"Dus saal hogaye aisa lag raha hai"- Sanju Samson on India comeback vs Ireland
Sanju Samson made a sensational return to international cricket as he scored 77 against Ireland in the second T20I on Tuesday. This was also his first fifty for India and was perhaps a good way to let his bat to do the talking.
Many felt that Samson was hard done by when he wasn't picked for the T20I series against South Africa at home. However, he got his opportunity in the recently concluded series against Ireland and has made the most of it by helping his team win.
Speaking in a video posted by BCCI, Sanju Samson spoke to the Player of the Match Deepak Hooda about how he was feeling after smashing his first T20I fifty. Samson, who has been around the Indian setup for a while, said:
"Feeling is really good (after maiden fifty). Made my debut 9-10 years ago, dus saal hogaye aisa lag raha hai (laughs). Very happy to spend some time in the middle, understand the role and build the partnership with you and the real happiness was after we won the game."
Deepak Hooda on fantastic partnership with Sanju Samson
Deepak Hooda had an even better game as he became just the fourth Indian to score a T20I hundred. The right-handed batter joined the elite list comprising Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
Hooda, too, didn't get a single game in the T20Is against South Africa. However, against Ireland, he smashed 151 runs in two matches and also won the Player of the Series award.
He also put up a record 176-run partnership with Samson for the second wicket. On this, he stated:
"Was surely nervous in the nineties but as we discussed in the middle that we would continue to play instinctive cricket, so it turned out well."
With their brilliant batting, both Hooda and Samson have only made things tougher for the selectors going forward.