Sanju Samson hadn’t gotten a chance to bat in India’s first two matches at the Asia Cup. The Men in Blue won by 9 wickets against the UAE and by 7 wickets against Pakistan. Going to the Super Four stage, captain Suryakumar Yadav and head coach Gautam Gambhir decided that he and others who hadn’t batted yet needed some time in the middle.
Samson’s bad day out
Samson was promoted from number five to number three. Luckily for him, Shubman Gill got out in the second over. This gave him ample time to settle and show his mettle. But Samson was all over the place against the swinging ball. Shah Faisal bowled 9 balls at him in the powerplay, and the wicketkeeper managed to score just 6 runs.
By the end of the powerplay, Samson was at 13 (14). On the other end, Abhishek Sharma had already scored 38 (14). He broke free against Samay Shrivastava but wasn’t able to get those crucial singles and doubles. This meant Samson was either hitting boundaries or getting stuck on strike. This theme continued throughout his innings.
By the end of the 10th over, Samson was 37 (29). One would think he’d get going, but it never happened. In his next 9 balls, he scored just 10 runs. His intent was an issue as well. Falling to time the ball, Samson decided not to go for his shots in the middle overs as he usually does.
Intent an issue?
His fifty came off 40 balls. Tilak Varma was unbeaten on 27 (15) at this point, at the end of the 17th over. His struggle finally ended in the 18th over by Faisal. Before he was dismissed, Samson had a control percentage of just 56%. The wicketkeeper played 15 dot balls; that’s one-third of his entire innings.
It clearly wasn’t the best of days for Samson. People were questioning Gill replacing him as India’s second opener, but the wicketkeeper didn’t really prove anyone wrong. His intent and versatility were a major issue. He slowed down in the middle overs. Didn’t take singles or doubles to get off a strike and let others have a go. After struggling for a while, Samson didn’t try to go big either. That meant he kept digging himself into a deeper hole.
We have seen Samson struggle against high-end pace, against Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, earlier in the year. If sluggish pitches like the ones in Dubai or Abu Dhabi are an issue, can he continue to find a spot in India’s XI playing either as a top-order batter or lower-order batter/finisher?
Editor's Pick
Cricket
How Virat Kohli's 100 in Ranchi resulted in tickets for IND vs SA 3rd ODI getting sold out instantly
Top Stories
