Tarouba [Trinidad and Tobago], August 2 : After scoring a half-century in the third ODI match against West Indies, Indian batter Sanju Samson said that being an Indian cricketer is challenging as you have to bat in different positions but he has the domestic cricket experience to bat at any condition.
The outstanding opening partnership of 143-run between Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill followed by quickfire knocks from Sanju Samson and Hardik Pandya powered India to 351/5 against West Indies in the third and final ODI of the three-match series here at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Tuesday.
Samson said after the first innings, "It feels really great to spend some time in the middle, score some runs and contribute for your country. I had different plans for different players, I wanted to use my feet and dominate the lengths of the bowlers."
When asked about his changing batting order, Samson said that he has experience in domestic cricket to bat in different positions.
"Being an Indian cricketer is a challenging thing (speaking about adjusting to playing in different batting positions), I have played domestic cricket for the last 8-9 years and for India here and there, so it gives you a bit of understanding of playing in different positions. It is the number of overs you get and it is not about batting position so you gotta prepare accordingly. That (Kensington Oval) was a bit damp, but this (surface) looks a bit dry. With the new ball it was coming on nicely, but as the ball got old it was holding up and became slightly tough against the spinners. It was not easy to get that score, credit goes to the middle order batters for hanging in and getting that score. With our bowling order I'm confident. (of defending the target.)," he added.
Gill scored the highest for India with 85 off 92 while Kishan played a fine knock of 77 runs. Stand-in captain Hardik Pandya played a fiery unbeaten knock of 70 runs off 52 while Sanju Samson also smashed a vital 51 runs off 41 balls. Romario Shepherd scalped two wickets for West Indies, conceding 73 runs in his 10 overs spell.
Put to bat first, India got off to a fiery start as openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill kept piling boundaries.
Pandya in the end displayed great resilience and determination as he brought up his half-century in 45 balls. In the last over Pandya destroyed Shepherd and gathered 18 runs with the help of two sixes and one four, taking his team's total to 351/5 in 50 overs.
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