In the second T20I against Ireland, Team India's wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson, who had missed the South Africa series, put up a spectacular performance. He opened the innings with Ishan Kishan and smashed 77 off 42 balls. His fiery knock was crucial in taking the team’s total to a commanding 225/7 in 20 overs.

With a large fan base in Dublin, Samson stood in for the injured Ruturaj Gaikwad at the top. He was able to win over both fans and critics with his knock. 

The 27-year-old initially took his time as Deepak Hooda went full throttle at the other end. But once he got settled, he accelerated and started to smash the bowlers all over the park. In his blistering innings, he hit 4 sixes and 9 boundaries. He also brought up his maiden half-century in T20Is in the process.

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Former India opener Aakash Chopra showered high praise for Samson, comparing his strokeplay to that of Rohit Sharma and describing it as beautiful and elegantly carefree. He also recalled the moment at the toss when the audience went wild at hearing Samson's name called out in the line-up.

“Sanju got an opportunity and he shone. When he bats, he plays very well. That's the thing with Sanju Samson - I have never seen him bat ugly. He is a player who belongs to Rohit Sharma's category, who whenever he plays, plays extremely beautifully, scores runs in a free-flowing manner, and controls the match very well," Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.

"Sanju's fans are there in Malahide as well because as soon as Hardik Pandya said at the toss that Sanju is playing, it erupted, it was an extremely beautiful moment for Sanju Samson as well, he got an opportunity to play as an opener," he added.

Chopra stated that Samson controlled his innings quite well considering he had to take a backseat while Hooda was in high gear for a while before accelerating towards the end.

"He has also put his name in the list, another wicketkeeper-batter. I think it's going to be a huge huge headache. Well done Sanju, when you see Sanju you observe the talent but performance is more important than potential. Converting potential to performance is the tough art and he showed it by doing it," he added.

(TIMES NOW INPUTS)