Former Indian great Sunil Gavaskar has praised Sanju Samson after his honest efforts during the last game against West Indies came to fruition. Gavaskar had thrown some weight behind the experienced Indian campaigner in the past as well. Gavaskar is happy because he got the success he deserved.
Sanju Samson played the best innings of his life for India as he not only led them to victory but also showed a special effort in his third appearance for India in the T20 World Cup. However, Samson was also a part of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup squad and won the title without making a single appearance.
This time too Samson had to wait for a long time to get his big chance at the top of the Indian batting order. Finally, when he got his chance, he took advantage of it smartly and led India to a memorable win.
This honest cricketer got the success he deserved – Sunil Gavaskar
Former Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar seemed very happy with the excellent performance of Indian wicketkeeper batsman Sanju Samson. He gave India a boost with his 97-run innings and ended the famous chase that ended West Indies’ legacy at the Eden Gardens.
Speaking on Star Sports, Sunil Gavaskar hailed the innings not only as a match-winning innings but also as an emotional buster after a tough phase in his batting career. As for Samson, Gavaskar feels it will be more than just numbers, especially given his weak patches.
Gavaskar said, “This inning of 97 not out takes the burden off not only from the shoulders of Sanju Samson but from the shoulders of everyone who knows what a good player he has been. There have been ups and downs in his life and we have also felt them because he is a very good person. Everyone wants him to perform well.”
Gavaskar underlined the significance of the innings, saying, “All Indian cricket fans will be happy that this honest cricketer got the success he deserved.”
The idea is to have as few dot balls as possible- Sunil Gavaskar
Sunil Gavaskar also reflected on the clear tactical approach of the Indian players who led their most successful run-chase in T20 World Cup history. His first major approach was the approach of playing the minimum number of dot balls.
“It is very beneficial to have a set batsman at one end. The other batsman can give more strikes to the set batsman by hitting singles. This way, there are not too many dot balls. In T20 cricket, the idea is to have as few dot balls as possible,” he said.
Sunil Gavaskar felt that the Indian batsmen had understood this strategy and implemented it successfully throughout the innings, not just in one-off situations.
“I think the Indian team has realized that. If you look at the teams with the lowest dot ball percentage, India are pretty high up there. I’m not saying they are the best, but they are up there. Half the battle is won right here,” he said.
Sanju Samson winning POTM was a ‘dream come true’ for the cricketer
He also numerically explained why India chased down the huge score with ease. “Out of 120 balls, if you score runs off 80 to 85 balls, you give yourself a real chance of chasing a score like 190 to 200, and that’s exactly what India did against West Indies.”
Sunil Gavaskar further said that winning the POTM in such an important match is a ‘dream come true’ for any cricketer, and it was the same for Sanju Samson. “You could see the emotion on Sanju’s face after he scored the winning run,” he said, even as the batsman fell three runs short of his century.
Also read: Former Indian coach Abhishek Sharma burns after another poor innings
