Sanju Samson’s lean run is the lone sore point in an otherwise firing batting line-up and it will prompt the team management to ponder over pairing teen sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with opener Abhishek Sharma in the second T20I against the West Indies here on Friday.
A win here will power India to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series, but the hosts will certainly want a more productive outing from Samson.
The Kerala batter’s last four innings read: 9, 7, 2, 11. Consequently, the partnerships involving Samson in the previous four matches stand at: 7, 12, 2 [both for second wicket with Sooryavanshi coming in as opener], and 29.
But the middle-order led by skipper Shreyas Iyer, who has finally found his footing as T20I captain, has covered up those failures in spectacular fashion. Iyer also hammered his maiden T20I century in the 68th match of his career.
So, there will be a temptation to give Sooryavanshi another run. The left-hander has shown that T20 cricket comes naturally to him in the limited opportunities he has received so far.
His wide and unique range of shots, coupled with the ability to produce match-winning knocks have made him a compelling package.
But India have so far backed the established opening combination of Abhishek and Samson.