"It was a scratchy innings" - Former opener reflects on Sanju Samson's 45-ball 56 in IND vs OMA Asia Cup 2025 match

Sanju Samson may have scored a half-century in India's Asia Cup 2025 clash against Oman, but Wasim Jaffer feels his knock was not very fluent. On the contrary, he described the keeper-batter's effort as a scratchy one.

India beat Oman by 21 runs in the Asia Cup 2025 Group A match at the Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday, September 19. Batting first after winning the toss, they put up 188-8 on the board and then held Oman to 167-4.

Samson top-scored for the Men in Blue in the contest against Oman, hitting three fours and as many sixes in his 56 off 45 balls. While the keeper-batter played some impressive strokes, there were also phases where he struggled with his timing as well as his fitness. Reflecting on Samson's mixed effort during his first hit with the willow in Asia Cup 2025, Jaffer told ESPNcricinfo:

"It wasn’t as fluent as Sanju generally bats. His strike rate was in the mid-120s. Generally, he has a higher strike rate."

The 47-year-old attributed the batter's struggles to his unfamiliarity with the Oman bowling attack, while also claiming that he would have been better off batting at No. 5 or No. 6. Jaffer elaborated:

"That can happen against associate teams. When you don’t know the bowlers, lack of pace can do you in. It can be a little difficult. It might look easy, but it is not. It was a scratchy innings. I am happy that he got runs, but I would have liked to see him bat at No. 5 or No. 6 because he is going to play in that situation in the next three games."

While there were mixed reactions to Samson's knock among both players and fans, the 30-year-old was named Player of the Match for his effort that lasted a little under 80 minutes in humid conditions.

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"I wouldn’t read too much into his innings" - Abhinav Mukund on Sanju Samson's knock against Oman

Another former India opener Abhinav Mukund opined that he wouldn't read too much into Samson's knock against Oman. According to Mukund, the biggest positive from his innings was the fact that he spent a decent amount of time at the crease and got crucial runs against his name. He told ESPNcricinfo:

"It was a little bit of a struggle at the start and that’s understandable. Sanju played a bit of the KCL [Kerala Cricket League], but it’s a bit of a weird situation for him. He wouldn’t know when he is going to bat at three next, so maybe it was a case of him just putting his head down and trying to get those balls in. I wouldn’t read too much into his innings. If I were Sanju, I would be thinking I have got runs under the belt."

While Samson top-scored against Oman with 56, opener Abhishek Sharma once again chipped in with 38 off 15. All-rounder Axar Patel scored 26 off 13, while Tilak Varma contributed 29 off 18.

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Edited by Renin Wilben Albert