In the Vijay Hazare Trophy, Sanju Samson hit 139-ball 128 against the Railways for Kerala just before traveling to South Africa for the ODI series.
It was a double century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy back in 2019 that re-established Sanju Samson as a player to monitor. And now, with the IND vs. SA ODI series coming up, once again Sanju Samson has hit a century in the Kerala vs. Railways cricket match to put the team management on notice. It is going to be another make-or-break series for Sanju Samson before IPL 2024 begins in March.
With Kerala reeling at 59 runs at the loss of 4 wickets, Sanju Samson steered the Kerala ship against the Railways with a sublime 139-ball 128. His 138-run stand with Shreyas Gopal (53) took Kerala to 237/8. However, his efforts were not enough, as Kerala suffered an 18-run loss to the Railways.
With no place in the IND vs. SA T20I series in a T20 World Cup cycle, Sanju Samson was only picked for the IND vs. SA ODI series. It was the same format where Samson faced a snub ahead of the Cricket World Cup 2023. However, he is back in the same 50-over game where he needs to prove his mettle to woo the selectors for a slot in the T20 squad.
While the Vijay Hazare Trophy won’t be the selection criteria, he will be confident of a good show in the India vs. South Africa ODI series, provided he gets a game. And he is warming up with a middle-order role for Kerala. If he gets a game, Sanju Samson will get to play at No. 6 for India after KL Rahul. Former South African captain AB de Villiers said the conditions would help him, and it should be a good series for him.
