Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson talked about his performance and the difficulties India faced in the first ODI match. India and South Africa played their first ODI game of a three-match series. South Africa won the match by nine runs. Shikhar Dhawan failed to perform. Sanju Samson smashed 86 runs, but his score wasn’t enough to achieve the target. The game was played at Ekan Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.
Samson made an exceptional chase, but a single miss changed the total game. South Africa gave India a target of 249 runs. India made 240 runs, missing out by 9 runs. Sanju made 86 runs with nine boundaries and three sixes. Deputy Shreyas Iyer also made a half-century.
“It is always nice to spend some time in the middle and we always play to take our team over the line. I missed connecting two shots, next time I will work even harder. But I am satisfied with my contribution. Their bowlers were going about things nicely, Tabraiz Shamsi was a little expensive today so we felt we could target them,” Samson said in the post-match presentation.

“We knew he would bowl the last over, I knew if I had to get 24 runs in the final over, I can hit four sixes. I was taking the game deep, the plan was this only and the batters responded nicely. It is always nice to spend some time in the middle and we always play to take our team over the line. I missed connecting two shots, next time I will work even harder. But I am satisfied with my contribution.” he added.
Samson mentioned Tabraiz Shamsi and how his bowling was penetrable. Shamsi had the higher economy rate, and he planned to target him for chasing runs. Keshav Maharaj was the toughest to crack and he had the lowest economy.
“Their bowlers were going about things nicely, Tabraiz Shamsi was a little expensive today so we felt we can target them. We knew he would bowl the last over, I knew if I had to get 24 runs in the final over, I can hit four sixes. I was taking the game deep, the plan was this only, and the batters responded nicely,” Samson talked about their batting plan.

Samson further talked about his team and how they can improve in the bowling and batting department. Skipper Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, and Ruturaj Gaikwad failed to make any significant runs. Bowling was pretty average, and Shardul Thakur gave an impressive performance.
“We have some space to improve, but we also need to look at the batters we are bowling to. I think David Miller is the best finisher in the world at the moment, bowling against him on this ground was very challenging,” Samson.