Sanju Samson finds serenity and style in the Himalayan foothills

26th February, 2022, the stage is set for a titanic tussle in the foothills of the Himalayas. The stadium at Dharamsala, which can easily be mistaken for an intricately-crafted painting, has laid out the red carpet, cut through the cold and prepared itself for what could be a massive moment in India’s nascent T20I history.

Prior to the game, India had notched up a 10-game winning streak – a streak that began post their defeat to New Zealand at the T20 World Cup. During this sequence, the Men In Blue had been pressed hard but they weren’t troubled enough, meaning that many expected a similar script to materialize.

As the match begins, there is a sense of calm around the arena. Dharamsala, by the way, is home to the great Dalai Lama and all the Tibetans in exile. So, fair to say that tranquility is the overriding theme at the ground and the attribute that makes it such a picturesque place to visit.

Thus, when Sri Lanka start landing punches (metaphorically, of course), the crowd can’t help but get into the act. Only 50% of spectators are allowed. The fans, to their credit, make it feel as if the stadium is packed to the rafters.

They cheer every shot, groan at every Indian misfield and watch in disbelief as the hosts concede 72 runs in the last four overs. Away from the contrasting emotions, what remains constant is the thrill-a-minute ride they are enjoying. The calmness, the composure and every similar synonym associated with Dharamshala has taken a backseat, for once.

This is a contest of the highest order and the fans, who have longed for cricket to return in its pre-COVID avatar, have no option but to get their teeth stuck in it. The energy rubs off on the Indians too.

The RR skipper was brilliant against Sri Lanka

Facing a daunting target, India could have easily wilted. This time out, though, they are swinging for the hills (quite literally) and are making things as frantic as possible. Rohit Sharma doesn’t get a huge score but Ishan Kishan, fresh from a whirlwind 89, is nearly heaving himself off his feet.

He gets struck on the helmet once but the endeavour, which is to transfer pressure onto the bowlers, does not recede for even a moment. That leads to his downfall as well, but he, like most in this Indian team, are willing to live and die by the sword.

By then, Shreyas Iyer has established himself at the crease and is throwing caution to the wind, meaning that when Sanju Samson walks out to the centre, he has a bit of a buffer.

Samson, for those wondering, has been touted for greatness since making his IPL bow in the early 2010s. A grand total of 11 T20I appearances (before the 2nd T20I), however, tell a different story. As far as he is concerned, this is last-chance saloon.

A stellar performance at Dharamsala and he will write himself into Indian cricketing folklore. Another poor outing, though, will make people believe that his recent IPL upturn was just another false dawn.

In essence, there is every reason for Samson, who has, at times, batted at a million miles per hour only to crash and burn, to be even more frenetic. He has a huge total to haul down and he is, in many ways, fighting to salvage a stuttering career.

His knock begins in that fashion too. There are a couple of wafts and there are a few swipes. Not all of them hit the middle of the bat. In the 10th over, one of those deliveries hurries onto the bat. Samson, almost impulsively, swishes at it and top edges it towards deep square leg.

The ball swirls in the air, almost for an eternity as Samson watches. Under a shallow breath, he might have muttered to himself that he has wasted another opportunity. Those at the ground heave another groan, considering they are expecting so much more from Samson.

The fielder runs in from the fence and then…….grasses the chance. The spectators break into rapturous celebration, Dasun Shanaka (the bowler) wonders what has happened, and Samson takes a deep breath and says to himself (metaphorically) that maybe this was the luck his career and of course, talent deserved.

An over later, he has another edgy moment. He tries for the pull again and this time, splices it towards deep mid-wicket. The ball, fortunately for Samson, lands just in front of the sweeper on the fence. In two overs, he had endured his usual rushes of blood. But for arguably the first time in international cricket, he was let off the hook.

Maybe then, this was a sign from the divine constructs in the foothills of the Himalayas. Maybe the heavens had decided that Samson, for all his talent, needed a bit of luck. It was a string of events that made Samson believe – believe that he could unleash himself, knowing that someone, apart from his skipper, had his back.

Sanju Samson turned on the heat against Lahiru Kumara

Once that period of uncertainty was overcome, Samson was back in his element. In a Lahiru Kumara over, he caressed three maximums – each with the sort of authority he usually displays for the Rajasthan Royals. Kumara, by the way, had been bowling thunderbolts earlier in the essay and caused Kishan, in particular, all sorts of problems.

Samson, though, played him as if he was some ordinary medium pacer. He planted his front foot early and smacked him for two straight sixes, which sandwiched another sumptuous lofted extra cover drive.

In a nutshell, Samson had, in his one-over onslaught, proved what the hype around him was all about. In recent years, some have understood why that is the case but the larger majority have not been convinced. Considering the kind of returns Samson has produced, the skepticism is perhaps warranted as well.

But this knock wasn’t about the strokes Samson nailed. Instead, it was the equanimity he displayed – even at a time when things were rattling along at a breakneck speed.

When he strided out to bat, Shreyas was batting like a dream. The required run rate, however, was still climbing. When the wicket-keeper meandered to 14 off 16 balls, India still needed more than 10 runs per over to win.

The Samson of old would have felt the pinch and would have tried to break the shackles. And, would have failed, thereby attracting the glare of the cricketing jury. Not this time. Not in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Unsurprisingly, in his post-match interview, the RR captain was grinning from ear to ear. The one revealing comment he made, though, was about how long ago he had made his T20I debut (in 2015).

At times, that wait has been quite arduous – both for the player and for those who have been spellbound by his sheer ability. Now, it seems that that wait could well be worth its weight in gold. Not only does he have a skipper willing to back him to the hilt, he also seems to have certain supernatural elements on his side.

For all the talent he has, maybe that is a way for the cricketing gods to hint that this cricketer is too good to not play international cricket consistently. Or, it could just be the launchpad Samson needed to reignite his career. He didn’t just find serenity when he needed it most, he also complemented it with his inimitable style as the minutes ticked by.

The result, as most of you would have guessed, was a spectacle as picturesque (if not more) than the scenery at Dharamsala. And, when someone is comparable to the view at the HPCA stadium in Dharamsala, you know that individual is quite special.

All of India has probably known that for a while, to be honest. It’s just that Samson, owing to a fleeting glimpse on Saturday, might have understood that it takes monk-like composure to become what you can truly be. That all of it happened in the foothills of the Himalayas is a script no one, including Samson, could have ever dreamt of.