India vs South Africa: Sanju Samson drives home a point

Sanju Samson. While for many the ODI series against the Proteas on the eve of a T20 World Cup may seem inconsequential, for someone like Samson it was a massive opportunity to prove his worth. And prove he did on Thursday. Though the 27-year-old couldn’t take India over the line, he scored a blazing half-century in the first ODI in Lucknow. Importantly, his unbeaten 63-ball 86 got the cricketing fraternity talking about whether he merited a place in that World Cup squad. While the effortlessness with which he clears the ropes have won Samson admirers, his penchant to go for the big shots too early in his innings has often led to his downfall, leaving many disappointed. But against South Africa, he showed that he had the patience to bide his time before unleashing himself. A top-order batsman for Kerala and Rajasthan Royals, Sanju showed that he can also adapt to the requirements of a No.6 batter on a pitch offering some seam movement and turn. His innings wasn’t without flaws. Sanju was guilty of not farming the strike towards the end overs when the tailenders came into bat, but his thinking was crystal clear.

Sanju Samson (AP Photo)“I love spending time at the wicket, especially in India colours. We play to win the match. I fell short by just two shots, one four and a six. Shamsi was proving a little expensive so we thought we can target him. I knew he had one over left so if we needed 24 runs, I was confident that I could hit four sixes. So, I was taking it deep. That was our plan,” he said. Former India U-19 player Raiphi Vincent Gomez, with whom Sanju spends a lot of time training back home in Thiruvananthapuram, rates his former teammate’s knock as his best in India colours. “He showed great maturity. Once he hit