Indian opener Sanju Samson reckons Tilak Varma’s dismissal was the turning point in the fourth T20I against the West Indies at Hyderabad on Wednesday. Samson believes India was in the run-chase of 248 when Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy were batting together.
Varma was dismissed after scoring 43 runs off 25 balls after he was bamboozled by a slower delivery from Romario Shepherd. Nitish Kumar Reddy scored 41 runs off 20 balls and he added 70 runs off 32 balls with the Indian vice-captain.
India needed 53 runs off 23 balls but Varma’s dismissal came at a wrong time for the team. Eventually, West Indies registered a 24-run win to level the series 2-2.
Sanju Samson said in the post-match press conference, “We were chasing a score around 250, so we can’t really anchor the innings. So, we had to go from ball one and that’s what everyone tried to do. Till Tilak and Reddy were batting, we were still in the game. Needing 12-13 runs per over, I think the game was still on.
“The turning point of the match was when Tilak got out. We were closing the game. We were scoring those 10-20 runs per over really nicely. Reddy and Tilak were taking the pressure moments and were batting really well. Till that moment we were in the chase,” the 31-year-old added.
On the other hand, Samson, who scored 56 runs off 23 balls, heaped praise on Shai Hope for his rich form. The WI captain scored another impressive knock of 102 runs off just 50 balls.
“We have been having good discussions in team meetings. We tried a couple of things in the last game and that worked out really nicely. Arshdeep got him out from around the stumps. He’s playing really well and we need to respect what he has been doing. He has been playing some really good cricketing shots.”
The fifth and final match of the series between India and the West Indies will be played at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on Saturday.
