Samson's Return Proves India's T20 WC Pieces Falling in Place: Gavaskar

Samson rose to the occasion with a perfectly paced 97 not out off just 50 balls as India chased down 196 to beat West Indies by five wickets in a virtual knockout clash in front of 67,000 spectators at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

"Yes, sometimes you have a situation where you actually have a piece falling into the right place. I do believe that Rinku Singh's father's illness at that stage and because he was away, had the opening for Sanju Samson to be brought into the team for the game the other day - not the one at the Eden Gardens, the one in Chennai.

"That's where he got the Indian team off to a start with Abhishek Sharma of over 40 because in all the matches till then, one of the openers, either Abhishek or Ishan Kishan had got out for a duck and the Indian team would lose a wicket in the power play," said Gavaskar, while replying to a query from IANS in an interaction ahead of the DP World Celebrity Golf Event to create awareness on the CHAMPS Foundation.

Samson featured only once in the group stage, making 22 against Namibia in New Delhi, as India majorly preferred to have the left-handed opening pair of Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma.

But after the 76-run defeat to South Africa, Samson was recalled for the Super Eights tie against Zimbabwe to break the left-handed monotony and made a brisk 24, before hitting 12 boundaries and four sixes in an unforgettable knock in a crunch clash to steer India to the semi-finals.

"In fact, they used to lose two wickets in the power play. But that partnership certainly steadied the Indian innings. From there, obviously, with him batting the way that he did, breaking the two left-handers together to make the opening into a right-hand, left-hand combination, certainly has made it look very good.

"It's because that was the old form anyway - the old partnership before Samson went out of form and Ishan Kishan came back into the team. So you could say that the pieces have certainly fallen into place. Even England are peaking and India are also peaking and it is going to be some game worth going miles to see," added Gavaskar.

Gavaskar also termed Samson's match-winning knock in Kolkata as one of the finest knocks he commentated on in recent times in T20s. "He anchored the innings and then he also took India home, which is such an important thing. A lot of times, players get out in the 16th or the 17th over and so, when a new batter comes in, then it becomes a little bit difficult.

"So, it was a superb innings in the way he anchored and took India home. He didn't seem to take any undue risk and played normal cricketing shots and play any reverse sweep or scoop. He stuck to his strength, which was playing normal shots in the V and it was one of the finest T20 innings that we have seen in recent times."

England, led by Harry Brook, come into the semi-final on the back of winning all their Super Eight games and have been growing in form and confidence as the tournament gets to the business end. Gavaskar feels Thursday's semi-final, the third straight time of India meeting England in this phase of the competition, had all the ingredients of a classic.

"It's going to be another cracker of a game just like this sort of quarter-final against the West Indies was because both sides are very well matched. They have got batting, bowling, middle order and the finisher. Both teams have finishers and variety in their bowling, and also got a fair bit of experience of T20 cricket.

"England have got a few players who have played in the IPL and are familiar with Indian conditions and when they play for their franchise in an away game, the crowd pressure is there and are familiar with that as well. So, it is going to be a humdinger of a game, like it went in Kolkata and this one also will likely go to the 40th over."

Asked about India's semi-final hoodoo at the Wankhede Stadium - defeats to England in the 1987 ODI World Cup and West Indies in the 2016 T20 World Cup - Gavaskar remained unperturbed.

"Well, the other day, somebody said as well that West Indies had never lost a knockout game at the Eden Gardens, but that was broken. So it's a new era, new team and yes, India have not had the best of semi-final experiences at the Wankhede. But I do believe that they have the capability to go all the way to the final in Ahmedabad."

Gavaskar also had an advice for young left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma, who has scored 80 runs in six games at an average of 13.33 and a strike-rate of 131.14. Barring 55 against Zimbabwe, Abhishek hasn't played any innings of note and Gavaskar urged him to focus on building his innings rather than attacking relentlessly from the outset.

"My advice would be to not always look to bat in the fourth gear. Maybe look to up the gears as you settle in. Yes, you want to take advantage of the power play where only two fielders are outside the 30-metre circle. You want to certainly take advantage of that - play to your strengths, but don't always have to look to bat in the fourth gear.

"Like you saw with Sanju Samson batting in the third gear, for most of the time, he got 97 off 50 deliveries. Anybody who gets 97 will mean that his team will at least get double that amount, if not more - double that number of runs. So, if you get 190-200 in a semis while batting first, you are looking at possibly a winning score," he added.

On the sidelines of the semi-final, Gavaskar spoke about the charity golf initiative being organised in Mumbai on Friday, featuring leading names from Indian and international sport. The event seeks to raise awareness for the CHAMPS Foundation (Caring, Helping, Assisting, Motivating, Promoting Sportsperson), founded by Gavaskar, which supports former Indian international sportspersons facing financial and medical challenges.

"Well, we saw that there is a semi-final of the ICC T20 World Cup in Mumbai on March 5. So we knew that there would be some commentators and also some former players who would be around here. So we decided to go and request that those who play golf (to be a part of it).

"I myself don't play golf and I keep joking about it. People ask me, 'How come you are one of those rare cricketers who hasn't taken up to golf?' I keep joking and say that, 'Look, I really worked very hard for my centuries in Test cricket and I don't like easy centuries. In golf, you'll get a century just like that.'

"So, with that in view, we decided that having these players being around, we would be able to then do like we did in that inaugural 1983 double wicket tournament, and would be able to get potential sponsors as well to participate in this golf team," he concluded.

- IANS