India’s Coach Emphasizes Team Spirit After Landmark Victory Against West Indies

Kolkata:

Sanju Samson played some phenomenal cricket to help India beat West Indies by five wickets. With that, India qualified for the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup. The Kerala batter arguably played one of the best knocks of his career, scoring unbeaten 97 runs as India 196 runs with four balls to spare. He was eventually adjudged the Player of the Match, which will give the 31-year-old some much-needed confidence ahead of the semi-final clash against England in Mumbai.

Meanwhile, after the game, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir spoke on the small contributions that equally matter. He highlighted that Shivam Dube’s two boundaries in the 19th over of the match were hugely effective, allowing the pressure to come off Samson’s shoulder. Notably, in the first ball of the over, Hardik Pandya played a dot and got out to Shamar Joseph in the following ball. At that point, India needed 17 runs off 10 balls.

In the next three balls, the all-rounder hit two boundaries and suddenly, the equation went in favour of the Indians. Highlighting that, Gambhir explained his philosophy, stating that all contributions matter heavily to him as it’s a team sport. 

Big contributions make headlines, small ones win games: coach

“We are talking about certain contributions. I think Shivam’s those two boundaries were as important as Sanju’s 95 (97*). This is a team sport and this will always remain a team sport. So, these two boundaries are as important as Sanju’s innings. If we hadn’t had delivered tonight, we wouldn’t have spoken about Sanju,” Gambhir said in the post-match presentation.

“Yes, he played a special innings but those small contributions help you win games. The big contributions make headlines, the small contributions, the contributions that can help the team cross the line is very important. That’s why I say this is going to be the philosophy as long as I am here,” he added.

Gambhir also lauded Samson in the press conference. He helped India register their highest successful chase in T20 World Cup history and with that, he has definitely cemented his spot in the playing XI.

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