Sanju Samson had an excellent day at the office which helped India win against Zimbabwe in the last T20 match at Harare Sports Club on Sunday, July 14. The Indian wicketkeeper was the top scorer with 58 runs from 45 balls. This helped India recover from a bad start while they were batting first in the final game of the series.
India lost the first three wickets early in the game, but Samson held firm, playing a smart and careful innings in difficult conditions. He hit a fifty in just 39 balls to mark his second fifty in T20 internationals and his first as a designated wicketkeeper batter.
The 29-year-old batsman made history by being the first Indian wicketkeeper to score 50 runs against Zimbabwe in T20 international matches. Before him, no Indian wicketkeeper had scored more than 50 runs in the first 12 T20 matches against Zimbabwe. Interestingly, no player had ever scored a century in T20 matches between India and Zimbabwe until Abhishek Sharma scored 100 runs off 47 balls in the second game of this series.
During his crucial innings at Harare Sports Club, Samson hit one four and four huge sixes. After hitting his second six in the game, Samson reached 300 sixes in T20 cricket. He is now one of only seven Indian cricketers to have hit over 300 sixes in the shortest form of the game.
Samson also grabbed attention by hitting a huge six in the 12th over of India’s innings. Samson got down on the ground to hit a big six off Brandon Mavuta over the long-on area of 110 meters, the longest of the five-match series. The ball went past the stands and disappeared beyond the camera’s view. The umpires had to restart the game with a new ball, but Samson sent it into the stands with a spectacular inside-out shot over the deep covers area.
After Samson left the field, Shivam Dube helped India reach a challenging total by scoring 26 runs off just 12 balls. Dube also made a significant impact by taking two big wickets and was awarded the Player of the Match.
