Decoding Sanju Samson's struggles against short balls in England T20Is
What's the story
Indian cricket team's opening batter Sanju Samson is going through a rough patch in the ongoing T20I series against England. He has been dismissed four times to short-pitched deliveries, exposing a possible chink in his batting armor. The problem was first highlighted by Jofra Archer, who dismissed Samson with pacy short balls in the first three T20Is. Here we decode Samson's struggles in the England T20I series.
Continued struggle
Samson's short ball issue persists in 4th T20I
In the fourth T20I of the India versus England series, everyone was looking forward to the much-awaited face-off between Samson and Archer. But it was Saqib Mahmood who sent Samson packing with a bouncer in his first match of this series. Despite bowling slower than Archer, Mahmood was able to take advantage of Samson's apparent weakness against short-pitched deliveries.
Dismissals
Archer dismissed Samson in first three games
A 145.9kph thunderbolt from Archer trapped Samson in the series opener as the latter mistimed a pull shot and was caught at deep mid-wicket. In the second game, Samson was undone by a 148 kph short ball outside the off-stump as he top edged it to deep square. Archer trapped Samson thrice in a row with a short ball into the body in the third match as Samson spliced a catch toward mid-on.
Information
Mahmood exploits Samson's weakness
Mahmood trapped Samson with his first ball of the series. It was a short ball angled into the body as the batter was once again cramped for room. He went with the pull and found the fielder at deep square leg.
DYK
Samson's struggles against short balls
Of the 18 times Sanju Samson has been caught off seamers in T20 Internationals, the short ball has accounted for nine, as per ESPNcricinfo. In fact, of the 36 balls that the opener has tackled in the ongoing series, 23 have been short, as per Cricbuzz. He has scored 19 runs off these deliveries. Meanwhile, 11 of Samson's 13 T20I dismissals in powerplay have come against pacers.
Team impact
Samson's place in India's XI under threat
Samson's repeated dismissals to short balls have raised questions over his place in the Indian cricket team. Despite his stellar 2024, where he scored three centuries, including two in back-to-back matches, his current form could cost him his place. Samson's scores in the ongoing series read: 26, 5, 3, and 1. With talented players like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubham Gill waiting in the wings, Samson needs to fix this issue quickly to hold on to his spot.