After playing two matches on a spin-friendly pitch in Bridgetown, Barbados, India’s batters were able to make merry in good batting conditions to post a huge 351-5 in the ODI series decider against the West Indies.
In four of India’s batters making half-centuries, Sanju Samson served a timely reminder of his hitting capabilities in the middle-overs, making a quickfire 51 off 41 balls, laced with two fours and four sixes. In a mid-innings chat with the broadcasters, Samson said there was a conscious effort from him to use his feet more in dominating spinners.
“I think it feels really great to spend some time in the middle and score some runs and contribute for the country. It was deliberate. I had plans differently for different bowlers. I wanted to use my feet and dominate the lengths of the bowlers,” he said.
In the second ODI, Samson batted at number three, but made only nine. But coming at number four got the best out of him, something which will hold huge value in Samson’s case for making it to the ODI World Cup squad.
“Being an Indian cricketer is a challenging thing. I have been around for 8-9 years and played a lot of domestic cricket and for India. So it gives you an understanding of playing in different positions. It is the number of overs you get, not about batting position and you need to prepare yourself accordingly,” he added.
Samson feels India’s spinners can play a key role in their defence of the massive total. “Kensington Oval was a bit damp and this one looks a bit dry and when the ball was new it was coming on nicely but when the ball got old, it was holding on a little so it was tough against spinners. Not easy to get the score so credit goes to the middle order batters for hanging on and getting the score we did. With 350, we should be confident.”
