New Delhi: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting Praises India for supporting decision Sanzhou Samson as their winning opener at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Ponting said the captain had shown faith in Samson Suryakumar Yadav The coaching staff has played a major role in India’s success.Samson’s game got off to a rocky start. Before the World Cup, he scored just 46 runs in five T20I matches against the New Zealand national cricket team. He was initially given a chance to play in the league series against the Namibia national cricket team in New Delhi after Abhishek Sharma fell ill. He was then brought back for a crucial match in the Super Eights against the Zimbabwe national cricket team and turned the game around with a series of fine performances.
Samson played a key role in the match for India. He scored an unbeaten 97 against the West Indies national cricket team in Kolkata, followed by 89 in the semi-final against the England national cricket team in Mumbai and another 89 in the final against the New Zealand national cricket team in Ahmedabad. His total of 321 runs in five innings was the most by an Indian batsman in a single T20 World Cup and earned him the Player of the Tournament award.“It was a big decision for India to keep him in the lead. A big decision, but it ended up working out really well. If you have the support of the coaching staff and the captain, then that’s what you need,” Ponting said on ICC Commentary.“Just a pat on the back or an arm around your shoulder to say, ‘We’ve got your back and we believe in you.'” When you have the quality that San Francisco has, and the confidence that captains and coaches have in you, great things can happen. “Ponting also praised Suryakumar for his leadership and the way he managed his players during the match. “It’s been really interesting to see how Surya interacts with Abhishek (Sharam) and Sanju (Samson) over the past few weeks. This is a true story about true leadership.”Even though Suryakumar himself didn’t score many runs apart from his unbeaten 84 against the USC cricket team, he still led India to the title. Ponting concluded: “It’s not just what they do off the field, what people don’t see and how they interact with the players. He didn’t have a great time as a player himself but he still stood at the end and lifted the World Cup trophy.”
