Sunil Gavaskar identifies Sanju Samson’s approach that worked before West Indies dismissal

Sanju Samson (Source: BCCI)

West Indies defeated India by 24 runs in the fourth T20I at Hyderabad on October 14, 2026, levelling the five-match series at 2-2. The visitors posted 247 for 3, with Shai Hope scoring an unbeaten 102 and Alick Athanaze contributing 49. India’s response fell short at 223, with Keemo Paul taking 5 wickets for 41 runs and Gudakesh Motie claiming 2 for 13.

Sanju Samson set the tone for India’s chase with a blistering 56 off just 23 balls at the top of the order. His knock featured six boundaries and four sixes at a strike rate of 243.48.

“Sanju Samson is hasty at times. Even in this format, you have a few balls to figure out how the pitch is behaving, and you can adjust your batting according to that. If you know the ball is coming nicely onto the bat, you can play cricketing shots with a straight bat in the V at the start,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports.

How Samson’s technique worked before dismissal

Gavaskar elaborated on how Samson’s initial strategy had worked well during his innings. The former India captain noted that Samson had begun by playing shots in the V, a technique that forces the bowler to adjust their length naturally. Gavaskar explained the mechanics of this approach and how it had unfolded during Samson’s knock.

“After that, when you play in the V, the bowler’s length changes automatically. The bowler’s length becomes slightly short. Then you can play square of the wicket,” Gavaskar said.

“He was doing like that only. He played in the V at the start. After that, when the ball was coming halfway down the pitch, he was flicking them and batting extremely well,” he added.

The delivery that deceived Samson

Samson was dismissed in the very next over after reaching his fifty, caught by Hetmyer off Paul’s bowling. Gavaskar attributed the dismissal to a lack of patience against a specific delivery that cramped the batter for room. The former India captain observed that Samson had been executing his plans effectively until that moment.

“In the end, he got deceived because Keemo Paul cramped him a little with that ball. If it was a full bat swing, the ball might have reached Secunderabad,” Gavaskar said.

Abhishek Sharma, who batted alongside Samson, scored 29 off 24 balls with three boundaries and one six. Gavaskar observed that the partnership’s dynamics had affected Sharma’s performance during the chase. The former captain noted how strike rotation and rhythm play crucial roles in T20 batting.

“Whenever he scores 50, it seems like India would be able to achieve any target in front of them. However, this time Abhishek didn’t get much strike in their partnership. Sometimes, when you don’t get much strike, you go slightly out of touch, and that’s what happened with Abhishek,” Gavaskar said.