Samson special knock books India's semifinal spot
Sanju Samson has not traveled in a straight line to this point. He was a partner in a dynamite first partnership that helped India prepare for this title defense. After that, he was replaced by a Shubman Gill who was back, then he was brought back in, and Ishan Kishan took over again. Even though he played, he always felt like he was out of the team. However, Samson walked out and refused to be moved when the campaign needed to be saved and the stakes grew to a virtual quarterfinal matchup with West Indies at Eden Gardens. Not only was his unbeaten 97 off 50 balls the highest score ever by an Indian in a T20 World Cup chase, but it also led India to their highest ever chase success in T20 World Cup history and secured a semifinal matchup with England.
For Samson, this was familiar territory: not the ground, not the opposition, but the weight of expectation that had so often preceded his omissions as much as his selections. The goal could theoretically be accomplished by chasing 195 at Eden Gardens, a venue that has no problem swallowing higher totals. However, the pressure lacked any theoretical component. The pre-tournament favorites India had struggled throughout the tournament, searching for answers to questions they had barely faced when they defeated teams in bilateral series.
Three weeks ago, it seemed unimaginable that a loss here would mean an early exit. And in keeping with the trend, India's chase began with the tentative air of an engine yet to warm up as just 12 came off the first two overs. After that, Samson rewrote the script and decided to face left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, a Powerplay specialist against whom he performs poorly. India got on track with a cut for four, a sweep for six over the boundary off an overcompensated full ball, and a pull off the back foot. However, Hosein still had the final word because he beat Abhishek Sharma, making another pitiful performance in a tournament that has been unfair to him.
India's Powerplay was not without further turbulence. Ishan Kishan, attempting to pull a short ball from Jason Holder, found only the hands of Shimron Hetmyer at deep mid-wicket. India were 53 for 2 after six overs when Samson struck 24 off 13 balls to make the phase his own.
What came next was even more imposing. India added 45 runs in the four overs following the Powerplay thanks to Samson's near-perfect percentage play, punching Holder through the middle, flat-batting Gudakesh Motie with contemptuous ease, plundering a six and a four off Romario Shepherd, and then scoring another back-foot boundary off Motie for his fifty in just 26 balls. It was an innings of controlled devastation, one he marked by re-marking his guard as if to suggest that his job wasn't done.
As a result, it proved On the other end, Suryakumar Yadav never quite found his feet during the 58-run stand. He saved the game by giving Motie a chance to be caught and bowled, but then he sliced Shamar Joseph, who was only introduced in the 11th over, straight to sweeper cover. The chase, which Samson had been managing with such composure, briefly stiffened as West Indies sent down two consecutive overs for just six runs. However, Tilak Varma had other plans. He took on Shamar Joseph with the confidence of a man who doesn't care about the situation. In the next two overs, he helped steal 32 runs, bringing the score to a very doable 60 off the last 36 balls.
India suffered losses to Tilak and Hardik Pandya in the dying stages, but Samson persevered and hit the winning shot with four balls remaining. He then quiet-celebrated by falling to his knee.
If Samson's innings was all about maintaining momentum, West Indies' innings after they were asked to bat were characterized by the hesitancy of a man walking a tightrope in no particular hurry, and much of that hesitancy was influenced by captain Shai Hope. Hope faced exactly 25 deliveries in the Powerplay for 25 runs on a surface that gave bowlers little to work with. As Abhishek Sharma made a simple catch, Roston Chase, who was pressed into service as a temporary opener, offered brighter intent early on. He was given fortune in return. Even so, only 45 runs were scored in the first six overs. There were no wickets taken.
That sluggishness carried a hidden cost. With Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy coiled in reserve, capable of bowling half of the remaining 14 overs, India had quietly loaded the back end of their attack. Chakaravarthy had gone through this tournament carrying questions, but when he finally came on after the fielding restrictions lifted, he ended Hope's laboured vigil with a delivery that skidded low and rattled the stumps.
A glimpse of everything that the West Indies had withheld came next. Shimron Hetmyer walked to the crease and cleared the ropes twice in six balls, reclaiming the record for most sixes in a T20 World Cup match (19), which Sahibzada Farhan had temporarily lost. West Indies reached 99 for 1 after 11 overs thanks to a 17-run over from the same Chakaravarthy, giving the innings a sudden pulse.
India's response was immediate and clinical. Bumrah returned, drawn by the exact matchup; in T20 cricket, he had bowled out Hetmyer five times in 21 balls and only needed two more to make it six. The southpaw swung hard and found only a feathered edge, confirmed by UltraEdge on review, and his 12-ball 27 was snuffed out. Bumrah threw another slower ball out of nowhere in the same over, but Suryakumar Yadav caught it cleanly and Chase didn't have any mercy.
The innings drifted for a while. With three wickets and 43 runs in five overs, Hardik Pandya added Sherfane Rutherford to the scoreboard. The sixteenth over came next. Rovman Powell suddenly burst into action for two sixes and a four in a 24-run over after Arshdeep Singh dug one short and gave up five wides. Jason Holder joined the fight and stole 14 from Chakaravarthy's next attack. Though Arshdeep steadied himself for a tight 19th, a 14-run final over against Bumrah told it's own story: West Indies had managed 70 off the final five overs and clawed their way to the brink of 200, daring India to chase the kind of score they hadn't in T20 World Cup history. West Indies, who had scored 163 runs in 14.3 overs, were left to rue what their captain did with the remaining 33 balls.
