Sanju Samson reveals how Surya-Gambhir combo has changed India after Rohit-Dravid

Published - 13 Oct 2024, 01:10 PM | Updated - 13 Oct 2024, 11:36 PM

Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson (Image Credits: X)

Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson smashed a brilliant hundred during the third T20I between India and Bangladesh in Hyderabad. It was a magnificent century from the talented cricketer who was under immense pressure coming into this game.

Samson registered two low scores before the Hyderabad T20I and needed to perform here to be on the selectors' radar. His knock came at a perfect time and it also turned out to be a memorable one.

He smashed 111 off 47 balls with 11 fours and 8 sixes. Samson reached his hundred off just 40 balls. It was the second-fastest hundred by an Indian in a T20I after Rohit Sharma, who reached his century off just 35 balls.

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Sanju Samson speaks on the pressure before the match

While speaking to Jio Cinema after the match, Sanju Samson admitted to having felt the pressure. He felt the pressure after two low scores but thanked India's team management for showing the trust in him.

"To be very honest, you do feel a bit of pressure every time you walk out to bat for your country. Anything below fifty is a failure nowadays (laughs). I felt that I've had two failures and I thought that I needed to put something on to showcase the trust that the leadership group has shown in me. I am very grateful that it happened today," Samson said.

While speaking on his five sixes in the over, Samson revealed his mentor's words who encouraged him to achieve this feat. He revealed that he had been visualizing the moment for quite some time and was glad to achieve it finally.

"As I told in the presentation, my mentor told me 'You have to hit five sixes in an over, you should do that.' Normally people say to score a fifty or a hundred but he said that you should aim to score five sixes off five balls. We had been thinking about it and visualizing it for the last year and it happened today," he added.

Sanju Samson speaks on hitting five sixes in an over

Sanju Samson smashed five consecutive sixes off the legspinner Rishad Hossain in the 10th over of India's innings. The opener tore apart Bangladesh's young legspinner who tried everything but could not stop him.

Sanju Samson also mentioned about India's changed batting approach in which the team has played with an attacking intent for the past few matches. He remembered the time when India changed the approach to a more attacking one with Rohit Sharma leading from the front and Suryakumar Yadav taking it forward.

Communication with Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav

Samson also revealed the communication with the head coach Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav regarding the batting approach in which they have given the freedom to the batters to express themselves.

"After the (T20) World Cup we played in Australia in 2021 (2022), there has been a talk in the dressing room that you have to be aggressive in this format to be successful. Rohit bhai led from the front in the last (T20) World Cup and Surya took over," the 29-year-old said.

"Gautam (Gambhir) bhai and Surya bhai keep communicating that we have to go and express ourselves. We have a very long batting order and this format doesn't demand second order. If you're set, you've to keep playing your shots. The communication is very clear and we just like to do the same thing on the ground," Samson added.

Sanju Samson's next assignment

Sanju Samson will play the Ranji Trophy for Kerala as India moves into the red-ball mold for the three-match Test series against New Zealand. With this knock, he has most likely secured his place for India's next T20I series in South Africa.

Meanwhile, India defeated Bangladesh 3-0 in the T20I series and completed a clean sweep over the visitors in both Tests and T20is. India won all the matches in a one-sided manner across the formats.

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