Samson played a brilliant unbeaten 97 in the high-pressure game in Kolkata on Sunday, guiding India to victory. The innings ended his recent run of low scores and came at the perfect time for the team.
Speaking on Star Sports, Gavaskar said the knock lifted a huge burden not just from Samson’s shoulders, but also from those who believe in his talent.
“This knock of 97 not out takes the weight off not just Sanju Samson’s shoulders, but off everyone who knows what a fine player he has been. He has had ups and downs, and we have felt them too because he is such a nice guy. Everybody wants him to do well,” said Gavaskar.
Samson endured a lean patch in the lead-up to the World Cup, with a string of low scores failing to reflect his true potential.
“All Indian cricket fans will be happy that this sincere cricketer has got the success he deserves.”
India will now take on England in the semifinal in Mumbai on Thursday.
Gavaskar said being named Player of the Match in a must-win game is a dream for any cricketer.
“To be the Man of the Match in a must-win game is a dream come true. You could see the emotions on Sanju’s face after he hit the winning runs. He was three runs short of a hundred and it would have been fantastic had he reached the three-figure mark.
“But maybe another hundred is on the way in some other match. It was not an easy target to chase down, but this set of players didn’t give up and they pulled off the unbelievable.”
Explaining India’s successful chase, Gavaskar said reducing dot balls was crucial.
“Having a set batter at one end is very beneficial. The other batter can look to knock singles and give more strike to the set batter. That way, there are not too many dot balls. In T20 cricket, the idea is to have as few dot balls as possible,” he said.
“I think the Indian team has realized that. If you look at the teams with the lowest percentage of dot balls, India are pretty high up there. I am not saying they are the best, but they are up there. That is where half the battle is won.
“Out of 120 deliveries, if you score runs off 80 to 85 balls, you give yourself a real chance to chase scores like 190 to 200 and India did exactly that against the West Indies.”
