Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri couldn’t be prouder of Sanju Samson for playing the most special innings of his career in the do-or-die match against West Indies. He has praised the cricketer a lot along with many other legends of the game.
Despite West Indies’ unbeaten record at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, India, as well as the ghost of the 2016 T20 World Cup semi-final, they turned the game, which was 50-50, with their batting antics. Sanju Samson was the host of the Indian show.
“Today is a special Samson for Sanju” – Ravi Shastri praised Sanju Samson fiercely
Throughout his career, after playing many promising innings, Samson could never cement his legacy until his innings last night at the Eden Gardens. Samson’s resilience and patience stood out and he received huge praise from Indian cricket greats Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Irfan Pathan. However, Ravi Shastri’s praise was the cherry on top.
“Samson was special for Sanju today and that innings was special because of his calmness, composure and great touch during that innings,” Ravi Shastri said in the ICC review.
Ravi Shastri further said, “You had everything. You had timing, you had placement, you had explosive power, you had class and what I liked best was that even after the wicket fell, he did not lose his cool. He was calm and patient in front of a big crowd.”
“He brought everything to the fore today and made millions of people happy around the world” – Ravi Shastri
Sanju Samson has been looking for opportunity all his life. After the ill-treatment meted out to Samson in the Indian team for a long time, the issue of ‘Justice for Sanju Samson’ was raised on social media. Samson had to make it count this time and did not break under the pressure of bigger teams or bigger opponents.
Instead Samson batted like a professional with great composure and maturity, utilizing all his experience. He has played many memorable innings for India, including a double century for India in the T20Is in South Africa in 2024.
He said, “This was not a league game. This was a knockout competition. People’s expectations from Samson have been high throughout his career. No one has questioned his talent, but they have been disappointed with his consistency. He brought it all out today and made millions of people happy around the world.”
Gautam Gambhir points to the brilliant dynamism of Sanju Samson’s innings
Dinesh Karthik presented Sanju Samson’s point of view wonderfully. He highlighted that Samson hit the reset button instead of getting overconfident after the long-awaited half-century. After his half-century, he played the next two balls as if he was just beginning his innings.
Samson was always known for the fact that his role did not end with just a half-century; He had to play his role consistently till the end.
Indian head coach Gautam Gambhir also praised Samson’s miraculous innings; He told that Samson never tried to speed up the innings. Instead, he continued to play his natural shots with conviction and hence, he never needed to change gears.
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