South Africa vs India, 3rd T20I | Twin ducks in a series: Sanju Samson imitates Rohit Sharma in undesirable T20I list

Sanju Samson looks to be on a roller coaster ride of the T20I series in South Africa. Samson, who started the series with 107 wins in Durban, was dismissed in the second match for a duck in three shots at Gqberha. On Wednesday, Samson bagged another duck in the third T20I at Centurion, hitting just two deliveries in the middle.

Sanju Samson batted after South Africa won the toss and opted to bowl on the bounce-friendly pitch at the Highveld. Samson apparently expected left-arm pacer Marco Jansen’s long delivery to bounce more than it actually did. The wicketkeeper-batsman was bowled out for low bounce as the ball hit the stumps.

SA v IND, 3rd T20I: Updates and Reactions | scorecard

Samson looked distraught due to the uncertainty of conditions at SuperSport Park in Centurion. It was Marco Jansen who took the wicket of Samson in the second T20I as well, as the left-arm pacer seems to be finding success against the in-form Indian opener.

STATISTICS WARNING

Samson became only the second Indian batsman after Rohit Sharma to be dismissed for 0 twice in multiple bilateral series. Samson caught two ducks against Sri Lanka earlier this year. Rohit had bagged twin ducks in the series against South Africa in 2022-23 and Afghanistan in 2024.

Especially, Samson becomes first Indian batsman to score hundreds in back-to-back T20s When he followed up with a hundred against Bangladesh in Hyderabad in October and another in the T20I series opener in Durban. Samson was in high spirits as he talked about the support of captain Suryakumar Yadav and coach Gautam Gambhir for his renewed success in the shortest format of the game.

Despite the two ducks, Samson will continue to have the support of the team management.

On the other hand, Samson’s opening partner Abhishek Sharma finally managed to score in double figures in the T20I series. He bowled fast bowler Gerald Coetzee for two boundaries and a six in the second half of the game.

Abhishek was joined by Tilak Varma, who moved up to 3rd position ahead of skipper Suryakumar Yadav. Tilak was also aggressive from the start as he attacked Marco Jansen in the first round. Tilak was unimpressed by Samson’s dismissal as he walked towards the field and hit the fast bowler for a six in the back point region.