Sanju Samson came up with an absolute stunning piece of fielding effort in the final over of the first ODI against West Indies to help India clinch a thriller.
The Men in Blue took the lead in the three-match series after beating West Indies by three runs in the high-scoring thriller. Asked to bat first, India posted 308 for 7 in the allotted 50 overs.
Skipper Shikhar Dhawan led from the very front and top-scored for his side. The left-handed batsman scored 97 off 99 balls with the help of 10 fours and 3 sixes. Apart from Dhawan, Shubman Gill (64) and Shreyas Iyer (54) played good knocks too.
He and Gill gave India a flying start by adding 119 runs for the first wicket before the latter was run-out. It was followed by a 94-run stand between Dhawan and Iyer before both of them departed in quick succession.
India kept losing wickets at regular intervals after Iyer’s departure but managed to put up a big total. In reply, West Indies put up a good fight but eventually fell short by just 3 runs as they finished on 305 for 6.
Kyle Mayers and Brandon King scored fifties for the hosts but it was not enough for their team to cross the finishing line. For India, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Yuzvendra Chahal picked two wickets each.
Sanju Samson’s incredible save:
With 15 runs needed from the final over, the match was set for a thrilling finish. Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein collected 7 runs from the first 4 balls bowled by Siraj to bring down the equation to 8 runs needed from 2 balls.
This is when one of the best moments of the match was witnessed when Sanju Samson saved India from a certain defeat. With 8 needed off the final 2 balls, Siraj bowled a wide ball well down the leg-side.
With Shepherd shuffling down the leg-side, the India pacer followed his pads and ended up bowling the wide. The ball was looking destined to evade everyone and reach the boundary but Sanju Samson had other ideas.
The wicketkeeper made a stunning full-length dive to his left to stop the ball from reaching the boundary and saved valuable 4 runs for his team. Siraj then went on to defend the runs successfully.
Here is a clip of Sanju Samson save:
— Sourav (@souravmitrovic) July 23, 2022
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