Sanju Samson against Australia
After suffering a 2-1 drubbing at the hands of Australia in the ODI series, the Indian side bounced back by clinching the subsequent three-game T20I series by the very same margin. The Virat Kohli-led side gained an unassailable 2-0 lead in the first two games before losing the third and final game by 12 runs in Sydney.
Despite missing out on the chance to etch a clean sweep, the Indian camp finished the white-ball series on a positive note, gaining much confidence ahead of the last leg of the series involving the much-anticipated red-ball tour, scheduled to start from December 17th at Adelaide.
Meanwhile, cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra, on his YouTube channel, reviewed the performance of Indian batsmen in the T20I series. While skipper Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya managed to notch up hefty scores, players like KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan had an underwhelming stint, especially after having a brilliant IPL 2020.
However, it was Sanju Samson's uninspiring batting show which was a major concern for Chopra. The Kerala wicketkeeper-batsman won't get too many opportunities, according to the former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) batsman. Samson also had a forgetful stint in the recent IPL edition, where he failed to maintain consistency after scoring in initial games.
In 14 games for Rajasthan Royals, the right-hander scored 375 runs including three half-centuries. In three T20I games against the Aussies, Samson's scores were -- 23, 15, 10. Apart from Samson, Shreyas Iyer also had a humdrum T20I series where he scored just 12 runs in two games.
"It will be an issue for Sanju Samson because we have already discussed that he will not get too many opportunities. Everyone is not given the same number of chances, that is the truth of life.
"So, if someone knows that he will be getting a few opportunities, then he needs to make the best use of those chances. So, he will be a little disappointed with the way things went for him personally with the bat," said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
About Iyer's below-par show with the bat, Chopra said, "It has been a disappointing tour for Shreyas Iyer as well. He didn't play all the three T20Is, but in the two he played, one knock was good but got out for a duck this time. If you see the ODIs as well, it was not very good."
