How Kiwis baited Sanju Samson, and he took it

Sanju Samson's game time as India's opener against New Zealand in the first T20I in Nagpur was short and sweet. Not that he stands to gain any merit point for his early dismissal, but it is what it is.

Sanju scored 10 off 7 before gifting a simple catch to Rachin Ravindra at midwicket off Kyle Jamieson's bowling. To put it mildly, his best and worst with the bat happened in the same over.

The Kerala star was off the mark with a fine boundary as he picked a short ball quite early and elegantly flicked it past midwicket for a four. He targeted the same area of the ground to pick a couple and then clubbed one over the midwicket fielder.

Why was Jamieson letting Sanju pick his area with ease? Maybe he was baiting the batter because the fifth delivery was again in the hitting zone, but probably a tad slower. Sanju went through with the same shot, but there wasn't power or precision in the effort, and the midwicket fielder gobbled up the freebie.

It was just like in the fifth and final T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad on December 19 when Sanju returned to the opener role after a long spell and failed to make the most of it. Sanju had made a solid start but fell for 37.

Ishan Kishan too could not make a big score on his return to the T20I set up after more than two years. Jacob Duffy dismissed him for 8.

Sanju will be expected to add to his three centuries and as many fifties in the remainder of the five-match series. The fifth match is scheduled to be played at the Greenfield Stadium in Karyavattom, Thiruvananthapuram, Sanju's hometown, on January 31.