IND vs SA: Samson dismissed for back-to-back ducks by Jansen after smashing consecutive T20 tons

The law of averages appears to have caught up with Sanju Samson in the ongoing T20I tour of South Africa. The Indian opener had struck back-to-back centuries in the shortest format with a fiery knock of 107 in the opening game of the tour in Durban, only to get dismissed for a duck in the first over in each of the next two matches, getting cleaned up by the same bowler on both occasions.

Left-arm quick Marco Jansen had castled Samson in the second T20I in Gqeberha, and managed to get rid of him for a second time in as many games in Centurion.

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The difference between the two dismissals, however, was that Samson had departed for a three-ball duck after getting his leg stump knocked over at St George’s Park, while at the SuperSport Park, he was dismissed off the second ball of the innings, this time the ball crashing into the off pole.

Unlike the second T20I in Gqeberha, where the Men in Blue had been reduced to 15/3 inside the powerplay, Samson’s opening partner Abhishek Sharma and No 3 batter Tilak Varma helped the visitors quickly recover from the early jolt with a mammoth second-wicket partnership that was worth 107.

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Abhishek was stumped off Keshav Maharaj’s bowling shortly after completing his half-century in just 24 deliveries, going past the fifty-mark for the second time in international cricket and shaking off a lean patch in the process.

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He was well-supported by Tilak, who was batting on 47 off 29 balls, smashing three fours and as many sixes along the way as India reached 110/3 at the halfway stage of the innings, with captain Suryakumar Yadav (1) departing cheaply after Abhishek’s stumping.

Earlier, the Men in Blue decided to hand an international debut to batting all-rounder Ramandeep Singh , who received his maiden cap from Hardik Pandya and replaced Avesh Khan in the XI. South Africa also made a change, bringing in an extra seamer in Lutho Sipamla in place of Nqaba Peter.

The series is currently tied at 1-1, with India having won the opening game at Kingsmead by 61 runs only for the Proteas to bounce back with a thrilling three-wicket victory two days later.