In contrast to India, Afghanistan’s batsmen launched a spirited pursuit of the 213-run target at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Following a dynamic 93-run partnership between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran, the latter departed in the 13th over as the second wicket, courtesy of an exceptional display of glovework by Sanju Samson.
In an effort to escalate the scoring after reaching his individual 50-run milestone, Ibrahim fell victim to Sundar’s cunning tactics on the fourth ball of the 13th over. Observing the batsman’s forward movement, the spinner from Tamil Nadu delivered an off-spinner down the leg stump.
Ibrahim struggled to handle it, and his attempted flick was outwitted, with Samson swiftly stretching to his left, snatching the ball, and whipping the bails off in a flash.
Despite the batter’s attempt to return to his crease, the quick reflexes of the Kerala-based star disrupted the stumps even before the Afghan opener could reach safety.
A super stumping by Sanju Samson had the Malayalam feed buzzing! 🤩
— JioCinema (@JioCinema) January 17, 2024
Keep watching the best of Indian cricket LIVE in 11 languages only on #JioCinema 👈#INDvAFG #IDFCFirstBankT20ITrophy pic.twitter.com/sGLVa8UaPT
Superb stumping from Sanju Samson. pic.twitter.com/NcfmEzDwul
— R A T N I S H (@LoyalSachinFan) January 17, 2024
After confirmation from the TV umpire, it was deemed the second breakthrough for the hosts, and onlookers on Twitter drew parallels between Samson’s entertaining glovework and the lightning-fast reflexes of Indian legend MS Dhoni.