MUMBAI: Missing nine of their regular players, India can be excused for going down to Sri Lanka in the final T20 International at the Premadasa Stadium on Thursday night to lose the T20I series 2-1.
The likes of Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Nitish Rana struggled against Sri Lanka’s spinners on a turning track, but they are young, and will be better off this experience.
However, there’s one man for whom this tour has spelled unmitigated disaster.
For someone who’s rated highly because of his consistent exploits in the IPL, the limited overs tour of Sri Lanka at this stage offered Sanju Samson a golden opportunity to stake a claim for a slot in India’s T20 World Cup aside. The 25-year-old stroked 46 in the final ODI, making his fans believe that something good could be round the corner.
However, confronted with a turning track at the Premadasa in the T20I series that followed, all the Kerala man got in three games was 34 runs (with two fours and a six) at a strike rate of 94.44 and an average of just 11.33 — his scores being 27, 7 & 0 — as his form kept getting worse.
Disappointing his fans massively, the ‘keeper-bat, who now has just 117 runs to show in 10 T20Is, at an average of 11.70, has squandered his chance completely, finishing as the ‘biggest loser’ of the tour.
Whatever hopes he had of playing in the T20 World Cup have now evaporated in thin air, as Rishab Pant and Ishan Kishan have beaten him by miles. With just five specialist batsmen available, India badly needed ‘Sanju’ to fire, but he failed to put his hand up at the time of crisis.
The way Samson struggled against leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga — dismissed by the No 2 ranked T20I bowler in the world in all the three innings of the series— exposed the youngster’s frail technique against quality spin on a pitch aiding turn. On the first two occasions, he failed to read the googly, the third time he was trapped in front of the stumps by a leg-break, moving too much on the backfoot to play the ball. This was the sixth time he was out to spin in his T20I career — a reflection of his vulnerability against spinners in international cricket.
Quizzed about Samson’s poor performance in the post-match press conference on Thursday, India coach Rahul Dravid was asked about the 48-year-old said: “I think to be honest it is not the easiest condition to bat in. He got a chance in the one-day game and got a very good start of 46 runs, but in the T20s he probably batted well in the first one, however, the last couple of wickets have been a bit challenging.”
“But I guess when you would look back on the series, you would be a little disappointed. Having said that, I think it is not only Sanju, a lot of these young guys are talented young kids and terrific players, and we need to be patient. The young batters will keep learning and only when they are exposed to these conditions will they get better,” added the 48-year-old.
For all his phenomenal talent which is on display as he destroys attacks in the IPL while batting for the Rajasthan Royals, Samson’s scores in the 10 T20I innings for India read 19, 6, 8, 2, 23, 15, 10, 27, 7, 0. All this while being presented with a chance to bat in the top four.
“Sanju Samson so much talent but not so much commitment to play every ball on its merit,” tweeted former India allrounder Irfan Pathan recently, summing up the young turk’s woes.
Samson apart, the way India’s young batsmen, who score heavily in the IPL, found the going tough against quality spin on a track which aided turn, but wasn’t vicious by any means, struggled in the T20I series is a matter of concern.
Saying that he wasn’t “disappointed” by his batsmen’s poor show in the final two T20Is — the visitors managed to score just 82 for eight in the last game — Dravid believes that the ‘gen-next’ of Indian batting will have learnt from this tour that “not all wickets are going to be flat,” and they need to work on the art of scrapping it out and making “130, 140” on pitches which help spinners.
“I am not disappointed as they are young. They are going to learn and get better only when they are exposed to these kinds of conditions and quality of bowling. Sri Lankan team’s bowling attack is an international bowling attack. They would have liked to score a few more runs. They now have an opportunity to reflect that not all wickets are going to be flat. We need to find ways to scrap and score 130, 140 on these wickets,” Dravid said.
The likes of Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Nitish Rana struggled against Sri Lanka’s spinners on a turning track, but they are young, and will be better off this experience.
However, there’s one man for whom this tour has spelled unmitigated disaster.
For someone who’s rated highly because of his consistent exploits in the IPL, the limited overs tour of Sri Lanka at this stage offered Sanju Samson a golden opportunity to stake a claim for a slot in India’s T20 World Cup aside. The 25-year-old stroked 46 in the final ODI, making his fans believe that something good could be round the corner.
However, confronted with a turning track at the Premadasa in the T20I series that followed, all the Kerala man got in three games was 34 runs (with two fours and a six) at a strike rate of 94.44 and an average of just 11.33 — his scores being 27, 7 & 0 — as his form kept getting worse.
Disappointing his fans massively, the ‘keeper-bat, who now has just 117 runs to show in 10 T20Is, at an average of 11.70, has squandered his chance completely, finishing as the ‘biggest loser’ of the tour.
Whatever hopes he had of playing in the T20 World Cup have now evaporated in thin air, as Rishab Pant and Ishan Kishan have beaten him by miles. With just five specialist batsmen available, India badly needed ‘Sanju’ to fire, but he failed to put his hand up at the time of crisis.
The way Samson struggled against leg-spinner Wanindu Hasaranga — dismissed by the No 2 ranked T20I bowler in the world in all the three innings of the series— exposed the youngster’s frail technique against quality spin on a pitch aiding turn. On the first two occasions, he failed to read the googly, the third time he was trapped in front of the stumps by a leg-break, moving too much on the backfoot to play the ball. This was the sixth time he was out to spin in his T20I career — a reflection of his vulnerability against spinners in international cricket.
Quizzed about Samson’s poor performance in the post-match press conference on Thursday, India coach Rahul Dravid was asked about the 48-year-old said: “I think to be honest it is not the easiest condition to bat in. He got a chance in the one-day game and got a very good start of 46 runs, but in the T20s he probably batted well in the first one, however, the last couple of wickets have been a bit challenging.”
“But I guess when you would look back on the series, you would be a little disappointed. Having said that, I think it is not only Sanju, a lot of these young guys are talented young kids and terrific players, and we need to be patient. The young batters will keep learning and only when they are exposed to these conditions will they get better,” added the 48-year-old.
For all his phenomenal talent which is on display as he destroys attacks in the IPL while batting for the Rajasthan Royals, Samson’s scores in the 10 T20I innings for India read 19, 6, 8, 2, 23, 15, 10, 27, 7, 0. All this while being presented with a chance to bat in the top four.
“Sanju Samson so much talent but not so much commitment to play every ball on its merit,” tweeted former India allrounder Irfan Pathan recently, summing up the young turk’s woes.
Samson apart, the way India’s young batsmen, who score heavily in the IPL, found the going tough against quality spin on a track which aided turn, but wasn’t vicious by any means, struggled in the T20I series is a matter of concern.
Saying that he wasn’t “disappointed” by his batsmen’s poor show in the final two T20Is — the visitors managed to score just 82 for eight in the last game — Dravid believes that the ‘gen-next’ of Indian batting will have learnt from this tour that “not all wickets are going to be flat,” and they need to work on the art of scrapping it out and making “130, 140” on pitches which help spinners.
“I am not disappointed as they are young. They are going to learn and get better only when they are exposed to these kinds of conditions and quality of bowling. Sri Lankan team’s bowling attack is an international bowling attack. They would have liked to score a few more runs. They now have an opportunity to reflect that not all wickets are going to be flat. We need to find ways to scrap and score 130, 140 on these wickets,” Dravid said.
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