'I am satisfied with my contribution,' says Sanju Samson after his knock against South Africa in 1st ODI

Sanju Samson (Source: Twitter)

South Africa won against India by 9 runs in the first ODI of the ongoing three-match series in Lucknow on October 6, Thursday. It was a much-needed win for the visitors after the 2-1 loss in the T20I series, and it was Heinrich Klaasen who steered the Proteas with an unbeaten half-century.

Although it was not an ideal start to the ODI series for the Men in Blue, the silver lining for the home team was Sanju Samson’s valiant knock that gave India an outside chance to snatch an unlikely victory. He scored an unbeaten 86 off 63 with nine fours and three sixes and finished as the top scorer of the game.

Next time I will work even harder: Samson

Samson’s place in the national team has been one of the main talks in the Indian cricketing fraternity over the last few months as he has been chopped in and out in the white ball circuit time and again, which has left the fans in a bit of a fix. He was not part of the Asia Cup 2022, and recently, he also failed to make the 20-20 World Cup squad for India. And he said that his latest knock against South Africa was satisfying.

“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," Samson was quoted as saying in News 18. “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."

“We have some space to improve but we also need to look at the batters we are bowling too. I think David Miller is the best finisher in the world at the moment, bowling against him on this ground was very challenging," added the 27-year-old.