IND vs SA 2022: "That 39th over was non-sense from Samson"- Fans react as Sanju Samson smashes unbeaten 86 off 63, nearly guides India to victory

India wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson shone against South Africa in the first ODI in Lucknow on Thursday (October 6). He smashed an unbeaten 86 runs off 63 balls, comprising three sixes and nine boundaries, but could not secure a win for India as they lost by nine runs in a rain-affected match.

The right-handed batter also shared crucial partnerships of 67-run with Shreyas Iyer for the fifth wicket and a 93-run stand with Shardul Thakur for the sixth wicket.

The Kerala batter kept the hopes alive even though the Men in Blue required 30 runs off the last over. He smashed a six and followed it with a couple of boundaries off the first three balls.

Fans appreciated Samson’s performance but looked agitated at his decision to run a couple at non-striker’s end during the 39th over with tail-ender Avesh Khan facing Kagiso Rabada. Thus, he couldn’t play a single ball during the penultimate over.

Here are some of the reactions:

Samson recently led India A to a 3-0 win against New Zealand A in an unofficial one-day series. He emerged as the highest run-scorer in the tournament with 120 runs at an average of 60, including a half-century.

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Samson’s knock goes in vain as South Africa go 1-0 ahead in the series

Chasing 250, Team India had a terrible start to their innings. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan (4) and Shubman Gill (3) left India at 8/2 in the sixth over.

Debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad (19) and Ishan Kishan (20) spent a decent amount of time at the crease but failed to accelerate their innings. They were eventually dismissed, leaving the hosts at 51/4 in the 18th over.

Shreyas Iyer 50(37) came to India’s rescue, while Shardul Thakur looked impressive with his 33 off 31 balls. Samson scored 86* but failed to take the side to a victory as India lost the match by nine runs.

Lungi Ngidi shone for the visitors with three wickets, while Rabada picked up a couple of wickets. Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi also scalped one wicket each.

Earlier, Janneman Malan (22) and Quinton de Kock (48) gave a decent start to the Proteas before the bowlers fought back to leave the visitors at 110/4 in the 23rd over. However, David Miller 75(63) and Heinrich Klassen 74(65) shared an unbeaten partnership of 139 runs to take South Africa to 249/4 in the rain-curtailed fixture.

Thakur was the pick of the bowlers for India with a couple of wickets, while Ravi Bishnoi and Kuldeep Yadav settled for one wicket each.

The second ODI between India and South Africa will be played in Ranchi on Sunday (October 9).