He was first pushed down the order to accommodate Shubman Gill. He then lost his place in the XI to Jitesh Sharma’s finishing prowess before eventually regaining his preferred slot at the top of the order on the cusp of the Men’s T20 World Cup. What followed was a horrendous series against New Zealand, forcing him to wait a little longer for his T20 World Cup debut.

Cut to Thursday night and, for the second time in as many outings, Sanju Samson emerged as the toast of a cricket-crazy nation. If his unbeaten 97 in the virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies to guide India into the knockouts was not impressive enough, Samson carried the momentum forward with a scintillating 42-ball 89 to set up India’s nail-biting semifinal win against England at the Wankhede Stadium.

Samson reflected on the rough patch that preceded his turnaround. “That was very, very challenging for me. I definitely wanted to come and do what I am trying to do now for the country, contribute and win games in the World Cup,” a relieved Samson said during a media conference after India booked its second consecutive final.

“I was trying a bit too much in the New Zealand series. I wanted to make an impact and get into the level of the World Cup here. But you know this format. Cricket can get very funny. Even the best in the world actually struggle to score runs in this format, so I have to respect the game. I have to come back to my basics, work a bit more from my basics. A lot of work went really well. I think when hard times were coming, I think my close people, the people who I love, my support, were with me and I closed all my windows. I shut down my phone. I was not on social media. I am still not on social media. So less noise, less people interacting with me. That really helped me to focus in the right direction and I am really happy with how I am doing.”

Samson enjoyed a slice of luck in the third over when England captain Harry Brook dropped a regulation catch at mid-on with the batter on 15— an opportunity India’s opener made England regret.

“I have been unlucky for quite a while, so it’s okay to be lucky at times and then thought about making the most of it,” Samson said, in a tongue-in-cheek reply.

While Samson admitted that successive impactful knocks have taken some weight off his shoulders, he hopes to continue in the same vein on Sunday night against New Zealand in Ahmedabad.

“It feels really great or relieved that I have been actually for a few years trying to do something like this for my country, so just waiting with a lot of patience, a lot of inner work, a lot of training, and a lot of practice,” Samson said.

“Definitely I should be very grateful, but I kind of feel that we have one more step to go. If we do that, then all the work, everything was worth it. I feel that one more innings should be good.”

With two southpaws — Jacob Bethell and Sam Curran — in full flow, India opted against giving left-arm spinner Axar Patel his fourth over. Instead, captain Suryakumar Yadav held back the final over of Axar until the very end — a move that proved decisive as India clinched a tense seven-run win over England to enter the ICC T20 World Cup final here on Thursday.

England needed 61 from the last four overs, leaving the contest finely poised. Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh each had an over remaining, with the question being not just who would bowl but when. The alternative option was to use medium-pacer Shivam Dube.

“The game was going neck-to-neck and they were trying to actually get 13-15 runs in an over. We knew that if we take the game till the end, they might actually get heavy on us,” Sanju Samson, who was named Player-of-the-Match for the second successive game, said at the post-match media briefing.

“We just wanted to finish off the game a bit earlier. That’s where we tried to bowl Bumrah, Arshdeep and Hardik in those three overs.”

Bethell attacked Arshdeep in the 17th over, striking the last two deliveries for a six and four to bring the equation down to 45 off 18 balls. Bumrah followed with a typically tight over, conceding just six runs without allowing a boundary.

With 39 needed off the final two overs, Hardik delivered a vital blow. Not only did he break the threatening partnership but also conceded just nine runs in the penultimate over.

Bethell, who had reached three figures, was run out off the first ball of the final over bowled by Dube. Though Dube conceded 22 runs, the cushion of 29 runs proved just enough as India sealed a place in the final against New Zealand in Ahmedabad on Sunday.

Costly miss

England captain Harry Brook admitted that his dropped catch of Samson when the batter was on 15 proved costly.

“Unfortunately, I didn’t catch it and he played a very good innings as well. Obviously it’s in the back of your mind. I kept on looking at the scoreboard and he was piling the runs on. I was like, I am going to have to get 80-90 tonight. It’s not ideal but it happened’’.

Catches often win matches, but dropped chances can cost dearly. While India’s drops have not yet proven fatal in the ICC T20 World Cup, the frequency of missed opportunities has emerged as a worry for Suryakumar Yadav’s side ahead of Thursday’s semifinal against England.

Bowling coach Morne Morkel conceded that the lapses in the field remain a concern as the tournament enters its decisive phase.

“Obviously nobody looks to drop a catch on purpose. It’s not like we don’t train for it,” Morkel said on Wednesday on the sidelines of India’s optional practice session. “There is a lot of focus on our fielding, and that was one of the key points heading into the World Cup. The guys train and work hard on their fielding. At times, is it a mindset thing? I can’t answer that.”

Through seven matches in the tournament, India has dropped 13 catches — the most by any team so far. In the virtual quarterfinal against West Indies in Kolkata on Sunday, three chances went down, with Abhishek Sharma dropping two and Tilak Varma spilling another in the deep.

Morkel acknowledged that positioning fielders optimally has not always been straightforward in the fast-paced T20 format. “For us it’s just about continuing to do the hard work and really focusing on getting certain players into the hot spots and the right areas,” he said.

“At times it’s hard to do that because you’re also working against an over-rate. That’s the responsibility the players need to take on the field — to find yourself in a position, in the hot zones, and to work a little bit extra. If we can get the right players in those positions, hopefully we can take the catches.”

Despite the youthful energy in the squad, the current Indian line-up still has a few fielders a captain might prefer to hide in the outfield. In T20 cricket, though, there are few hiding places. On a ground like the Wankhede, where momentum can shift in a matter of deliveries, India will hope that come Thursday night, no fielder is left wishing a dropped chance had not come his way.