Former Indian captain and commentator Sunil Gavaskar has showered praise on the Indian opening batter Sanju Samson, who scored a match-winning 57-run knock off 22 balls in the second T20I against Afghanistan on Tuesday in Delhi.
Speaking to the broadcasters during the game, Gavaskar reckoned that all Samson needs is consistency, adding that the opener should continue with the approach he adopted in the second T20I.
“It’s sometimes the consistency that you want and because the openers get most of the strike in a 20-over game, they have the most opportunities to score. Sometimes, like today, he played himself in and he started hammering the balls only later. If he keeps on doing that, I don’t think he’ll ever fail. He’ll keep on getting 50s and 60s every time,” Gavaskar said on-air.
“It’s only when he looks to try and go bang-bang from the first ball, and then you have to do that if you’re chasing 190 or 200, then there is no option of doing that. But he’s a terrific player,” he added.
Shifting our focus to the details of the second T20I, Afghanistan was tasked to bat first, posting 159/8 in 20 overs. Ibrahim Zadran was the top scorer, amassing 37 runs off 33 balls. Nitish Kumar Reddy shone with the ball, picking up a three-fer.
In the chase, India crossed the winning line with 14.5 overs and seven wickets in hand. Sanju Samson, the Indian explosive opener, was the top scorer, accumulating 57 runs off 22 balls with seven fours and four sixes.
India will next take on Afghanistan in the third and final T20I of the three-game series at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Thursday, September 17.
