IND vs ENG, 1st T20I: Samson left Atkinson in tatters as India batter smashes 22 runs in an over (WATCH)
After failing to score runs in the first over, Sanju Samson unleashed a flurry of aggressive shots in the following over of India's 133-run chase in the first T20I against England in Kolkata.
FollowIndia wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson took England pacer Gus Atkinson to the cleaners in the first T20I of the five-match series at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Wednesday, January 22.
Chasing a moderate 133-run target set by England, India had a slow start to their innings as they scored 1 run in the opening over. Pacer Jofra Archer didn’t allow opener Sanju Samson to settle as he faced five dot balls before taking a run on the final ball of the first over. In the second over, Samson turned into beast mode when he faced Gus Atkinson as he went all out against the young England pacer.
After failing to score runs in the first over, Sanju Samson unleashed a flurry of aggressive shots in the following over. On the two balls of the second over, the right-handed batter hit two consecutive fours before he missed a chance to go for another boundary on the third ball. However, Samson smashed a six towards the leg-side off Gus Atkinson. In the two balls of the second over, the opener smashed two consecutive fours. By the end of the second, Sanju Samson smashed a total of 22 runs, setting a tone for the chase.
The video of Sanju Samson unleashing his firepower in the second over of India’s run-chase was posted by BCCI on its X handle (formerly Twitter).
Watch the video here:
Sanju Samson played a quickfire innings of 26 off 20 balls, including 4 fours and a six, before he was dismissed by Mark Wood at 41/1/ After Samson’s dismissal, Suryakumar Yadav joined Abhishek Sharma at the crease to carry on India’s run-chase. However, the Indian T20I captain was quick to return to the pavilion after he was removed for a three-ball duck by Jofra Archer at 41/2.
Thereafter, Abhishek Sharma was joined by Tilak Verma at the crease to help India chase down the target. Abhishek completely turned into rampage mode as he unleashed a brutal assault on England's bowling attack that left clueless to tackle the left-handed opener’s relentless aggression. Abhishek Sharma played a splendid knock of 79 off 34 balls at an impressive strike rate of 232.35 before he was dismissed by Adil Rashid at 125/3. His innings laced with 5 fours and 8 sixes. At the time of Abhishek’s dismissal, India required just 8 runs to win the opening match of the series.
The left-handed batter Tilak Varma was joined by Hardik Pandya at the crease and the duo took the team past the finishing line with 43 balls to spare. Team India chased down 133–run target in 12.5 overs and won the first T20I of the series by 7 wickets.
For England bowlers, Jofra Archer led the attack with two wickets while conceding just 21 runs in his quota of four overs. Gus Atkinson emerged as the worst bowler as he went wicketless while conceding 38 runs at an economy rate of 19 in two overs. He was not brought into bowling after he was smashed by Sanju Samson for 22 runs in the second over. Adil Rashid picked only one wicket while conceding 25 runs at an economy rate of 13.50.
With seven-wicket win over England, India took a 1-0 series lead and will play the second T20I at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai on Saturday, January 25.
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