Team India arrived in Thiruvananthapuram ahead of the fifth T20I against New Zealand, where a light-hearted exchange between skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Sanju Samson took place.
Team India arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday ahead of the fifth and final T20I against New Zealand, scheduled to be played on Saturday. With the series moving to Kerala, the spotlight has firmly shifted to local favourite Sanju Samson, who enjoys immense support in the region.
A light-hearted moment involving Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav and Samson quickly went viral after the team landed at the airport. As the players were making their way out, Suryakumar was seen clearing the path for Samson amid the crowd. Adding a humorous touch, the skipper was heard saying, “Don’t disturb Chetta. Make way for him.”
While Suryakumar continued cracking jokes, Samson responded with a broad smile, clearly enjoying both the warm welcome and the playful gesture from his captain.
The wicketkeeper-batter will now hope to turn the tide at his home ground, as the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand has been a difficult one for him so far. Samson has struggled for runs, managing just 40 runs across four innings in the series, with 24 of those coming in Vizag on Wednesday night.
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In contrast, his opening partner Abhishek Sharma has been in strong form, scoring 152 runs from four innings despite registering two golden ducks. What has raised concern is that Samson’s lack of runs has come on flat pitches where both Indian and New Zealand batters have found scoring relatively easy.
With India also having a dependable backup wicketkeeper-batter in Ishan Kishan, who has made notable contributions since his return to the T20I setup, pressure continues to mount on Samson to deliver a meaningful performance in the series finale.
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