It is not often that one would find a 'Did Not Bat' against the name of Sanju Samson in a T20 match. Yet there was one, again, on Wednesday after the 1st T20I between India and Australia at Canberra was washed out in the 10th over of the first innings.

The latest DNB was Sanju's fourth in the last eight matches for India, though this time it was down to bad weather. In the Asia Cup, Sanju was unused as a batter on at least three occasions, mainly because the Indian top order was too good for the oppositions.

In the first match in Australia, India lost Abhishek Sharma for 19, dismissed by Nathan Ellis, before Shubman Gill (37) and captain Suryakumar Yadav (39) stitched an unbeaten 62-run stand that took India to 97/1 in 9.4 overs.

Sanju was fifth in the batting order, behind Tilak Varma, but rain ruined the idea. For fans of Sanju, the five-match series Down Under is an ideal condition to watch the swashbuckling wicket-keeper batter find his footing again.

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Sanju famously scored two centuries in South Africa last October-November. Though the conditions in Australia are different, Sanju got the big runs at Durban and Johannesburg on surfaces that aided pace and bounce.

India will want to bounce back in the T20I series after losing the ODI series 1-2, and fans would expect Sanju to play a significant part in the upcoming matches, starting with the second game in Melbourne on October 31.

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