Indian cricket fans have plenty to cheer about as wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson edges closer to a big milestone. He’s just 83 runs away from becoming the 12th Indian player to reach 1,000 runs in T20Is.
Samson could hit this mark in India’s Super Four clash against Pakistan at the Asia Cup on Sunday. He comes into the game full of confidence after smashing 56 runs off 45 balls—with three fours and three sixes—in the recent match against Oman.
In his T20I career so far, Samson has played 45 matches and 39 innings, piling up 917 runs at an average of 26.20 and a strike rate of 150.32. He boasts three centuries, three fifties, and a highest score of 111.
Things really clicked for Samson last year when he started opening the batting in the T20I series against Bangladesh. Since then, in 14 matches and 14 innings, he’s racked up 444 runs at an average of 40.36 and a strike rate over 175, including three centuries and one fifty. That said, he hasn’t opened in this Asia Cup yet—he batted at number three against Oman.
This year hasn’t been as smooth, though. In eight T20Is and six innings, Samson has scored 107 runs at an average of 17.83 and a strike rate of 121.59, with just one fifty. He faced tough times against short-pitched deliveries during the home series against England, managing only 51 runs in five innings, with a top score of 26.
For context, India’s all-time leading T20I run-scorer is Rohit Sharma, with 4,231 runs in 159 innings at an average of 32.05 and a strike rate of 140.89. He has five centuries and 32 fifties, with a best of 121 not out. Close behind is Virat Kohli with 4,188 runs in 125 matches, featuring one century and 38 fifties. Suryakumar Yadav ranks third with 2,652 runs in 86 T20Is, including four centuries and 21 fifties.
As the Asia Cup heats up, here’s a look at the squads for this key India-Pakistan showdown:
India Squad: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson (w), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy.
Pakistan Squad: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris (w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha (c), Khushdil Shah, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Salman Mirza, Sufiyan Muqeem.
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