The first ODI between India and South Africa ended in favour of the visitors as they clinch the victory by 9 runs in a late night drama. With 30 needed off the last over, Sanju Samson tried his best to get his team over the line but the required runs seemed too high even for a batter of his calibre.
Chasing the target of 250 off 40 overs, India had a rusty start to their innings with both openers went back to pavilion in early stage of the game. The duo of Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson stitched a good partnership to take the chase forward. But Iyer gave away his wicket to Lungi Ngidi just after reaching the fifty milestone.
Sanju, on the other hand, didn’t slow down as he continued to bat and take the game deeper. However, he got no support from the other end, which made the task even difficult for the Kerala-based cricketer.
Samson smashed an unbeaten 86 off just 63 balls including 9 fours and 3 sixes in the process. Though he couldn’t manage to take his side home, his knock won the hearts of the fans. The fans on Twitter are demanding for his including in India’s T20 World Cup 2022 squad.
Notably, India had to choose between Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson for the marquee event. The management went on to stick with Pant who had a pretty below average Asia Cup. It remains to be seen if that decision will turn out to be a good one or a big blunder, given Samson’s good run in recent games.
