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The pre-match swagger came a cropper. Coming into the semi-final against India, Harry Brook, the England captain, had enough credit in the bank. He lost it all in that one moment.
Sanju Samson versus Jofra Archer was always going to be one of the most exciting match-ups of the game. On a beauty of a Wankhede pitch, the Indian opener was winning the early rounds. The England quick was always going use the short ball, and Samson countered that by standing deep in the crease. Archer was a little late in resorting to Plan B.
But when he did and bowled full, he drew a mis-hit from Samson. A dolly went to mid-on but Brook dropped it. It was comfortably one of the worst drops in the history of the T20 World Cups. More importantly, the England skipper probably (the safety net, as the game isn’t over yet) dropped the semi-final.
India had just lost the wicket of Abhishek Sharma and Samson’s scalp in the powerplay would have given England a complete upper hand. The hosts were on 24/1 then and Samson was batting on 15 off six balls. He went on to score 89 off 42 balls, completing his half-century off just 26 deliveries. When he got out, in the 14th over, India had raced to 160.
Like the last game against the West Indies, where he scored an unbeaten 97 off 50 balls, Samson set up India’s victory in the semi-final as well. Brook, on the other hand, lost it for England. The whole sequence offered a throwback to the 1999 World Cup – Herschelle Gibbs dropping Steve Waugh at Headingley in what was a virtual knockout game for Australia.
Till the time Brook proved to be a let-down for his team, every tactical play was going England’s way. After the dropped catch, Archer lost the plot completely and he couldn’t be blamed for that. He conceded a four and a six in the same over.
Jamie Overton was too full and, overall, England had a dreadful powerplay, as India galloped to 67/1 after six overs. That was half the battle won.
The blemish apart, though, Samson’s innings was tactically superb besides his stroke play. It was impressive the way he neutralised Liam Dawson’s left-arm spin early. Also, he was never greedy for a semi-final hundred and didn’t lower the tempo. “He batted in a way that left me little to do,” Ishan Kishan told the host broadcaster during the innings break.
Samson has the Midas touch at the moment and is also enjoying the rub of the green. Three games ago, he was a reserve. Now he is the team’s frontman. Samson is indeed destiny’s child.
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