Twitter On Fire As India Finally Include Sanju Samson In Playing XI

Having taken an unassailable lead in the three-match series, India made as many as three changes to the playing eleven that beat Sri Lanka in the second T20I. Sanju Samson highlighted the inclusions while the other two players who got the chance for the ongoing third game in Pune are Manish Pandey and Yuzvendra Chahal.

India made light work of Sri Lanka in the second game. Virat Kohli’s decision to bat first turned out to be spot on as the bowlers came up with a fine show. Led by young pacers Shardul Thakur (3 for 23) and Navdeep Saini (2 for 18), the hosts restricted Sri Lanka to a below par total of 142 for 9 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, India chased down the total with utmost ease.

Openers KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan set the platform for the easy chase by adding 71 runs in 9 overs for the first wicket. Both of them departed in quick succession but Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer made sure India do not stutter in their chase. The skipper scored a quick-fire 30 off 17 balls to take his side over the finishing line.

Twitter delighted for Sanju Samson:

The fans, nonetheless, were delighted for Sanju Samson who finally got a chance in the team. He had earned a recall from the national team after a long gap of four years during the Bangladesh T20Is in November. However, he did not play a single game and was surprisingly dropped for the series against West Indies.

But an injury to Shikhar Dhawan led to another recall although he did not play any game against West Indies either. He managed to retain his spot for the ongoing series too but was not named in the playing game for the first two games. But on Saturday, India finally gave him a chance to show his potential on the field.

And while only time will tell how Samson performs, the fans were delighted to see him in the playing eleven. Here are some reactions:

https://twitter.com/FarziCricketer/status/1215624980274339840

Sanju Samson gets a match at last!

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) January 10, 2020

After seeing sanju samson in the playing 11. #INDvSL pic.twitter.com/pDezmStBjD

— Marwadi (@gaitonde07) January 10, 2020

Sanju Samson:

2015: Made T20I debut

2020: Will play his 2nd T20I

— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 10, 2020

That is some news, never saw coming, Sanju Samson replaces Pant. Sanju was sitting on the bench for the last 8 T20 matches.

Sanju Samson last played for India in 2015 against Zimbabwe.#INDvSL

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) January 10, 2020

Wow! Sanju Samson has been picked in the playing XI.

Waiting for L K Advani to become PM anytime now. #INDvSL

— Shridhar V (@iimcomic) January 10, 2020

https://twitter.com/impandeyy143/status/1215623787573432320

https://twitter.com/Sketch_Buzz/status/1215624254651109376

Sanju Samson and Manish Pandey in playing 11 omg #INDvSL

— Kush Mufc (@kushmufc) January 10, 2020

https://twitter.com/imhari_77/status/1215625753791877122

Most T20Is missed for a team between appearances:

79 : Joe Denly (2010-18)
74 : Liam Plunkett (2006-15)
73 : Mahela Udawatte (2009-17)
73 : Sanju Samson (2015-20)*
72 : Farveez Maharoof (2008-16)#INDvsSL

— Umang Pabari (@UPStatsman) January 10, 2020

When Virat calls Sanju Samson in playing XI #INDvsSL

Sanju Samson: pic.twitter.com/jqL9ntWXbz

— Kusi ? (@Asli_Khushi) January 10, 2020