Watch: Hardik Pandya left raging after Sanju Samson’s shot causes bizarre run-out vs Oman in Asia Cup
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Ill-fated Hardik Pandya struggled in his maiden Asia Cup 2025 outing with the bat, as Sanju Samson's straight hit rebounded from the bowler's hand to dismiss the star all-rounder at the non-striker's end.
India is playing against Oman in their final group stage game of the Asia Cup 2025. The Men in Blue have already qualified for the Super-4 stage alongside Asian rivals Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. This is the first time in this tournament that India won the toss and opted to bat first.
Having swapped their entire batting order, the Indian team have struggled with the bat. Captain Suryakumar Yadav has sent all batters ahead of him; however, India has lost 5 wickets in no time.
Watch: Hardik Pandya dismissed in the most bizarre fashion against Oman
Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav opted to bat first after winning the toss against Oman. This is their final game going into the Super-4 stage, and hence, the batters would be batting with a free mind ahead of the knockout stages.
After the fall of two wickets, Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder, was sent in at no. 4. This was the first time Hardik Pandya came out to bat in the Indian middle order. Samson hit the left-armer Jitenkumar Ramanandi straight back towards the wickets.
The Oman player was spotted with great reactions as he flipped the ball through his fingers, which went on to hit the wickets, and Hardik Pandya got run out at the non-striker's end.
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India's no. 1-ranked T20I bowler, rested for the final group-stage game
India is playing their final group-stage game, and since the team has already qualified for the Super-4 stage, they have rested some of their crucial players from the playing XI. India did not feature pacers Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh in the previous two games.
However, this time around, they have dropped Jasprit Bumrah from the playing XI as this would also help him manage his excess workload, a topic that has often been talked about. Instead, Arshdeep Singh has been picked for the Indian XI and will be targeting his 100th wicket in the match.
Varun Chakravarthy has also been dropped from the Indian team after being crowned as the ICC's No. 1 bowler in the world. The spinner picked two wickets in the Asia Cup so far and has been rested ahead of the Super-4 clashes.
Sanju Samson establishes command with a half-century for India
Sanju Samson was sent into bat at no. 3 for the first time in this Asia Cup. There has been a huge buzz over the batting position of the wicket-keeper batter after Shubman Gill was recalled into the Indian playing XI. Though guilty of Hardik Pandya's dismissal, Samson stood strong as the backbone of the Indian innings.
Samson got the opportunity to bat for the first time in this Asia Cup and has proved his class with a stunning show. He got to a well-made half-century off 41 balls, while wickets kept falling from the other end.
ALSO READ: 'Fraud Shubman Gill can’t even perform against Oman': Twitter reacts to batter's Asia Cup flop show
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India National Cricket Team Oman National Cricket Team Asia Cup India vs Oman Hardik Pandya Sanju Samson
