There has been a lot of chatter around Sanju Samson and his remarkable and stylish stroke play at the Eden Gardens. He had sent the crowd into an ear-shattering mood in the crunch Twenty20 World Cup Super 8 clash against the men in maroon; by all accounts Samson unleashed a knock that can be described with a clutch of words like breath-taking, gorgeous and sumptuous. Or simply out of the world. But Samson, his teammates, the astute and the clear-eyed would merely look at his unbeaten 97 as a match-winning tour de force.

The Super 8 match against the in-form West Indies was billed as a quarter-final that would lay the pathway for the semi-final. And once the calypso men blasted their way to put 195 on the board, the target - almost ten an over - became a potential toil and task. There were bits and pieces contributions by most of the top and middle order, but Samson took it upon himself to sustain the high-risk Conatus, and eventually guide his team past the finishing line. It was only his third World Cup outing; the scores in the first two digs being 22 off 8 balls against Namibia at the Kotla, New Delhi and 24 off 15 balls against Zimbabwe when India backtracked to the left-right opening combination following the right hand finger spinners' success against the Southpaw pair in Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan.

The happenings in the preliminary stage begs the question if the Indian team did the right thing by ditching the left-right combination and opt for the double left-hander strategy. It did not work at all and after the Netherlands off break bowler Aryan Dutt penetrated the defences of Sharma and Kishan in the league match in Ahmedabad, the team management did not waste time to bring Samson back into the scheme of things. With the team giving priority to balance, Samson was sidelined after his debilitating outcomes in the home series against New Zealand. And Kishan nailed the opening spot - with Sharma - after a stunning display against South Africa in the warm up at the D. Y. Patil Sports Academy ground.

But the selection committee and the team management were proved wrong with Sharma not able to open his account against USA, Pakistan and Netherlands. Soon after the match against the Netherlands that India won, virtually every member of the support staff and the skipper Suryakumar Yadav himself announced a Samson comeback into the playing XI.

Samson had in 25 innings - before he marked the block against the West Indies at the Eden - scored more runs as an opener for a 30 plus average and scoring at 10.66 run rate an over. Moreover he has scored his three x 100s as an opener. Samson likes to face the new ball and get into his attacking stroke play mood. He has all the shots and excels in driving and lifting and employing the pull shot. In addition he and Sharma are the fifth best opening pair for the men in blue in the shortest format. Now after 20 innings they have 462 runs to show for.

In his return match as an opener, he did his best raising 48 with Sharma in the Super 8 against Zimbabwe. Then he put up a masterclass against the West Indies. It was only his fifth half century in 11 years and in 60 matches, which reveals a lot about his lack of consistency. He had a superb run between October 12,2024 and November 15,2024 when he scored three centuries - 111 against Bangladesh, 107 and 109 * against South Africa.

With all eyes riveted on him when the chase of 196 began, he attempted shots that raced to the fence and over it. He was the main cog in the wheel. Wickets tumbled around him, but he stood firm, yet managing to score 97 not out off 50 balls with 12 x4s and 4 x 6s.

Samson was right when he said that he has played only 60 games while seeing a lot from the dug out and watching Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma play. After his debut in 2015, India has played 221 Twenty20 internationals and he has missed 161 of them. With Samson in the team, India has won 80 per cent of the matches while without him, India has won only 69.39 per cent of the matches.

After his debut, the men in blue team had Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Rishabh Pant doing duty as a keeper for 48 and 64 matches, Kishan kept wicket in 22, Dinesh Karthik in 19 and Jitesh Sharma in 15. In his debut match the keeper was Robin Uthappa and K. L. Rahul and Dhruv Jurel also donned the big gloves.

There was so much uncertainty about Samson playing a World Cup match after Kishan was preferred for the first match, but an ailment to Abhishek Sharma opened the doors for him against Namibia and subsequently, India chose to go back to the left-right opening pair. More often than not, Samson has flattered to deceive. India would look for more runs from the brilliant stroke player who will be targeted, first by the England fast bowler Jofra Archer.