Sanju Samson delighted to fulfill his mentor’s wish of hitting five sixes in an over
India wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson revealed that he had been trying to hit five sixes in an over from a long time after his match-winning knock against Bangladesh in the third T20I on Saturday, October 12 at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad. Samson registered his maiden T20I hundred as he slammed 111 off 47 balls with the help of 11 fours and eight sixes.
During his innings, he ripped apart Bangladesh spinner Rishad Hossain as he hit him for five consecutive sixes in the tenth over of the first innings. Samson made good use of the flight given by the wrist spinner as he used it to his advantage and continued to whack him over his head for four maximums.
IND vs BAN 3rd T20I Highlights
He finished the over with a maximum over deep mid-wicket and managed to score the joint second-highest runs of an over by an Indian batter in T20Is leveling the feat of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma vs Australia in 2023. Opening up on the incident after the game, Samson revealed that he had been trying to achieve the feat from a long time as his mentor had wished for it and was delighted to finally pull it off.
“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. (On his victory punch) 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,” said Samson in the post-match presentation.
Further speaking ahead, Samson also opened up about his thought process after he failed to convert chances into big scores at the international level.
I have failed a lot, so I know how to manage my mind accordingly: Samson
“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. 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,” he added.
Samson got involved in a massive 173-run partnership off just 70 balls with captain Suryakumar Yadav (75 off 35) for the third wicket. The duo helped India to post the highest T20I score by a Test playing nation of 297/6 and the second-highest overall.
In reply, Bangladesh were restricted to 164/7 in their 20 overs with Ravi Bishnoi (3/30) and Mayank Yadav (2/32) being top wicket takers. As a result, India won the match by 133 runs and completed a 3-0 whitewash in the T20I series.
