IND vs SA 2022: "Played a classic Thala knock today"- Fans react to Sanju Samson letting Avesh Khan take strike in penultimate over

Fans were in disbelief that Sanju Samson let Avesh Khan take strike against Rabada. (P.C.:Twitter)
Fans were in disbelief that Sanju Samson let Avesh Khan take strike against Kagiso Rabada. (P.C.:Twitter)

Sanju Samson's fighting knock of 86*(63) wasn't enough as India fell short of South Africa's total by just nine runs in the first ODI on Thursday (October 6). The wicketkeeper-batter tried his best, but there was probably too much left for him to do as he didn't get much help from India's long tail.

While many fans applauded Samson for his incredible knock, there were some mixed reactions to him for letting Avesh Khan keep the strike in the penultimate over bowled by Kagiso Rabada. India needed 37 runs in the last two overs and it looked certain that Samson would try and take the strike no matter what happens.

However, Avesh failed to connect the first two deliveries off that over and then took a couple of runs on the next ball. Some fans felt Avesh should have done better, while others questioned Sanju Samson for trusting the the No. 9 tailender too much.

Here are some of the reactions:


Sanju Samson walked out to bat with India reeling at 51/4 and played a great knock

Chasing 250 off 40 overs was not going to be easy and so the hosts needed a solid start from their openers. However, that was not to be the case as South African pacers Kagiso Rabada and Wayne Parnell were relentless with the new ball.

The pressure of the dot balls got to openers Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan, who fell cheaply. It was a real struggle for Ishan Kishan and debutant Ruturaj Gaikwad, as the duo couldn't handle the turn that Keshav Maharaj was getting.

With pressure from both ends, the duo fell in quick succession and it looked like the visitors would wrap things up quickly. But Shreyas Iyer revived India's hopes by scoring a fine 50(37) and proved to be the ideal foil for Sanju Samson as the latter took his time to settle.

Once Sanju Samson was set, he and Shardul Thakur added some crucial runs to take the game deep. But Thakur's wicket proved to be a game-breaker as the target proved to be beyond Samson's reach. However, he will take confidence from this knock and will continue to knock on the door of the selectors.

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