In the last few months, international cricket has witnessed an astonishing number of gaffes by home captains. Shaan Masood’s premature declaration contributed to Bangladesh’s first Test series win against Pakistan. Rohit Sharma’s decision to bat first on a moisture-laden pitch saw the beginning of the end of India’s glorious winning streak. Aiden Markram summoned two overs of spin upfront on a pace-friendly deck, having reasoned at the toss moments ago that he chose to bowl in order to exploit the overcast conditions.
India cashed in on his tactical blunder, amping the score up to 24/0 after three overs even as Marco Jansen gave away just a couple to start off the proceedings. Spared the spite of Gerald Coetzee early on, Sanju Samson quickly got his eye in, driving Keshav Maharaj inside-out over extra cover upon using his feet. He was happier contending with the trickery of the left-arm orthodox as opposed to nip and bounce, going through with the shot and fetching six on the next despite Maharaj retracting his length and throwing it wide on spotting him advancing again.
The realization that fronloading spin was sub-optimal may have dawned upon Markram when Coetzee, introduced into the attack in the fourth over, hustled Abhishek Sharma to strike immediately. A wise man learns from others’ mistakes, the old proverb goes. Suryakumar Yadav unleashed his pace merchants for five overs straight, with Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan bagging a wicket apiece. As a result the onus to manage the asking rate dolloped on Ryan Rickelton, who had faced 10 balls for his 21.
Not wise to the ways of Varun Chakravarthy, he attacked the mystery spinner without having an opportunity to suss him out, leaving South Africa with a PowerPlay total of 49/3. India were 56/1 in comparison, the plentiful plays-and-misses against the speedsters notwithstanding.
Batting on 35 off 20, Samson oozed confidence heading into the middle phase of the innings, and it didn’t help South Africa’s cause that the upcoming overs were to be shared between the inexperienced trio of trundlers Andile Simelane and Patrick Kruger and leg-spinner Nqabayomzi Peter. During his 47-ball 111 against Bangladesh, Samson hit leggie Rishad Hossain for five consecutives sixes, an emphatic closing of the loop that he initiated along with his mentor Bijumon N in the confines of the Covid-19 lockdown.
From 2013 to 2019 in the IPL, Samson tallied 854 runs in 63 innings versus spin at a strike rate of 122, averaging 28.4. However, the amalgamation of added muscle mass and a higher backlift which lends him an improved relay to hit consistently through the line brought about a sea change. Only four batters have scored more runs against tweakers than Samson since the 2020 edition, but none of them boast of the combination of a 50+ average and 150+ strike-rate.
Under the pump psychologically, Peter missed his length twice in a row, with Samson demolishing the drag-downs in front of the short square boundary to attain a 27-ball fifty. Adjudged CSA’s domestic newcomer and T20 Challenge player of the season, Peter has been preferred over Bjorn Fortuin and Tabraiz Shamsi for this series, giving a peek into the Proteas’ future planning, especially for the 2026 T20 World Cup in the subcontinent. Shamsi opted out of a national contract last month but remains available for selection and white-ball coach Rob Walter justified his absence as part of an experiment to see what other, lesser-known players can offer.
Nerves of the South African rookies jangled, and understandably so. India are the world champions after all, their cricketers battle-hardened by IPL exposure. Peter returned an economy of 11.7 as Samson yielded 58(27) off the spinners, the third-highest by an Indian in T20Is. Kruger bowled a trainwreck of a ninth over where he sent down 12 deliveries. Simelane, following an impressive first five balls, leaked 24 in his ensuing seven. India walked away with a rich harvest of 101/1 between overs 8-14 as Samson took just 20 balls to go from 50 to 100, with an aesthetically pleasing six over long-off standing out from that untrammeled acceleration.
The backward trigger movement which tucks him deep into the crease, a recent addition to his technique, allows easy clearance of the front leg to manufacture room to hit through the off-side. Albeit the backfoot-heavy weight distribution and his proclivity to stay leg-side of the ball does make him susceptible to zippy anglers into the pads, as both Maharaj and Coetzee discovered at the very beginning.
Sometimes when striking the ball clean as a whistle batters tend to subconsciously slink into an autopilot mode where they become detached to their surroundings and just react to the ball, often referred to as ‘entering the zone’. It can prove to be a double-edged sword in the multilayered dynamic of T20 cricket, shutting down the observational learning compartment of the brain. Samson made a conscious effort to retain his game awareness throughout, paying attention to the tricks bowlers had up their sleeves.
His batting partner Suryakumar was quizzed after Kruger’s opening salvo whether it was a slower delivery. He replied in the affirmative. Samson had been apprised of a string in the bow. Now he knew what to half-expect and could analyze his options depending on the gaps. Right on cue, as Kruger rolled his fingers across the seam of his second ball too, Samson was hanging back in the box to give it a full monty.
“Really enjoyed my time in the middle. Playing it well, maximum utilisation of my current form you can say. The intent, we have been talking about being aggressive and keeping the team ahead of yourselves,” said Samson, who is only now gaining a place of permanence in the Indian T20I team having debuted all the way back in 2015.
“If I think a lot I will get emotional. I waited for this moment for 10 years, I’m very happy, grateful and blessed. But I would like to keep my feet on the ground, be in the moment and enjoy.”
