IND vs SA 2022-23, Lucknow ODI: Samson's heroics in vain as South Africa draws first blood, Twitter responds
India fell short to South Africa by nine runs in the opening Lucknow ODI on Thursday. Sanju Samson's heroics in the final over went in vain, as the visitors drew first blood, while here's how Twitter responded.
FollowIt was a competitive outing for India and South Africa in the opening One-Day International (ODI) at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Thursday. The hosts fell short by nine runs in the rain-truncated 40 overs per side contest, with the visitors drawing first blood and a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. While Klaasen (74*) and Miller (75*) were the stars of Proteas, Sanju Samson's heroism was not enough to see off the Men in Blue in a final-over thriller. Meanwhile, here's how Twitter responded to this tie.
Winning the toss, stand-in Indian skipper Shikhar Dhawan opted to field under the overcast conditions. At the same time, top-order batter Ruturaj Gaikwad and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi made their ODI debuts. The South African openers Janneman Malan (22) and Quinton de Kock (48) were off to a decent start, adding 49 before the former fell to pacer Shardul Thakur in the 13th.
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The visitors lost some quick wickets regularly thereon and were reeling at 110/4. However, Heinrich Klaasen (74*) and David Miller (75*) took charge of the remainder of the innings and contributed to a 139-run partnership for the fifth wicket. While both batters scored their respective fourth and 18th ODI half-centuries, SA finished the innings at 249/4, a competitive total on a slow-turning track.
Four dropped catches and misfields cost the Indians. While Thakur caught a couple of wickets, he was also the most economical one in the side. In reply, the hosts were off to a shocker, losing both openers (Dhawan- 4 & Shubman Gill- 3) for just eight by the sixth over of the Powerplay.
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Thereon, Gaikwad (19) and Ishan Kishan (20) added 40 for the third wicket before both fell to spinner Tabriaz Shamsi and Keshav Maharaj by the 18th, while the score read 51/4. Nevertheless, Iyer (50) and Samson (62*) contributed to a 67-run stand for the fourth, keeping India within the chase.
As Iyer slammed his 12th ODI 50, he was dismissed by pacer Lungi Ngidi off a short ball in the 27th. Samson kept calm and, along with Shardul Thakur (33*), added 93 for the sixth wicket. While the former struck his second ODI half-century in the 38th, the latter was sent packing by the same pacer at 211.
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India lost a couple of more quick wickets while it came down to Samson, with 30 needed off the final six deliveries. Although he tried hard off Shamsi's spin, it was not enough, as the Men in Blue fell short by nine runs. For the Proteas, Ngidi captured three, while pacer Kagiso Rabada was economical.
Brief scores: SA 249/4 in 40 overs (De Kock- 48, Klaasen- 74*, Miller- 75*; Thakur- 2/35) defeated IND 240/8 (Iyer- 50, Samson- 86; Ngidi- 3/52) by nine runs.
