Kerala’s hero Sanju Samson failed in his first game in front of his home crowd at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
After Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bat first against New Zealand in the fifth and last of the five-match series, Sanju fell for a run-a-ball six.
On the second-last ball of the third over, Lockie Ferguson bowled it fuller and around off with not much movement. Sanju backed away and had a wild hoick across the line, but only managed to get an outside edge as the ball flew towards deep third, where Bevon Jacobs took a simple catch.
As Sanju was dimissed, a hush fell over the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Their favourite had failed yet again.
Samson has struggled
to get going during the ongoing series. The 31-year-old, who returned to the opening role after Shubman Gill was dropped from the team, has managed to score 46 runs from his five outings, at an average of 9.20 runs and a strike rate of 135.29, against the Black Caps.
This match was crucial for him as Team India heads towards the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which starts on February 7.
The Indian team management has the option of in-form Ishan Kishan, either to replace the out-of-form Samson. Kishan impressed with an outstanding 76 off 32 balls in the second T20I in Raipur, which India won in just 16.2 overs.
It might have been Sanju Samson’s last chance to regain his form, which he squandered.
There may be hope yet as India will play one for match, a practice game against South Africa at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on February 4, before their camping gets underway at the T20 World Cup — against USA on February 7.
India Squad For ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026:
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Rinku Singh
(With inputs from Agencies)
