New Delhi. The combination of restrained aggression and technical superiority, which is often seen in the innings of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, was seen with the bat of Sanju Samson at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. His ‘Chanceless’ innings played against West Indies not only won the hearts of the fans, but also forced the cricket stalwarts to think whether Indian cricket has found its new ‘Mr. Consistent’. The biggest feature of this innings was the discipline, which was often missing in Sanju’s previous innings.
If he maintains this balance of Rohit’s grace and Virat’s temperament, then he will prove to be the most lethal weapon of the Indian team in the upcoming World Cup. The Kolkata grounds once again testified that when Sanju is in his element, there is hardly anyone else in the world of cricket who can bat as beautifully as him.
Rohit’s delicacy and Virat’s discipline
This innings of Sanju Samson is being called ‘half Rohit and half Virat’ because he combined the best qualities of both the legends. At the beginning of the innings, when he hit boundaries with timing, he showed the ease of Rohit Sharma. The way the ball was traveling to the boundary as soon as it came on the bat, it was pure ‘Rohit class’. On the other hand, in the middle of the innings, when the challenge was to save wickets while maintaining the run rate, Sanju showed discipline like Virat Kohli. He focused on strike rotation and finding gaps rather than risky big shots.
12 to 19 Over Masterclass: No Risk, High Reward
The most incredible and discussed topic of this innings was the time, which started from the 12th over till the 19th over. Usually in T20 cricket, this is the time when the batsman is in a ‘do or die’ situation and takes risks by playing shots in the air but Sanju adopted a different strategy here.
No shots in the air: Sanju did not play a single shot in the air between overs 12 to 19. He decided to keep the ball close to the ground, which reduced the chances of getting out to zero.
Magical search for gaps: Even without taking any risk, the run pace did not reduce; he used his wrists to take the ball out from between the fielders. This was such a maturity which is the hallmark of great players. Calculated Risk: He showed that it is not necessary to hit the ball into the stands every time to score a boundary. He left the West Indies bowlers helpless through classic covers drives and flicks.
Why was this ‘Chanceless’ innings special?
Sanju Samson’s career has often been accused of not being able to convert his starts into big innings or throwing away wickets by playing irresponsible shots but in Kolkata he silenced all these criticisms. This innings was ‘chanceless’ because there was no chance of catch in the entire period, there was no element of luck involved; It was a complete display of skill and brain games.
This innings against West Indies can prove to be the turning point of Sanju Samson’s career. That composure between 12 and 19 overs shows that Sanju has now transformed into a ‘match winner’ and not just a ‘talented’ player.