Sanju all the way against the mighty West Indies

The West Indies team had a very subdued start by its standards in the virtual quarterfinal match against India at the Eden Gardens after being sent out into bat by Surya Kumar Yadav. After a shaky, scratchy start, they trotted to 45 for no loss at the end of the powerplay. India intelligently used Axar Patel early on with the threat of the in form Shimron Hetmyer looming. The West Indian skipper Shai Hope could not force the pace and was bowled by Varun Chakravarthy for a 33 ball 32. After settling down, Hetmyer bludgeoned the bowlers and the score rose to 99-1 in 11 overs. Hetmyer was on 25 from 10 balls and Chase, promoted up the order on 39 from 23 deliveries.

India was in a precarious position and staring at an extremely dangerous and muscular batting line up. Then the magic happened. SKY turned to Jasprit Bumrah. After a sedate start to the over, Hetmyer tried to pull a length ball and nicked it. The review and the following ultra edge check suggested an edge but Hetmyer walked off unhappily. Two balls later, Roston Chase played at a rising slower ball a second earlier and SKY completed a diving catch at short cover. The master was at work again. India probably missed this trick in the game against South Africa which they lost.

Smartly, Axar was brought back to finish his quota which ended with unimpressive but reasonable figures of 4-0-35-0. At 119-3 after the fourteenth over with Rovman Powell & Sherfane Rutherford at the crease and Jason Holder & Romario Shepherd to follow, the Caribbeans had a line up adequate to catapult them to a score near the 200 run mark. Hardik Pandya removed Rutherford immediately after the drinks break caught behind and the Indians appeared to have regained the control - only to let Jason Holder and Powell snatch it back. Powell swung, flicked and cut Arshdeep as the 16th over cost India 24 runs and the momentum shifted. Even Chakravarthy and Bumrah could not stem the flow of runs in the next two overs. 175-4 after 18 overs and two set West Indies batsmen waiting to pounce on anything in their arc spelt doom for India.

Tactically, India did not make the same blunder New Zealand made against England by turning to a part timer. Upholding the trust placed on him, Arshdeep Singh bowled wide yorker length almost every ball and gave just six runs away while Bumrah missed a few and Holder and Powell swung their way to 195 - which would appear to be a mountain if India did not take control of the powerplay. The Indian fielding left a lot to be desired too with at least two sitters being dropped.

Sanju Samson strode out to bat with Abhishek Sharma who cover drove through the air of the second ball of Akeal Hossein for a boundary. Matthew Forde opened from the other end and Indian safely negotiated the first two overs without any loss. Hossein then struck by removing Sharma in his next over- the batsman tried to hoick a short ball outside the leg and Hetmyer calmly waited to complete the catch. Sharma's miserable run in the world cup continued while Kishan soon joined him attempting to pull Holder only to be caught. Samson then slowly started opening up and India finished the powerplay at 53-2. Holder continuing, was belted by Samson over covers while SKY flicked him for a six.

It was all about Sanju Samson from then on. Probably such an innings after Virat Kohli retired was played only by Tilak Verma against Pakistan in the Asia cup final. Sanju appeared in no rush, showed controlled aggression and unleashed fierce drives and cuts - the sixes over wide long off stood out.. India lost SKY immediately after the half way mark but Tilak Verma's cameo of 27 from 15 helped soothe any nerves. India reached 146 in the 15th over with the loss of 4 wickets. With Sanju in full flow and Pandya giving company and Shivam Dube & Axar to follow, 50 in 5 overs seemed surmountable. By never allowing the asking rate to escalate beyond 10 after this stage, India safely reached the target. Even though Pandya was out caught, Dube showed his ability to hit boundaries in crunch situations.

Sanju fittingly walloped Shepherd for a six and drove the next ball over mid on to formally finish the match. The determination along with the frustration he had to go through, combined to infuse a totally different mindset- he marked guard after scoring his half century - probably a signal to showcase his goal and restraint. This time talent and temperament were both on display together. India surely is on course to make history.