England legend Kevin Pietersen has backed Sanju Samson to flourish despite his failure in the latest T20I against the visitors on Tuesday (Jan 29). According to Pietersen, the wicketkeeper-batter has nothing to worry about and has the mentality to succeed in the format. England beat India by 26 runs in the third T20I on Tuesday and they now trail India 1-2 in the five-match series.
Pietersen backs Samson
“I think mentally he's sound. I really like Sanju Samson as a batter. I actually love him. I was pretty surprised that he hasn't had more of a consistent role over the last few years. Yes, he's got a game here at the top of the order, but listen, these things happen. Things happen so quickly in the shortest form of the game,” Pietersen told the broadcasters after the match.
India were beaten in the Rajkot T20I having won earlier in Kolkata and Chennai as Samson endured form. The Rajasthan Royals captain has been in great form recently, having scored two centuries in the South Africa tour, but failed to replicate the same on Tuesday. The 30-year-old was dismissed for three and with question marks on his batting technique.
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England dominate India in Rajkot
While Samson’s form has been the talking point, England kept their hopes of winning the series alive with a dominating win. Having scored 171/9 in 20 overs, England restricted India to 145 and trimmed the hosts' lead in the series. Ben Duckett was the top scorer for England with 51 runs off 28 while Liam Livingstone also contributed with 43.
India on the other hand struggled with batting and were 85/5 at one stage before the mini-revival. Hardik Pandya top scored with 40, but lack of support at the other end saw the Men in Blue end on a losing note.
The two sides next meet on Friday (Jan 31) in Pune as India will have another opportunity to pocket the series while England could take the series to the decider if they end up on the winning side.