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Only 16 ODIs into his international career, but a
dozen years after making his Kerala debut in domestic cricket, Sanju Samson
proved he could still flex as he reached his first ODI century. Samson showed
his teammates that he still had the strength to carry on by bending his elbow
and making a motion to his bicep. He doesn’t lack potential, but he hasn’t
always had many opportunities.
“He has been a phenomenal performer over the
years, and hasn’t gotten enough chances for different reasons,” India’s
captain KL Rahul told the host broadcaster at the post-match presentation.
“There are world-class players [in the Indian side]. Given this
opportunity, he capitalised.”
Fans of Indian cricket are generally aware of Samson’s
skill set because he played often in both the IPL and domestic leagues: play
aggressively right away and never let up. Additionally, his brief foreign
career has also been defined by that. Samson had played in 15 ODIs before to
Thursday and had amassed 402 runs at an average of 50.25, including three
half-centuries, despite five not-outs magnifying the score.
Although he has batted at No. 3 for the majority of
his domestic career, he batted at No. 5 or 6 in ten of those innings. Samson
had the most of the innings to demonstrate his abilities because he was carded
to bat at No. 3 and was brought on in the fifth over. He read conditions
effectively and exhibited patience.
In the 19th over, when Rahul was removed, he reached
the hundred for India and Tilak Varma, playing in his fourth One-Day
International, came to the crease. At that point, the innings needed to be
solidified, and Samson and Tilak rebuilt in spite of their lack of
international experience. They failed to hit a boundary for ten overs, four of
which were bowled by Keshav Maharaj.
Samson and Tilak “decided to go a bit
harder,” as Samson put it, just in the 40th over, and Samson started that.
In order to increase his personal scoring rate, which
had remained in the 60s for the majority of the innings, he pulled Nandre
Burger onto the grass banks to begin a ten-over stretch during which India
scored 93 runs. Samson scored 22 runs off the final 13 balls he faced after
reaching 50 off 66 balls, 64 off 90 balls, and 86 off 101. This may have been
an homage to his unrealized talent that has always existed, but it was also a
reminder of his past.
And he demonstrated that by celebrating. His
impressive feat might be seen as a sign that he has been working out both
mentally and physically, and that he has contributed in any way to the team’s
recovery from losing the World Cup final.