India head coach Gautam Gambhir lavished praise on Sanju Samson after his match-winning innings against West Indies helped India register a place in the semi-finals. Sanju struck an unbeaten 97 at Eden Gardens.

“He’s a world-class player, we all know how good a player Sanju is,” Gambhir said in the post-match presser. “It was all about backing him. When the team needed him the most – obviously today was the day – he showed his full potential.”

Analysing his innings, Gambhir added that Samson played some good cricketing shots throughout his innings.

“I actually felt that he never accelerated the innings,” Gambhir added. “It was just very normal cricketing shots and I never saw him muscling the ball as well. That is the kind of talent he has.”

“Obviously, he had a tough series against New Zealand, so sometimes it’s important to give him a break as well, because you want to get the guy off that pressure situation as well. And we always knew that whenever we needed him in the World Cup game, he would come and deliver it for us.”

The former India opener is of the opinion that India are just focussed on doing their best in every game.

“You’ve got to win every game that you represent your country,” he said. “There is nothing like peaking at the right time. It’s a short tournament, it’s a tournament that comes and goes very quickly. So you’ve got to try and play your A game every time. I don’t believe in data, honestly. I’ve never seen the data. I don’t even know what data is all about. I absolutely do not believe it. Because I feel it’s more about instinct. I think T20 cricket is about instinct and backing your instinct as well.”

India had a forgettable start to their Super 8 stage after the Men in Blue lost to South Africa in the first match. But the Suryakumar Yadav-led side made a roaring comeback against Zimbabwe and then defeated West Indies to make it to the semis of the World Cup. India will now lock horns with England in Mumbai on Thursday.

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