{"id":24689,"date":"2026-09-15T17:07:43","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:07:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=24689"},"modified":"2026-09-15T17:07:43","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:07:43","slug":"india-vs-afghanistan-2nd-t20i-sanju-samson-joins-rohit-sharma-kl-rahul-in-indias-elite-club-cricket-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=24689","title":{"rendered":"India vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I: Sanju Samson joins Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul in India&#8217;s elite club | Cricket News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"e9jwa\">\n<div class=\"vdo_embedd\">\n<div class=\"GfdvZ\">\n<section class=\"_bIDB  clearfix id-r-component leadmedia undefined undefined  E9tg9 \" style=\"top:0px\">\n<div class=\"_bIDB\" data-ua-type=\"1\" onclick=\"stpPgtnAndPrvntDefault(event)\">\n<div class=\"ypVvZ\">\n<div class=\"WGttI\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.toiimg.com\/thumb\/msid-134269349,imgsize-46615,width-400,height-225,resizemode-4\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg\" alt=\"India vs Afghanistan 2nd T20I: Sanju Samson joins Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul in India's elite club\" title=\"Sanju Samson (BCCI Photo)\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ta7d_ img_cptn\"><span title=\"Sanju Samson (BCCI Photo)\">Sanju Samson (BCCI Photo)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>NEW DELHI: <a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/player-profile\/sanju-samson\/61837\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sanju Samson<\/a> was at his majestic best in the second T20I against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"3\"\/>Samson had scored just 10 runs in the opening T20I and was under pressure to perform. <!-- -->He responded in style, smashing a 22-ball 57 to give India a flying start.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"7\"\/>Samson continued to take risks and looked determined to make up for his early dismissal in the first game.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"9\"\/><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"11\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Samson&#8217;s form under the spotlight<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"13\"\/>The Kerala batter was a key player in India&#8217;s T20 World Cup triumph, but his form has been inconsistent since then.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"15\"\/>He had scored only 33 runs in four innings before the Afghanistan series.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"17\"\/>With youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi also pushing for a place, Samson needed a strong performance. <!-- -->The upcoming Asian Games also added to the importance of his form.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"22\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Samson hits 57 off 22 balls<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"24\"\/>After India restricted Afghanistan to 159\/8 in 20 overs, Samson came out attacking from the start.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"26\"\/>He smashed 57 off just 22 balls, with seven fours and four sixes. His quickfire knock helped India get off to a flying start in the chase.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"29\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>Samson reaches 1,000 T20I runs as opener<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"31\"\/>Samson also completed 1,000 runs as an opener in T20Is during his innings. He became only the fifth Indian opener to cross the 1,000-run mark in the format.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"34\"\/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/topic\/rohit-sharma\" styleobj=\"[object Object]\" class=\"\" commonstate=\"[object Object]\" frmappuse=\"1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Rohit Sharma<\/a> leads the list with 3,750 runs, followed by KL Rahul (1,826), Shikhar Dhawan (1,759) and Abhishek Sharma (1,726). Samson now has 1,026 runs as an opener.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"37\"\/>Samson has also scored those runs at a strike rate of 181.59, which is the highest among the five Indian openers on the list.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"39\"\/><\/p>\n<p><h2>1,000-plus runs as an opener for India in T20Is:<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"41\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"cdatainfo   id-r-component \" data-pos=\"42\">\n<ul>\n<li>Rohit Sharma \u2013 3,750 (SR: 143.02, Bnd%: 20.33)<\/li>\n<li>KL Rahul \u2013 1,826 (SR: 136.98, Bnd%: 17.34)<\/li>\n<li>Shikhar Dhawan \u2013 1,759 (SR: 126.36, Bnd%: 17.31)<\/li>\n<li>Abhishek Sharma \u2013 1,726 (SR: 191.56, Bnd%: 31.63)<\/li>\n<li>Sanju Samson \u2013 1,026 (SR: 181.59, Bnd%: 29.73)<\/li>\n<li\/><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p><h2>Samson&#8217;s 50-plus trend<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"44\"\/>This was Samson&#8217;s 16th innings in T20Is this year. Interestingly, the four times he has faced more than 15 balls, he has gone on to score more than 50.<span class=\"id-r-component br\" data-pos=\"46\"\/>His previous three such scores came in must-win matches at the T20 World Cup: 97* off 50 balls against West Indies, 89 off 42 against England in the semi-final and 89 off 46 against New Zealand in the final.<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/sports\/cricket\/india-vs-afghanistan\/sanju-samson-joins-rohit-sharma-kl-rahul-in-indias-elite-club\/articleshow\/134269217.cms\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sanju Samson (BCCI Photo) NEW DELHI: Sanju Samson was at his majestic best in the second T20I against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday.Samson had scored just 10 runs in the opening T20I and was under pressure to perform. He responded in style, smashing a 22-ball 57 to give India a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-31"],"magazineBlocksPostFeaturedMedia":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","medium_large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","1536x1536":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","2048x2048":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","blogsy-small":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","blogsy-small-tall":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","blogsy-small-square":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","blogsy-small-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","blogsy-medium":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","blogsy-medium-masonry":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","blogsy-large":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg","blogsy-wide":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg"},"magazineBlocksPostAuthor":{"name":"admin","avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"magazineBlocksPostCommentsNumber":"0","magazineBlocksPostExcerpt":"Sanju Samson (BCCI Photo) NEW DELHI: Sanju Samson was at his majestic best in the second T20I against Afghanistan at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Tuesday.Samson had scored just 10 runs in the opening T20I and was under pressure to perform. He responded in style, smashing a 22-ball 57 to give India a [&hellip;]","magazineBlocksPostCategories":["\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36"],"magazineBlocksPostViewCount":2,"magazineBlocksPostReadTime":2,"magazine_blocks_featured_image_url":{"full":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg",400,225,false],"medium":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg",300,169,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sanju-samson1509-bcci.jpg",150,84,false]},"magazine_blocks_author":{"display_name":"admin","author_link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/author\/admin"},"magazine_blocks_comment":0,"magazine_blocks_author_image":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/8709732a479614e7a8aa24d3eb1b239f30dc6d90c61464ed495001e7a469d856?s=96&d=mm&r=g","magazine_blocks_category":"<a href=\"#\" class=\"category-link category-link-31\">\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36 \u0b2c\u0b3f\u0b26\u0b47\u0b36<\/a>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}