It was 11th April, 2017. Delhi Daredevils were up against Rising Pune Supergiant. Coming out to bat at 2 for 1, Sanju Samson, after years of struggle, displayed his true class in the IPL, hammering a brilliant 102 off just 63 deliveries against a bowling line-up comprising Adam Zampa, Imran Tahir, Ben Stokes and Deepak Chahar. (More Cricket News)
The knock included eight hits to the fence and five over it, and left everyone who witnessed it awestruck with the timing and quality of stroke-play. Samson had finally stamped his authority in the tournament and showcased his real batting prowess to the world.
However, these flashes of genius were far and few between. They were often interspersed with long periods of very ordinary batting and poor returns. Thus, despite making his T20I debut in 2015, Samson did not represent India again till 2020.
Despite some scintillating performances, Samson was still an under-achiever in the IPL. The struggle to find a permanent spot in the Indian white-ball team continued till the end of 2023. And then 2024 happened.
The best IPL for Samson
Samson’s IPL career threatened to explode post his hundred in 2017. But there were far too many reckless dismissals and failures in between the moments of brilliance. This was largely Samson’s story for the next seven years. He started most seasons with jaw-dropping performances, but then his numbers tapered – and that too drastically.
Samson aggregated in the 300s in 2017, 2020 and 2023 while scoring between 400 and 500 in 2018, 2021 and 2022. However, there was never a breakthrough year in which he scored consistently at a high scoring rate. His strike rate touched a high of 158.9 in 2020 but the season saw a dip in his average to below 30.
It was a similar story in 2022, where he hammered at a rate of 146.8 but crossed fifty just twice and failed in seven of his 17 innings. Last season, he again struck at 153 but had as many as eight failures in his 14 innings.
Then came 2024. Samson started the year with a bang, with a magnificent unbeaten 82 off just 52 deliveries against Lucknow Super Giants in Jaipur and never looked back. He smashed four more fifties in the season with his best knock, a scintillating 86 off 46 deliveries against the Delhi Capitals, albeit in a losing cause in Delhi. Samson took the fight to the Capitals even as every other Rajasthan Royals batter failed in the match.
Samson’s five fifties in the season were his most ever in a single edition of the Indian Premier League. He ended IPL 2024 with an aggregate of 531 runs – his personal best in a season. Samson was the fifth-highest run-getter of the tournament. Not only did he score fairly consistently but also got his runs at a high scoring rate. Samson had an average of 48.27 – his best ever in a season – at a strike rate of 153.5 (second-best ever in a season).
Samson clocked his highest boundary count ever: he hit 72 boundaries in the competition and spent more time at the crease as indicative from a balls per dismissal ratio of 31.5, which is again the best ever for him in a season. He was ruthless against the pacers and attacked them, scoring at a rate of 162 against their ilk.
Samson rotated the strike brilliantly against the spinners and had a dot ball percentage of just 20% against them – his lowest dot-ball percentage against spin in a season. It was, by some distance, Samson’s most prolific year in the IPL.
2024 – From a disastrous start to two consecutive hundreds
Samson had a torrid time in 2020 and 2021, scoring just 98 runs in nine innings at an average of 10.88 in T20I cricket. He raised the level of his performance in 2022, scoring 179 runs at a rate of 158.4 but that turned out to be an aberration as he failed miserably in 2023. Samson could muster just 78 runs in six innings in the calendar year at an average of 15.6 and scoring rate of 127.86 with four failures in six appearances. He was down and out. It seemed the end of the tunnel for Samson – the T20 batter for India.
The year 2024 did not start well for Samson either. He registered three ducks (including two golden ducks) in his first five innings this year. Samson was pushed to open the innings for India in the series against Bangladesh. Although he did not produce anything spectacular in the series, he was given the assurance of a decent run from the top of the order. For a batter who has been moved around constantly throughout his career and batted in all positions from 1 to 7, this was like gold – a new life. And Samson made the most of it.
He blasted a 40-ball ton against Bangladesh in Hyderabad in a knock which was highlighted by 11 hits to the fence and eight over it as India piled on 297/6 – their highest total ever in a T20 international. Samson became the first Indian batter (and fourth overall) to smash T20I hundreds in consecutive matches, blasting 107 off just 50 deliveries against South Africa in Durban – again, the standout feature of his innings were the 10 towering sixes.
Samson has a phenomenal strike rate of 180.66 in 2024, which is the second-highest in the world, just marginally behind Australia’s Tim David amongst all batters from major cricket-playing nations who have scored a minimum of 200 runs in the year.
A move from the middle-order to opener has transformed the careers of some all-time great Indian batters – Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Rohit Sharma to name a few.
It could also just be the fillip that Samson needed to revitalize his career. Samson – the opener – may just turn out to be a master-stroke for India.
