouble, India just presses the Bumrah button. The minute he comes on, England just play for ones and twos. He has turned world cricket that way, where no one even tries to take him on and look to only smash the others.”
India will take on New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad, on Sunday.
