Sanju Samson reminded me of Viv Richards and Mahela Jayawardene: Sunil Gavaskar blown away by ‘three pearlers’

Samson’s biggest test was against England, especially their premier quick Jofra Archer. Archer’s pace and his targeting of Samson’s rib area had troubled the batter in previous T20Is, dismissing him three times; hence, it was crucial for the India opener to overcome those concerns. And boy, did he do it in style! Samson plundered Archer for 38 runs off 14 balls – a huge improvement from last year in India, when he managed just 23 off 25 – and, as Gavaskar points out, it had shades of Viv Richards written all over it.

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“Purity of batting is generally a virtue in the longest format of the game, Test match cricket, and occasionally in the 50-over game, but hardly ever in the ultra-short format of the game. Samson provided that in all his three fifty-plus innings in playing classical cricket shots, along with some of the most imperious pulling and hooking seen in recent times. His pulling, off the fierce pace of Jofra Archer, was reminiscent of Viv Richards at his powerful best, though most of his batting is more like the Sri Lankan stylist Mahela Jayawardene,” Gavaskar wrote in his column for SportStar.

From being benched to becoming Player of the Tournament

And to think that Samson almost did not play. India had made up their mind to back Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma as their openers for the T20 World Cup. Even if Samson were to play at some point, it was likely to be in the middle order. But certain factors paved the way for Samson’s return to the top, primarily Abhishek’s loss of form. When Samson scored 24 against Zimbabwe after the wake-up call against South Africa, he received a fist bump from Gambhir. That said it all. Samson was back opening the innings for India, and the rest, as they say, is history.

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“Sanju Samson is a prime example of how form can change in one innings. He was not even in the mix at the start of the tournament after a horrific time in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, just before the World Cup started. Rinku Singh’s father’s condition worsening before his demise meant that Rinku left the team to go and see him. While he did return to the team, the management thought it better not to play him and opted to bring back Samson. This meant there was a right and left-hand combination at the top of the batting order once again, and even as Abhishek Sharma faltered, Samson grabbed his chance and played three pearlers that would be remembered for years to come,” noted Gavaskar.

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