Samson and Varma Shine Bright at the Bullring

Mumbai: India's T20 World Cup victory earlier this year finally put to rest the debate on whether they needed to change their tactics and include more power hitters in their lineup. While their all-format batting heroes received praise for their adaptability, there were doubts about their effectiveness in T20 cricket.

As it turned out, the varied pitches in the USA leg of the 2024 T20 World Cup suited the all-season players well. But, increasingly, this shortest format in the game calls for muscling the leather ball and hustling at breakneck speed. Just as well that Indian cricket has left their old ways behind and embraced the new after the World Cup.

Their batters have put up an exhibition during their South African safari but their most dazzling display came in the fourth T20I at Johannesburg on Friday. India finished with 283/1 after their 20 overs. Suryakumar Yadav, their most destructive batting force, wasn’t even required. Wearing the captain’s armband, he spent most of the innings wearing a huge smile in the dugout.

Initially, one thought it would be Abhishek Sharma’s 36 (18b, 2x4,4x6) day. Then, Sanju Samson’s innings 109* (56b, 6x4, 9x6) was more arresting. Finally, the centurion from the last match, Tilak Varma 120 (47b, 9x4, 10x6) came on and began smashing it to all corners of the Wanderers stadium.

There was an element of luck but the young left-hander found boundaries with such regularity that you knew it was going to be that day he would show no mercy.

India was 73/1 after the powerplay. Abhishek was the chief disruptor at that point. He kept giving the charge to the bowlers, a template that’s been so successful for him in the series, and it worked once again.

Sanju, too, came out swinging at the imposing Bullring. When Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli opened for India in the T20 World Cup in June, few would have tipped Sanju Samson, of unlimited potential and unrealized talent, to get a crack at opening duties. It could have been Yashasvi Jaiswal, if we weren’t in the middle of a Test cricket season. Or Shubman Gill. There are so many top order batting options Indian cricket possess. Every IPL franchise has at least one staking a claim.

A good headache for the selectors but that’s for another day. On Friday, in front of a capacity crowd, Samson hung back in the crease and exhibited strokes that left all those watching awestruck. Elegance personified to begin with, Samson changed gears after bringing up his fifty in the 10th over. Up until that stage, India was going at 12 runs per over. Once Varma joined Samson, India went into overdrive.

This was the same ground where 434 runs were once chased down in an ODI. Perhaps that inspired Samson and Varma as they both began hitting sixes at will. The collective six count by the end of the India innings was 23 – the most they had ever hit. The Samson-Varma partnership 210* (85b) ended up being the highest for any wicket in T20Is.

Sanju went so hard that even those in the crowd had to take cover. And one who didn’t was hurt pretty badly. Sanju was apologetic but he didn’t need to be.

“I am not here to score lots and lots of runs… I’m here to score a small amount of runs which are very effective for the team,” he would once say. Well, he’s now scoring effective runs and plenty of them. This was his second hundred in the four-match series, his third in T20Is.

Varma simply kicked on from where he left off at the Centurion, hitting sixes at will, bringing out sweeps and reverse sweeps. So swiftly was he off the blocks, that at one stage, it appeared Varma would get to his hundred before Samson. Samson ultimately got there in the 18th over, Varma in the 19th. Samson was subdued in celebrations. Perhaps, he’s getting used to the drill. Varma leapt up and let the world know. All of 22, at the peak of his powers.

Every South African bowler went for over 10 runs per over. It didn’t help that Gerald Coetzee wasn’t at his best because of a hamstring complaint. For some of the other inexperienced pacers, the onslaught seemed put them in a daze. There were plenty of misses in the outfield and dropped catches too but on this day, it could perhaps be argued that India played more than a small role in shaking up the home side.