India’s Sanju Samson made a mockery of the Bangladesh attack in the third and final T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad on Saturday (October 12).
Opening the innings, Samson slammed the second-fastest T20I hundred by an Indian off 40 deliveries and went on to score 111 runs in just 47 balls, including 11 boundaries and eight sixes. He also shared a partnership of 173 runs for the second wicket with Suryakumar, who contributed 75 off 35 balls with the bat.
Thanks to their whirlwind display and crucial cameos from Hardik Pandya (47 off 18) and Riyan Parag (34 off 13), the Men in Blue racked up a mammoth 297/6 on the board – the second highest team total in T20I history.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Sanju Samson, who often draws flak for his inconsistency with the bat, said he knows how to deal with the pressure and failures after playing so many games.
“The dressing room energy and the boys really have lots of happiness for me. I am very happy. They are happy that I did well. It can get frustrating knowing what you can do out there and the way I have been batting, I thought that could have done much better. Those thoughts keep coming in your head. With lot of experience and so many games I have played, I know how to deal with the pressure and failures,” Samson said after picking up his Player-of-the-Match award.
“I have failed a lot, so I know how to manage my mind accordingly. I keep telling myself I just need focus on the process, keep doing my training, keep believing in myself and one day it'll come soon. Playing for the country, you come in with a lot of pressure. That pressure was there, I wanted to perform and I wanted to show what I am capable of. I kept reminding myself I just need to keep it as basic as possible, focus on one ball at a time, keep playing my shots,” he added.
The wicketkeeper-batter was also grateful to the captain-coach duo of Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir for backing despite his failures in the last T20I tour of Sri Lanka.
“The dressing room and the leadership group which we have, they keep telling me, "I know what type of talent you have and we back you no matter what," Not in words, in actions also they've shown me. In the last series I got two ducks and went back to Kerala thinking, "kya hoga bhai," but they backed me in this series and I am very happy that I gave something to smile for my captain and coach,” he remarked.
Talking about his victory punch, Sanju Samson said: “It has a long story. I have been trying to do something like this (five sixes in an over) from last one year. I was chasing it and it happened today.”
After posting a mammoth score on the board, India restricted Bangladesh to 164/7. Ravi Bishnoi was the stand-out bowler with figures of 3 for 30 in his four overs. Mayank Yadav (2-32) also impressed with two wickets to his name.
