Sunil Gavaskar said Sanju Samson had finally got “the success he deserves” after the wicketkeeper-batter’s unbeaten 97 powered India to a famous chase against West Indies in a must-win T20 World Cup clash in Kolkata. Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar framed the innings not just as a match-winning knock, but as an emotional release after a difficult run.
Samson was named Player of the Match after steering India home under pressure, with the win sending India into the semifinal against England in Mumbai. Gavaskar said the unbeaten 97 carried meaning beyond the numbers because of Samson’s lean patch in the lead-up to the tournament.
“This knock of 97 not out takes the weight off not just Sanju Samson’s shoulders, but off everyone who knows what a fine player he has been. He has had ups and downs, and we have felt them too because he is such a nice guy. Everybody wants him to do well,” Gavaskar said.
He then underlined why the innings resonated so strongly with Indian supporters, adding: “All Indian cricket fans will be happy that this sincere cricketer has got the success he deserves.”
Gavaskar explains India’s chase template
While the praise for Sanju Samson formed the emotional centre of Gavaskar’s remarks, he also offered a clear tactical reading of how India pulled off the chase. His focus was on dot-ball reduction — a theme that has increasingly defined successful T20 batting units.
{{/usCountry}}While the praise for Sanju Samson formed the emotional centre of Gavaskar’s remarks, he also offered a clear tactical reading of how India pulled off the chase. His focus was on dot-ball reduction — a theme that has increasingly defined successful T20 batting units.
{{/usCountry}}“Having a set batter at one end is very beneficial. The other batter can look to knock singles and give more strike to the set batter. That way, there are not too many dot balls. In T20 cricket, the idea is to have as few dot balls as possible,” he said.
Sunil Gavaskar argued that India’s batting group has begun to internalise that method across innings, not just in one-off situations. “I think the Indian team has realised that. If you look at the teams with the lowest percentage of dot balls, India are pretty high up there. I am not saying they are the best, but they are up there. That is where half the battle is won.”
He also put a number to the approach while explaining why India were able to hunt down a target in the 190-200 range. “Out of 120 deliveries, if you score runs off 80 to 85 balls, you give yourself a real chance to chase scores like 190 to 200, and India did exactly that against the West Indies.”
Gavaskar said being Player of the Match in a must-win game is a “dream come true” for any cricketer, and pointed to Samson’s visible emotion at the end of the chase. “You could see the emotions on Sanju’s face after he hit the winning runs,” he said, while noting that the batter finished three short of a hundred.
For Samson, though, the 97 may have done something even more valuable: it restored faith at exactly the moment India needed it most.