Cracker-jack Sanju Samson revels in watershed moment in India colours having 'failed a lot'

It hasn't always been fair with Sanju Samson but life isn't and he didn't help his cause by not making full use of all the opportunities presented until Saturday night in Hyderabad. It was a culmination of everything Sanju Samson was playing and building towards as he smacked his maiden T20I ton.

It's a gift to yourself whenever you picked yourself up after a failure. It is also an affirmation to yourself that you are good at what you do. It is also a reminder that time is a blessing. That's what comebacks do. They help you realise that the hope you counted on for a long time after an unremarkable period was a good thing. That the process you were trusting on, trusted back in you once and for all. That in all the wrongs, for once you were right. At least there was one person who was ready to believe in you. In the Hyderabad night sky, every ball of that 47-delivery knock Sanju Samson played, there was a celebration, there was a punch of delight, there was relief and really an end to all the frustration for himself, his mentor and coach Raiphi Gomez and his fans, who can finally say 'Justice Prevailed'.

It felt like forever had passed for a knock like this to come for Sanju in India blue. 2020 was the last time when Samson got a full series to play at one batting position before the Bangladesh series. After almost four years, having played a T20 here, a couple there, Samson finally had his watershed moment in India colours. It has been a trial by fire for Samson whenever it comes to playing for India as he used to get picked for ODIs when a T20 World Cup was approaching and vice-versa. 

Samson never made the big league, because he didn't get those opportunities and backing all those years. The two Sri Lanka series in 2021 and at the start of 2022 were really disappointing and hence he got to be part of India's T20 World Cup squad only in 2024. However, starting from the Ireland series in 2022 to 2024, Samson never got to bat a full series in possibly his best format. He was always the rebound until he wasn't.

With the Test players being rested from the Bangladesh series, this was the series for Sanju Samson as he was not only going to get all three matches but also at a set position, opening. The tension was palpable as Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson strolled out to the middle to open the innings. Samson had gotten a start in the series opener but missed out in the second T20I. The uneasiness was in the air. There was a feeling if he hadn't performed on Saturday, it would take something special from him to make a comeback into the team anytime soon.

And boy did Sanju fire and how. It was coming of age for Samson in T20Is for India. Samson admitted that he was under pressure while coming in to bat but he didn't let it get to his head. He still played his shots. He didn't shy away from taking that risk. He didn't get away from his approach for one moment, whether it was hitting Mustafizur Rahman for a backfoot punch off a short delivery over the covers for a majestic six or going for those fourth and fifth sixes in that over against Rishad Hossain regardless of the amount of runs already scored in the over.

"Yeah, it can get frustrating knowing what you can do out there and the way I have been batting, I thought that I could have done much better," Samson said in the post-match interaction on not being able to justify his talent for so long on the international stage. "Those thoughts keep coming in your head but with a lot of experience and so many games I have played, I know how to deal with pressure and failures. I have failed a lot so I know how to manage my mind accordingly so I keep telling myself that I just need to focus on the process, keep doing my training, keep believing in myself and one day it will come soon," Samson added.

Samson always talked about impact and how he was happy with scoring those 10-ball 25s and 20-ball 40s. However, that didn't cut it. For him to become a permanent member of the side, Samson knew he had to go big without compromising on his strike rate and impact and Saturday knock was the fruition of that. 

"Anything below a fifty is a failure nowadays," Samson said on JioCinema. That is the harsh reality of it and coming into the game with an average below 120 and a strike rate of around 130, Samson really needed to push his limits. You could see he was building towards this knock. Whether it was the ODI hundred in December last year or the way his IPL season went, Samson minimised the unnecessary risks but when there was an opportunity to hit, he went for it while looking to play long.

Hence, Saturday was just the perfect amalgamation of what the team wanted from him, what he needed to do and what Samson was building towards and if it was not already implied, he is going to stay now in the T20 setup. Even though there was no real competition to Samson, Rishabh Pant despite his sub-par numbers was likely to come in and play like he did the whole T20 World Cup but the way he played in Hyderabad saw him score second fastest T20I century for India, he almost killed two birds with one stone.