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India wicketkeeper/batter Sanju Samson, admitted he had been giving plenty of advice to his opening partner Abhishek Sharma, as the No. 1-ranked T20I batter made his best contribution of the tournament so far.
It may have taken some time to find the right balance, but India appears to have finally locked in their best batting mix at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup. India got contributions from all of their top six batters as they put Zimbabwe to the sword in Chennai on Thursday. It was the new-look opening pair of Sharma (55) and Samson (24) that did the damage during the early overs, with Ishan Kishan (38), Suryakumar Yadav (33), Hardik Pandya (50*) and Tilak Varma (44*) all getting in on the act as India posted the highest score of the T20 World Cup so far (256/4) and the second biggest in the tournament's history. "We keep it very simple. He keeps asking me, Paaji (brother), what the wicket is doing. I tell him nothing and to just see the ball and swing your bat, nothing else, so I really enjoy batting with him. We both complement each other really well, so very happy we could actually give India a great start today," Samson told ICC Digital. One of the other big positives to come from the match was the performance of Varma, with the all-rounder smashing an unbeaten 44 from just 16 deliveries in a new role at No.6. Varma had batted at No.3 across India's first five matches at the T20 World Cup for mixed results, but looked more at ease at the death as he smashed four sixes at MA Chidambaram Stadium. "I always say that whatever team needs, I'm up for it," Varma said when asked about his preferred batting position. "So I've done the same role for the last four years in IPL for the Mumbai Indians, and also I've done a few games for the Indian team. So I'm up for it. Whatever the team needs, I'm up. And according to the situation, I can adjust. But as I said before, I was just waiting for one innings. So I am really grateful to God for that. The right time has been given, but I am up for it. I am pretty confident now that going forward I can win the games for the team," Varma added. A clinical Team India, powered by fifties from Abhishek Sharma and Hardik Pandya and a fiery spell by Arshdeep Singh, powered their way back into contention for a semifinal spot in the ICC T20 World Cup, beating Zimbabwe by 72 runs in their do-or-die match at Chennai on Thursday. Zimbabwe's 72-run loss to India, following a 107-run loss to West Indies, has sealed their exit from the T20 World Cup, with South Africa qualifying for the semifinal from their group and the shoot-off for the second semifinal spot in Group 1 being between India and West Indies, who will play a virtual knockout match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 1. (ANI)
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