'Sanju Samson saved the match': Wicketkeeper becomes hero on Twitter for stopping boundary in 1st IND vs WI ODI - WATCH

Source: Twitter

IND vs WI 1st ODI: It was a cliffhanger in Port of Spain in Trinidad when India and West Indies took on each other in the 1st ODI in Trinidad. With 15 required off the last over and four wickets in hand, West Indies were favourites to win as T20s have made such short targets possible in the last over. Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd were just 3 big hits away from recording a magnificent chase. But it was not to be as Mohammed Siraj kept them 3 runs short of the target. While Siraj is being hailed for keeping his calm under pressure, Indian fans are also hailing wicketkeeper and batter Sanju Samson for his effort to save the boundary in the all-important last over. 

It was a wide delivery down the leg stump line and it kept going away from Sanju but he dived to half stop it and then ran to collect and throw the ball. There was no run taken and that really mattered in the end. Siraj bowled well on the two remaining balls and India clinched the thriller by 3 runs. Had that boundary not stopped, West Indies could have won the game. Former India batter-turned-broadcaster Aakash Chopra felt the same. He tweeted: "Sanju Samson’s stop was the difference in the end. 100% boundary. And that would’ve been Game Windies."

Check out the reactions of the fans below. 

Sanju Samson's stop was the difference in the end. 100% boundary. And that would've been Game Windies. — Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 22, 2022

#SanjuSamson
Udata Sanju _ pic.twitter.com/yM3IoDnBXI

— AVI (@Avidhakad029) July 23, 2022

You can hate him..... You can love him............. But you can't ignore him

He saved the match _#INDvWI#SanjuSamson___#bcci pic.twitter.com/Feh3S6355I — Bittu Kumar (@BittuKu06878275) July 23, 2022

#SanjuSamson __ @IamSanjuSamson ___ https://t.co/eb5eZytqww — Praneeth Gangavaram (@Chowdary264) July 23, 2022

Yes he could'nt contribute much with the bat ....but he gave his 100% and saved the game for india yesterday.
2 balls 8 required
Siraj balls a wide which would have gone for a 4 , kudos to sanju for saving it with a full length dive_#SanjuSamson #IndvsWI #BCCI pic.twitter.com/5Jp2zO2jV4 — Abhijith V (@Abhizdx) July 23, 2022

Sanju, however, did not have a great game with the bat in hand as he scored just 12 off 18 deliveries that included 1 six. His fans were upset when he got out but he made it up with his brilliance behind the stumps that helped India take 1-0 lead in the three-match series. 

Earlier, Shikhar Dhawan top-scored for India with 97 off 98 balls that included 10 fours and 3 sixes. Shubman Gill too played well for his 64 off 53 balls before he ran himself out. Shreyas Iyer, batting at No 3, too struck a fifty but the middle order could not do much as India posted 308/7 in 50 overs, batting first.