Sanju Samson saved the best innings of his life to rescue India on 1 March. His unbeaten 97 against the West Indies etched his name in history books for decades to come.
After the match, legendary cricketer Ian Bishop asked Sanju what it meant to him. He replied, “The whole world.”
“It means the whole world to me. Right from the day I started playing, I started dreaming of playing for the country. This is the day I was waiting for. I’m very grateful and very thankful,” Sanju Samson said.
Sanju Samson said after single-handedly taking India home: “I’ve always had a very special journey with lots of ups and downs. I have kept on doubting myself, kept on thinking, ‘What if, what if, can I make it, can I make it?’ But I kept on believing. Thanks to the Lord Almighty for blessing me today. I’m very happy.”
According to Sanju Samson, his long experience in T20 cricket has helped him grow as a player. He has played IPL for 10 to 12 years and has been part of the Indian team for around a decade.
Even when he was not in the playing XI, he watched from the dugout and learned from senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
“I’ve learned from the greats like Virat Kohli, from Rohit Sharma. I think it’s very important to observe, learn and see what they were doing. I think that really helped me,” Sanju said.
“I have only played maybe 50-60 games, but I have seen around 100 games,” Sanju added with a smile.
‘One ball at a time’
The Indian opener, who had not been a part of India’s playing XI in the first segment of the tournament, explained why the previous match was different.
India batted first in the last match against Zimbabwe. So, his aim was to attack from the start and set a big total. But, in this game, the situation was different as wickets were falling whenever he was trying to accelerate.
Sanju decided to focus on building a partnership and stick to his process. He said he didn’t think about doing something special.
“I was just focusing on my role and just keeping one ball at a time. I’m very grateful. I think this is one of the greatest days of my life,” Sanju Samson said in the post-match interview.
“I just brought myself into the present moment. I just looked at the ball and trusted myself to react according to the ball’s merit. That worked out pretty well today,” he added.
