CHENNAI: WHEN Sanju Samson got out for ten runs in the first T20I against Afghanistan on Sunday, he felt the heat. The India opener, who came in for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the XI after the teenager replaced him in England, had previous scores that read: 27, 1, 0, 5. Another failure on Tuesday in the second T20I, with Sooryavanshi warming the bench, would have added pressure on the senior opener. Samson, however, came out all guns blazing to smash a 22-ball 57, putting India on track in the chase of 160. Once he got out, India eventually toppled the target and sealed the three-match series with a seven-wicket win.
Samson, whose last international fifty came in the T20 World Cup final, kicked off against Azmatullah Omarzai in the fifth over. From eight off ten balls, he raced to 27 off 15 with three fours and a six and did not stop. He later took to Mohammad Nabi, hitting two fours and as many sixes. By the time he got out — not before smashing Rashid Khan for a six and a four — India were 99/2 in seven overs. From thereon, it was just a formality as the rest of the line-up took India home.
Earlier, playing with a 14-member squad as Varun C was ruled out, Nitish Kumar Reddy was India's star bowler as he took 3/24. The all-rounder, who is on a comeback trail, got a chance to showcase his skills after the two overs he bowled in the first match did not fetch any wickets. Tuesday, however, was his turn to rise to the occasion and Reddy grabbed it with both hands as Afghanistan finished with 159/8 in 20 overs. Brief scores: Afghanistan 159/8 in 20 ovs (Ibrahim 37; Arshdeep 2/35, Nitish 3/24) lost to India 163/3 in 14.5 ovs (Samson 57, Abhishek 38).
