Ravi Shastri makes bold declaration after Sanju ‘special’ Samson brings India a step closer to T20 World Cup crown

Ravi Shastri was over the moon seeing Sanju Samson play a ‘special’ knock for India under pressure.

Sanju Samson played arguably the greatest innings of his life last evening when he helped India overhaul West Indies’ challenging total of 195 in the virtual quarterfinal at the Eden Gardens. With the ghosts of the 2016 World T20 semi-final and West Indies’ Kolkata charm looming large, the game was balanced 50-50 when India were tasked with pulling off their highest chase in the history of the T20 World Cup. Things became trickier when Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav were dismissed at crucial junctures of the innings, but the one wicket that would have made or broken India’s chances was Samson, who did not flinch and saw his team through to the finish line.

Ravi Shastri and Sanju Samson after the match (AFP)

Samson has played many a memorable knock in his India career. He scored back-to-back centuries in 2024 and has truckloads of IPL runs under his belt. Still, Samson had failed to cement his legacy… until last night. When push came to shove, Samson’s resilience and grit stood out, earning praise from the who’s who of Indian cricket. Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif and Irfan Pathan all gave Samson their flowers, but as always, Ravi Shastri’s take remained icing on the cake.

"It is Sanju's special Samson today, and that innings was special, because just his calmness, his composure, and just the sublime touch right through that innings," Shastri said on The ICC Review.

"You had everything. You had timing, you had placement, you had explosive power, you had class, and what I liked best was that even with wickets falling around him, he never lost his cool. He was calm and composed in front of a big crowd.

Samson delivers on the big stage

Samson enjoys one of the biggest fanbases in Indian cricket, possibly the largest after Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. For the longest time, Samson’s treatment sparked ‘Justice for Sanju Samson’ noise on social media, which didn’t really materialise into much. Last September, when Shubman Gill was slotted back in India’s T20I squad for the Asia Cup, it was almost imminent that Samson’s time was up… again. Only that it wasn’t. Big teams, bigger players crumble under the pressure of a knockout, and make no mistake, plenty was at stake in this one. Samson batted with the maturity of a seasoned pro, drawing on all his experience.

Dinesh Karthik summed up Samson’s approach brilliantly. After completing his fifty, Samson pressed the reset button. He played the first two deliveries as if they were the first two of this innings. He knew the job wasn’t done and that if he fell, India could be in serious trouble. As coach Gautam Gambhir pointed out, Samson never accelerated; he just played the usual shots with such conviction that it looked like he had switched gears.

At last, Samson produced an innings that people will remember, and Shastri couldn’t be prouder.

“This was not a league game. This was a knockout contest. People, their expectations of Samson have been huge right through his career. No one has questioned his talent, but they have been disappointed with his consistency. He brought everything to the fore today and made millions around the globe happy," he added.