It is not often that Suryakumar Yadav ends up playing second fiddle on a day he scores 75 off 35 balls. But such was Sanju Samson's knock in the third T20I against Bangladesh. Opening the innings in Hyderabad, a city that has given India two of its most stylish batters, Samson scored 111 off 47 in an exhibition of sublime hitting.
It was the second-fastest T20I hundred for India, off 40 balls, and paved the way for their highest total in the format, 297 for 6. An on-song Samson makes batting look effortless, and it was no different on Saturday. Apart from that, it was also a masterclass in using the crease.
Facing Taskin Ahmed in the second over, Samson stepped towards the leg side, gave himself room and drove the full and straight delivery through covers for four. For the next ball, Taskin shortened his length and straightened his line even more. Samson once again backed away and punched him inside out for four.
With two more boundaries off the next two deliveries, Samson took 16 from Taskin's first over. In the previous game, the fast bowler needed to complete all his four overs to give away that many.
After messing with Taskin's line, Samson used his footwork to toy with Mustafizur Rahman's length. Against a slower ball, he took a couple of short steps down the pitch and hit it for a straight six. In Mustafizur's next over, Samson went deep in his crease and, off the back foot, lofted a length ball over extra cover for another six. Even though Suryakumar showed his 360-degree range from the other end, this was arguably the shot of the day.
Samson did not have to use much footwork against Rishad Hossain; the legspinner himself erred in length. He started the tenth over of the innings with a dot, but his next four deliveries were too full and Samson nonchalantly launched them down the ground for four sixes. For the final ball, Rishad went around the wicket. It made little difference as Samson pulled it over deep midwicket to make it five in a row.
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After the fifth six, Samson did a little fist pump. Later, he revealed the reason for it. "From the last two years, I have been thinking I can hit six sixes in an over," he said. "Accordingly, I have been working with my mentor, Raiphi Gomez, and telling myself that four-five sixes in an over are possible and I should do something like that. So I have been practising and visualising it and I am very grateful it happened today."
In an innings that featured 11 fours and eight sixes, Samson's most violent act was the celebration after his fifty: an air punch with full might to release the pent-up frustration of years.
Samson's has been a story of unfulfilled potential. In a T20I career that started in 2015 with a lot of promise, he had played only 32 matches before this one. In those, he scored 483 runs at an average of 19.32 and a strike rate of 132.69.
There are two ways to look at it. First, he never got a proper run to settle in and perform at his best. Second, he did not make use of the chances he got. Even in the IPL, he had failed to do justice to his talent. He would start with a bang but fizzle out way too soon.
Things, however, changed with IPL 2024, where he finished fifth on the batting charts, scoring 531 runs at an average of 48.27 and a strike rate of 153.46. As a result, he was picked in India's squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. But with Rishabh Pant being the first-choice wicketkeeper, he spent the whole tournament on the bench.
After the World Cup, Samson toured Zimbabwe with a second-string Indian side and scored 58 off 45 balls in the fifth T20I. But when he fetched two ducks in his next two outings in Sri Lanka, he knew he was running out of chances.
"When you are playing for the country and you fail in a couple of games, you know pressure is there," Samson said. "And I have to be honest, pressure was there. I wanted to perform. I wanted to show what I was capable of.
"The captain [Suryakumar] and the coach [Gautam Gambhir] kept telling me, 'We know what type of talent you have, and we back you, no matter what.' Not only in words but also in action. I was a bit doubtful after a couple of ducks in Sri Lanka if I would get a chance in the next series. But they backed me in this series."
Another thing the team management did was inform Samson well in advance about his new role.
"The leadership group - Surya, Gautam bhai and [assistant coach] Abhishek Nayar - told me three weeks before this series that I would be opening the innings. That gave me time for proper preparation. I went to the RR [Rajasthan Royals] academy and faced lots and lots of new-ball bowlers. So I was coming in this series 10% more ready than any other series."
Samson looked in good touch in the first T20I too but fell for 29 off 19 after miscuing one to deep midwicket. While walking back, he screamed in anger. Given India were chasing only 128, he could have knocked a few around and got to a fifty. But that would have been against the team's ethos and his own character.
"It can get very tricky - playing for India is not an easy thing," he said. "When you have those failures, it's easier to go back and say, okay, I should make some runs for myself in the next game. But I like to be myself. And I know what I am as a person, as a character.
"For me, it's all about people, it's all about my friends, it's all about my team. I like to go out and succeed or fail in my own way. That is what I have stuck to right from the time I started playing this game. It's all about knowing your game, knowing your character. It's all about being true to yourself."
His approach has finally brought success. With his hundred, he has at least turned the page, if not started a new chapter.