India’s new opening pair victim of horrible miscommunication, Abhishek Sharma disgruntled after first outing with Samson

India’s new opening combination has had a drastic start to their partnership. Abhishek Sharma was dismissed cheaply for 16 in the first T20I after a miscommunication with partner Sanju Samson. In the absence of Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, India went ahead with Samson as the opening partner for explosive Abhishek, but the two failed to communicate well between the wickets, and Abhishek was run out cheaply in Gwalior.

It was the final ball of the second over and Samson played it with soft hands towards mid-wicket, both batters started searching for a single. Samson after taking the initial steps sent Abhishek back but it was too late for the left-handed opener as Towhid Hridoy inflicted a run-out to provide an early breakthrough for Bangladesh while defending 128-run target.

During his brief stay in the middle, Abhishek displayed his sublime shot-making as he smashed a six and a couple of boundaries and scored 16 runs at a strike rate of 228.57.

Ahead of the series opener, India captain Suryakumar Yadav confirmed that Samson will feature alongside youngster Abhishek in the opening slot in the three matches against Bangladesh.

“Sanju Samson will play and open the batting in this series, going forward with Abhishek Sharma,” Suryakumar Yadav said in the pre-match press conference.

The window of opportunity that has opened up for Samson comes on the back of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill being rested for the T20I series. The duo played their part in India’s recent 2-0 series sweep over Bangladesh. Jaiswal ended the series as the leading run-scorer with 189 runs and Shubman closely followed on the second spot with a tally of 164 runs to his name.

India bowl out Bangladesh for 127

Meanwhile, in the first T20I against Bangladesh, Arshdeep Singh and returning Varun Chakravarthy took three wickets each as India bowled out Bangladesh for 127. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto made 27 off 25 balls and Mehidy Hasan Miraz contributed 35 in 32 deliveries. All eyes were on Mayank (1/21) ever since he marked his run up before toss and the 22-year-old from Delhi did not disappoint in his first competitive game in more than five months.