Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra believes Sanju Samson will not be troubled as far as his selection is concerned after he scored two fifties against Afghanistan in the three-match T20I series. After scoring only 10 runs off eight balls in the series opener, pressure was building on Samson.
However, the Indian opener scored a blistering knock of 57 runs off just 22 balls in the second game on Tuesday. The flamboyant batter backed it with another decent knock of 50 runs off 35 balls on Thursday.
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube Channel, “By the way, it was our Sanju who scored 50, and his 50 also came off 35 balls. Many times, what happens is that when one batter is hitting so much, the other batter automatically looks a little subdued. Sanju Samson has now got two 50s, so that means you won’t trouble him for a while. I really hope that continues in the same vein and fashion.”
On the other hand, Chopra showered praise on Abhishek Sharma, who scored a stunning knock of 108 runs off just 34 balls, including nine fours and 11 sixes. Sharma completed his hundred off just 30 balls, which is the fastest from a Test-playing nation.
“What a player, man! No one hits as hard even in a video game as this guy does when he gets going. When he starts hitting, he absolutely tears the bowling apart. He made the fastest T20 century against a Test-playing nation, and then celebrated like this as well. The Kotla ground isn’t particularly big anyway, but he just kept hitting sixes one after another. He was absolutely stellar and stunning.
“And that is why, whenever you ask why we invest so much in Abhishek Sharma despite the fact that there are times when he doesn’t score runs, this is why. Because the day he gets going, he doesn’t just win the match, he finishes it completely. Opposition finished. Finito. He has the ability to play that kind of innings. And once he gets going, he is unstoppable,” he added.
Abhishek scored 229 runs in three games of the series at an average of 76.33 and a blistering strike rate of 269.71. Thus, the left-hander was awarded Player of the Series.
