Sanju Samson, India's talented wicketkeeper-batter, made the most of a well-deserved opportunity in the first ODI of the three-match series against South Africa by smashing one of the best knocks of his career on Thursday (October 6) in Lucknow.
Samson smashed 9 fours and 3 sixes during his magnificent knock of 86* off 63 balls, but could not take Team India over the line, as the hosts fell 9 runs short of the 250-run target against South Africa.
After the match, former South Africa pacer Dale Steyn heaped praise on Samson for his power-hitting and went on to compare his six-hitting abilities to those of Yuvraj Singh, who had hit England’s Stuart Broad for six sixes in an over during the T20 World Cup back in 2007.
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Dale Steyn said in the post-match discussion on Star Sports: “As soon as KG (Kagiso Rabada) bowled that no-ball in the last ball of his over, I was like, ‘please don’t let this happen’. Because you never know with someone like Sanju, especially with the form that he has got and the belief that he has.”
The former pacer continued, “I watched him in the IPL, his ability to take down the bowlers and hit boundary at will, especially in the last 2 overs of the game, is incredible.”
Steyn concluded, “Tabraiz Shamsi was going to bowl the last over and he (Samson) knew he (Shamsi) had a rough day. I was nervous when KG bowled the no-ball. Because Sanju is the kind of guy who has the potential of Yuvi, to hit those six sixes and get the team across the line when it needs 30+.”
Coming back to the game, South Africa put up 249/4 in the allotted 40 overs, courtesy of an unbeaten stand of 139 runs for the fifth wicket between Heinrich Klaasen (74*) and David Miller (75*).
