The Indian cricket team fell short by just 9 runs in the first ODI match against South Africa on Thursday. Chasing a target of 250 runs to win in 40 overs, the Indian side started on a worst-possible note as the top-order collapsed badly. But the Indian side made a stunning comeback riding on the knocks of Sanju Samson (86*) and Shreyas Iyer (50) but they couldn’t take India to win; India needed 30 to win in the final over of the match and Samson smashed 20 off Tabraiz Shamsi’s over, but he failed to take India to the winning side.
Sanju who registered his highest ODI total on Thursday started well by smashing a six and followed it up with back-to-back boundaries on the next two balls of the 40th over but failed to score a run on the 4th delivery, which ultimately made a lot of difference.
Earlier, in the 39th over of the match, Samson didn’t get a strike as Avesh Khan faced five deliveries. The decision of the duo not to take a double off the third delivery of the over was criticized by many cricketers and fans alike. India needed 30 runs in the final over and the side could only manage to score 20 runs. Samson played a stunning knock under pressure as he amassed 86 runs off 63 balls, smashing 9 fours and 3 sixes.
Reacting to the thrilling game in Lucknow, former South Africa bowler and pace legend Dale Steyn stated that he was ‘nervous’ when Rabada conceded the no-ball because of Samson’s exploits in the Indian Premier League. He said:
“As soon as KG (Kagiso Rabada) bowled that no-ball in the last ball of his over, I was like, ‘please don’t let this happen’. Because you never know with someone like Sanju, especially with the form that he has got and the belief that he has. I watched him in the IPL, his ability to take down the bowlers and hit boundary at will, especially in the last 2 overs of the game, is incredible,”
Steyn also went on to compare Samson to Indian batting legend Yuvraj Singh, stating that the 27-year-old batter has the ability to hit six sixes in an over. He said:
“Shamsi was going to bowl the last over and he (Samson) knew he (Shamsi) had a rough day. I was nervous when KG bowled the no ball. Because Sanju is a kind of guy who has the potential of Yuvi, to hit those six sixes and get team across the line when it needs 30+,”
