The first T20I between Sri Lanka and India was an exciting contest that went right down to the wire. The visitors did not allow the Indian batters to free their arms inside the first nine overs, sending three batters back into the pavilion, courtesy of batters falling at the cost of trying to be innovative and accelerate the run rate. Sanju Samson was one of the batters to get dismissed due to a poor shot selection even after his catch was dropped earlier on a lofted stroke.
Samson did not learn his lesson and committed the same mistake on the fifth ball. This time the delivery was lightly outside off and the batter once again tried to hoick the delivery over the leg side. The attempt resulted in a leading edge and the fielder at short third man took an easy catch.
Indian team defended the target of 163 runs. At the halfway stage it looked like India were well under par but they started well with the ball, restricting Sri Lanka to 35 for 2 in the powerplay. Dasun Shanaka revived the chase in the company of Hasaranga and Karunaratne but couldn’t execute it at the end and lost the match by 2 runs.
Brilliant performance by both teams in the first T20I
Earlier, Sri Lanka opted to bowl first after winning the toss. India started well with Ishan Kishan taking 17 off the first over but then Sri Lanka fought back as the batters succumbed in their bit to hit out and fall to the pitch’s tricks. Shubman Gill (7), Suryakumar Yadav (7), and Samson (5) were the three wickets that India lost on the score of just 46 runs.
Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel got together at 94/5 and their 68-run standoff 36 balls gave the hosts a total to bowl at. Hooda was brilliant as he put away the bad balls and Axar too got the boundaries away despite playing a few dots. For Sri Lanka, the spinners were excellent as they were super impressive with their tight lines.
Chasing the target, Sri Lanka lost their 5 wickets on the score just 68 runs. However, skipper Shanaka stitched a beautiful partnership of 40 runs with Hasaranga. But both got out after arising hope for a win. Karunaratne tried very hard to chase the target but couldn’t finish the match as Axar kept his nerve in the last over.
Here’s how fans criticized Samson:
Ab or chance nhi milna chahiye isko tripathi ko chance dena chaiye he is a waste player
— Cricket fan (@Abc80564983) January 4, 2023
Sanju Samson gets a chance finally and gets out like that #INDvsSL most frustrating talent to watch in Indian cricket apart from Pant
— Royal Blues (@Cityblues1) January 4, 2023
17 match T20 international m aise hi khel liya Bina mauka diye? Bcci ko koosna aasan h 11 player hi khel skte h Bhai team m mauke ko bhunana aana chahiye Sanju Samson se bcci ki koi dushmani to h ni k ni dega mauka 🤦🏻
— Sourav Kumar Tiwari (@SouravKumarTiw7) January 4, 2023
🚨 ‘Sanju Samson has so much of talent but his shot selection sometimes lets him down’: Sunil Gavaskar pic.twitter.com/S1fItsMPzU
— MegaNews Updates (@MegaNewsUpdates) January 4, 2023
#SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/AjO93BbCpV
— memes_hallabol (@memes_hallabol) January 4, 2023
Not an ideal day for Samson and his fans!!#tigerexch #samson #SanjuSamson #INDvsSL pic.twitter.com/ff72O5zEnu
— Tigerexch (@tigerexch) January 3, 2023
Sanju Samson se acha toh Rishabh Pant ICU se uth ke khel leta.
— Jahazi (@Oye_Jahazi) January 3, 2023
Sanju Samson should have accepted Ireland's offer..india ko baksh de bhai
— keshav (@kshav73) January 3, 2023
Seriously
— CR (@imcr_chandu178) January 3, 2023
I hate the way Sanju Samson Always kill his opportunities
With his own hands 🙌🤦🏾♂️#SanjuSamson
Bro Please Don't 🙏🏾#SLvsIND #INDvsSL
