‘Hallmark of a great team’: Abhishek on Samson’s selfless move

Wellington: Flamboyant opener Abhishek Sharma lauded his regular opening partner Sanju Samson for sacrificing his batting slot to make way for teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during the third T20 International against New Zealand, which India won by six wickets.

Abhishek smashed a brilliant 38-ball 113 and added a whopping 133 runs in seven overs with Sooryavanshi (45 off 19 balls), who was promoted up the order after batting at No. 3 in the previous game.

Sooryavanshi got a chance after Ishan Kishan sustained a groin injury. In the second game, Samson won the Player of the Match award for his 61 and then decided to give up his opening slot for the younger Sooryavanshi.

“The way Sanju bhai batted in the last game, it is not easy to let go of one’s familiar batting position. That showed his character, letting someone else take his position. We can see in the team that everyone is selfless and everyone is happy for everyone, which is the hallmark of a great team,” Abhishek told Sooryavanshi in a conversation facilitated by BCCI.TV.

Abhishek, who hit 11 sixes, also lauded the 15-year-old for opening the innings with a lofted boundary.

“When Vaibhav hit the first ball, he showed aggression. I saw that at the non-striker’s end, and when you see such a shot, you also feel pumped up. So, special mention and credit to Vaibhav for how he played,” Abhishek said, praising the ‘Boy Wonder’.

On a lighter note, Abhishek said Vaibhav was so passionate about batting that it was almost difficult to get him out of the nets.

“If we have two nets, we give one to Vaibhav and tell him, ‘Vaibhav, you play.'”

Had the match not been live, people in my village wouldn’t have believed it: Vaibhav

Sooryavanshi, who seemed to be in awe of Abhishek’s 35-ball century, also offered a glimpse of his funny side.

“Given the way Abhishek bhai played, they were just thrown out of the game. Had the match not been aired live, people in our village, looking at the scorecard, would have commented that it must have been played on a rooftop,” Sooryavanshi said.

In the second match at Christchurch, Sooryavanshi, who batted at No. 3, scored just four runs off eight balls and felt he had strayed from his natural game.

“In the last match, I went against my grain in terms of how I play in T20s. During the third game, I wanted to give a quick start so that things would become easier,” he said.