Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson created a multitude of records during the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2019-20. During the match against Goa at KSCA Ground in Alur, Kerala put on a massive 377/3 on the board with Sachin Baby making 127 in 135 balls with 7 fours and 4 sixes.
However, the hero of the match proved to be Sanju Samson, as the mercurial batsman slammed 212 in just 129 balls, after reaching his century in just 66 balls. He hit a total of 21 fours and 10 sixes. This is the highest score by a wicketkeeper-batsman in List-A cricket, beating Islamabad's Abid Ali's 209* against Peshawar in the 2017/18 season.
This innings came after Goa got rid of the openers quite early with skipper Robin Uthappa making 10 and Vishnu Vinod making 7.
Samson has got a lot of backing from former India captain Gautam Gambhir who had even asked the selectors to give the Kerala lad a chance in order to solve the Men in Blue’s no.4 batting position conundrum. Gambhir has actively campaigned for Samson to be given a chance in the India colors, given that Rishabh Pant has not realized his batting potential in limited-overs as expected.
Gambhir tweeted,” Well done @IamSanjuSamson on a double hundred in a domestic one-day game!!! This man is bursting at seams with talent and talent must meet opportunity very soon @BCCI @StarSportsIndia #VijayHazareTrophy #VijayHazare”
Samson had also scored a well made 91 for India A against South Africa A some months back as well. He has played one T20I game for Men in Blue, back in 2015.
