New Delhi, March 2 -- From self-doubt to knockout hero - Sanju Samson found clarity when it mattered most, and Head Coach Gautam Gambhir ensured that belief was not whispered in dressing rooms but spoken aloud.
At Eden Gardens, beneath the hum of expectation that only Indian cricket can generate, this was not simply a chase of 196. It was an examination of temperament.
Knockout cricket strips you bare. It does not reward reputation; it rewards decision-making. And Samson's most compelling decision yesterday night was not a cover drive or a lofted six. It was restraint.
For a player often defined by elegance, sometimes accused of indulgence, the temptation after a bright start would have been to seize the spectacle. Instead, he chose stew...