The time has come for breathtaking Samson to launch himself to dizzying heights

For nine years and more, he was the nearly-man of Indian cricket. The occasional ‘oohs’ and the sporadic ‘aahs’ were liberally interspersed with groans of ‘oh, not again.’ His ability was never in question — you only had to watch him bat for a half-dozen balls if you weren’t already convinced — but where were the performances? Where was the correlation between promise and delivery? How could someone so gifted continue to flounder so often against so many?

Of all those grappling with these questions, the foremost must have been Sanju Samson himself. What was going on, he must have wondered? Why? Why are the big runs so elusive in international T20 cricket? Am I destined to be bracketed in the ‘what might have been’ category?

Well, not anymore.

Sometimes, all it takes to turn things around is one knock — maybe even one ball, as happened with Nitish Kumar Reddy in the second T20I against Bangladesh in New Delhi mid-week. A six off a free-hit delivery from Mahmudullah rejuvenated the young lad from Andhra, who smashed 74 on his way to the Player-of-the-Match award in only his second outing for the country. Samson must believe that Saturday night’s stunning 111 against the same opposition in what was essentially a ‘dead rubber’ is the springboard from which he can launch himself to dizzying heights.

Contrast

It’s strange how the weight of failures in one format does not spill over to another even at the highest level. Before his maiden T20I century, Samson averaged a measly 19.32 in 32 outings in the format. His 50-over numbers, however, bear no resemblance to his tribulations in the shortest version. The 29-year-old averages 56.66 and boasts a strike-rate of 99.60 in 16 ODIs. How does one explain this? This huge disparity in returns in the two white-ball formats for the country?

One can’t, really. Not even Samson can. By his own admission, he wondered what the future held when he picked up successive blobs in Pallekele in July even as his team surged to a 3-0 sweep under new captain Suryakumar Yadav. Samson wouldn’t really have complained had he been overlooked for the next assignment, against Bangladesh, or indeed for Saturday’s last game in Uppal with Jitesh Sharma waiting in the wings.

Keeping the faith

But fortunately for him, Suryakumar and Gautam Gambhir decided to keep the faith. Maybe they had seen good signs in the two previous innings, when he made 29 and 10. Maybe they felt that with fellow-opener Abhishek Sharma also struggling for form, it didn’t make sense to shake things up even if the result was, in some ways, inconsequential inasmuch as the outcome of an international fixture can be. Maybe they wanted to continue to keep the foot on the accelerator, unwilling to tinker with a winning combination and realising the futility of blooding someone for just one game.

Whatever the reason, Samson wasn’t complaining. This was a golden opportunity — another one, did you say? — to showcase his exceptional skill. To prove that he wasn’t just an IPL show pony, that what he does so regularly for Rajasthan Royals, he can do for India as well.

Maybe we are getting carried away with just one knock, but as history will testify, that’s more than enough in many cases. Samson will hope that holds true in his case as well.

Moments after the coin settled on the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium turf in Uppal, Najmul Hossain Shanto bravely proclaimed that he wasn’t disappointed at calling wrongly. He insisted after Suryakumar opted to set a target that Bangladesh’s game plan had always been to stick the opposition in and try to chase down whatever total the hosts might put on the board. Maybe he was playing mind games, maybe he was being downright honest — we will never know. What we do know is that for the next 100-odd minutes, he watched his bowlers being decimated like never before. He was at the receiving end of Samson’s pent-up wrath, the frustrations of failures past taken out on a hapless bowling bunch that had nowhere to hide.

Samson falls in a long list of Indian batters — maybe we are biased, but no other country has produced as many fluid, graceful willow-wielders, right? — who make the vocation look ridiculously easy. When he plonks his left foot down the track and caresses the ball down the ground, he looks a million dollars. ‘Gosh, that’s doable, even for me,’ we tell ourselves, softly, looking around to confirm that no one around has picked up our inner thoughts because let’s face it, that’s not doable for most. When he opens his broad shoulders and drives the same ball over the infield, over the boundary cushions, deep into the stands, we gaze in astonishment. When he rocks back and pulls, we wonder how a stroke essentially violent in its nature can be made to look such a thing of beauty. We realise that we are witnessing a special talent at work. Even if only in fits and starts.

On Saturday, Samson provided sustained entertainment whilst donning the India Blue for the first time. He does boast an ODI century — his 108 off 114 deliveries came in his last 50-over appearance, in Paarl in South Africa last December, after which he was strangely overlooked for the three-match series in Colombo this August — but as sumptuous as that feast was, it wasn’t anywhere near as savagely beautiful as the Hyderabad assault.

Abhishek perished early again and must have been kicking himself for throwing it away at the same ground where he made a name for himself while bashing bowlers into submission alongside Travis Head for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2024. An hour and a quarter later, he must have sported blood-red palms, the result of non-stop clapping as his colleagues intensified his misery by posting the highest total (297 for six) in a T20I involving Full Member countries.

Suryakumar was Samson’s ally in a second-wicket association of 173 runs – off a princely 69 deliveries, if you please. The Indian captain is the premier T20 batter of his, indeed any, generation, a bustling, cheeky, innovative, irritating (for the opposition) presence who thinks nothing of moving around in his crease to put the bowlers off. The contrast with his partner couldn’t have been more striking. Not for Samson the backing away to leg or the pronounced movement to off to access unpopulated parts of the ground. Where Suryakumar bludgeoned, Samson slowly bled the opposition to death with a deft nick here, a dexterous cut there. He was almost apologetic in inflicting injury. How could you not admire that even if you were at the receiving end?

Suryakumar was dismissed for 75 off 35, strike-rate 214.28. Awesome? Of course. By then, Samson had walked off to a rousing ovation from a huge holiday crowd, and from his dugout that was more euphoric than relieved. 111 of the best flowed from his bat, off a mere 47 deliveries (SR 236.17). Of those 47, 11 went for fours, eight for sixes. Of those eight sixes, five came off successive deliveries from Rishad Hossain, the leg-spinner whose night couldn’t end soon enough. Samson was to reveal later that he had in the past thought of ‘six sixes in an over’ oftentimes. There was no reprising Yuvraj Singh on this occasion, but don’t bet against it going forward.

Blitzkrieg

Samson’s century came in 40 deliveries, the second fastest in T20Is by an Indian, only behind Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball effort against Sri Lanka in 2017 and much quicker than his current captain’s 45-ball knock against the same opposition last year. It was electric, practically making up for the long wait, all but compensating for the numerous Samson disappointments of the past. It came at the top of the batting tree, like many of his masterpieces for his franchise, but the opening slot will almost certainly not be his once India is back at full strength.

Shubman Gill, the designated vice-captain to Suryakumar, and Yashasvi Jaiswal have struck up a wonderful tandem in their brief stint together as T20I openers and it’s hard to see the team management splitting that right-left combination to accommodate Samson.

That being said, Samson’s immediate future will most likely entail remaining at the top of the batting tree. India is scheduled to travel to South Africa next month for four T20Is; Gill and Jaiswal will be on the flight to Australia for the five-Test series and therefore Samson should get further opportunities in the land of the Protea to build on this momentum, which will then ensure that in an Indian talent pool teeming with numerous virtuosos, he remains not just relevant but moves into the ‘near indispensable’ group.

The excitement that accompanies any period of transition is palpable as India move on from ‘Rohit’s team’. Suryakumar is the new boss and has won both his series as full-time captain. All other things being equal, he will spearhead India’s defence of its Men’s T20 World Cup crown at home two years on, by which time he will have at his disposal an array of experienced riches to choose from.

Despite all these years in international cricket, Samson will still only be 31 at that time, one of the elder statesmen and a source of support from a leadership perspective for Suryakumar. That is, if he proves comprehensively that Hyderabad isn’t a false dawn. One suspects he will, you know.