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Sanju Samson (Source: Twitter)
Despite Sanju Samson's impressive performance of scoring his first List A century in more than four years, Kerala faced defeat against Railways in the final Group A game of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2023-24 tournament. Samson played a valiant innings, scoring 128 off 139 balls in a lone warrior's effort. However, Kerala fell short of the 256-run target by 18 runs at the Kriti Sports Arena Ground in Bengaluru.
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Sanju Samson played his lengthiest List A innings, facing 139 balls, as he and Shreyas Gopal orchestrated Kerala's recovery from a precarious position of 4 for 59. The duo forged a substantial 138-run partnership for the 5th wicket. However, Kerala faced a setback when Gopal was dismissed in the 45th over, leaving Samson with limited support.
Despite captaining the side until the final over, Samson couldn't guide the team to victory. His innings, which included 6 sixes and 8 boundaries, were not enough to chase down the target of 255 set by Railways. Let us look at how Twitter has reacted to this magnificent inning from the Sanju Samson who has been talk of the town in recent times;
Brilliant innings by Sanju, must have to score big hundred vs south africa odi series
— Kirkett (@bhaskar_sanu08) December 5, 2023
Perfect timing for him to rise; eagerly waiting for some explosive innings in South Africa if he gets the chance.
— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952_) December 5, 2023
Well played Sanju, all the best for odi matches against SA ❤️🔥 pic.twitter.com/4jejPGFfx6
— Karthik (@vsk_says) December 5, 2023
Yeah we know he is capable of big things pic.twitter.com/mMgn8oTuLT
— Sujeet Suman (@sujeetsuman1991) December 5, 2023
Some good stuff about Sanju after long time... Well played 👏🏻👏🏻🙂
— Swapnil (@The_SSwapnil) December 5, 2023
He should get long run to Indian team
— Manoj Tiwari (@ManojTiwariIND) December 5, 2023
Sanju Samson "People call me the unlikeliest cricketer, but where I’ve reached currently, it’s much more than what I thought I could,” pic.twitter.com/oVvDe5CtCc
— Vartika Singh (@VartikaOnX) December 5, 2023
Hope he score in the odi series too
— Vaibhav Hatwal ◟̽◞̽ 🤧 (@vaibhav_hatwal) December 5, 2023
What a great knock Sanju samson
— мυѕѕαωαя вυтт (@IsHQ_QaTil) December 5, 2023
Kerala finished the league stage at top position in Group A
Despite their loss on the final matchday of the league stage, Kerala secured the top position on the Group A table with 5 wins in 7 matches. Mumbai claimed the second spot with 20 points, but Kerala held a superior Net Run Rate. Notably, Samson's remarkable innings of 212 against Goa in Alur in October 2019, which marked his first three-figure score in List A, wasn't his lengthiest knock in the format, as he spent only 129 balls in that inning.
Samson is hitting form just at the opportune moment, having been selected for the 3-match ODI series against South Africa. Both Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal have made a comeback to the ODI squad after being overlooked for the World Cup.