Following his side's five-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the second ODI, Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson who was named as Man of the Match for his unbeaten 43* and three catches, said that he is enjoying keeping wickets and batting for his country.
Top knocks from Sanju Samson, Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan coupled with world-class bowling from Team India crushed Zimbabwe by five wickets in the second ODI of the three-match series here at Harare on Saturday.
"How much ever time you spend in the middle, it makes you feel good. Even more special to do it for the country. I did take three catches, but I missed a stumping. Really enjoying keeping and batting. I think they (Indian bowlers) were bowling really good areas, a lot of balls came nicely to me," said Samson in a post-match conference.
With this victory, India has a 2-0 lead in the series and has captured it with one match to go.
The day was not memorable for Zimbabwe as they failed miserably as a batting unit. They were bundled out for 161 in just 38.1 overs. Sean Williams (42) and Ryan Burl (41*) put on some good scores on the board for the hosts, but that was pretty much it for them, as Indian bowlers feasted on the batters with consistent wickets. Shardul Thakur took 3/38 for India. Siraj, Krishna, Kuldeep, Hooda and Axar Patel got one wicket each.
Chasing 162, India lost KL Rahul early for just one. Following this, Shikhar Dhawan (33) and Shubman Gill (33) rebuild the innings. A 42-run stand between these two was broken after Tanaka Chivanga trapped Dhawan. Ishan Kishan and Gill continued, forming a 36-run stand. Kishan (6) and Gill fell quickly to Luke Jongwe (2/33) and it gave India a scare. But a 56-run stand between Sanju Samson (43*) and Deepak Hooda (25) took Men in Blue home, though Hooda was dismissed just a few balls before the win.
Samson was adjudged as 'Man of the Match' for his brilliant 43* off 39 balls.
Brief Scores: Zimbabwe 161 in 38.1 overs (Sean Williams 42, Ryan Burl 41*, Shardul Thakur 3/38) lost to India 167/5 in 25.4 overs (Sanju Samson 43*, Shubman Gill 33, Luke Jongwe 2/33).
( With inputs from ANI )
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