IND vs SA: "It Would Have Been A Different Story If He Had Attacked Right From The Start" - Former Pakistan Wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal On Sanju Samson

India suffered a nine-run loss to South Africa in the rain-curtailed first ODI of a three-match ODI series at Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow on Thursday, October 06.

Heinrich Klaasen 74* (65), David Miller 75*, and Quinton de Kock 48 (54) helped South Africa post 249 runs on the board. India suffered a setback as Shikhar Dhawan 4, Shubman Gill 3, Ruturaj Gaikwad 19, and Ishan Kishan 20 runs were played slowly and got out without converting into a big score. Samson took his time on the tricky pitch as he scored an unbeaten half-century of 86 off just 63 balls with 9 fours and 3 sixes.

Young wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson scored 14 runs in the first three balls of the last over off the bowling of Tabriz Shamsi to take India closer to victory. Samson failed to hit the winning runs when India needed 15 runs off the last three balls. India’s margin of defeat was reduced to nine runs.

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Kamran Akmal believes that India would have won easily if Sanju Samson had attacked from the first ball like a T20 match.

There Was Lack Of Intent – Kamran Akmal

“Sanju Samson took his time initially. It would have been a different story if he had attacked right from the start. He did score 86 runs in the match, but there was a lack of intent in the first 30-35 balls that he faced. He lacks experience when it comes to playing against a big team,” said Akmal on his Youtube channel.

Shreyas Iyer scored an important half-century in the run chase, scoring a 37-ball 50 and playing a vital role after India’s top order crumbled.

“Shreyas Iyer showed how an experienced batter would play in such crucial situations, scoring quick runs and generating momentum. He did a fine job. If he hadn’t got out, India could have gone on to win the match,” he said.

Akmal stated that the pace of Ruthuraj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan’s innings had an impact on the outcome of the match, as Gaikwad scored 19 runs off 42 balls while Kishan scored 20 off 37.

“The target was quite gettable. Ruturaj should have played a bit faster. Even Ishan Kishan played quite slow. They should have maintained a better scoring rate, considering that it was a 40-over game. India would have chased the total if they hadn’t played slowly at that stage,” he added.

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