ZIM vs IND: Sanju Samson completes routine catch in 2nd attempt to send back Innocent Kaia

The Indian team began their tour of Zimbabwe in the first ODI and the Indian new ball bowlers bamboozled the hosts in the early stages of the match. The returning Deepak Chahar has been a nuisance with the swinging ball and has rattled the batters with three wickets to his name. But the Indian bowler had a nervy moment when Sanju Samson fumbled a routine take only to grab it spectacularly on the second attempt.

KL Rahul called it right at the toss and opted to bowl first on a pitch that had enough for the quick bowlers, and his seamers didn’t disappoint the stand-in skipper either. An overzealous Deepak Chahar erred at the beginning of his spell, quite expectedly as it was his first taste of action since February.

But the stylish swing bowler opened the flood gates for Indian with an uncharacteristic delivery as he strangled the Zimbabwe opening batter, Innocent Kaia, for room on a short delivery that took the top edge of the bat and flew to the keeper. Samson, who is keeping the wickets for India, made a mess of an easy grab and fumbled it before showing supreme athleticism and awareness to snaffle it on the second attempt to give the visitors the breakthrough in the match.

Out!#INDvsZIM @IamSanjuSamson @deepak_chahar9 @BCCI pic.twitter.com/Mp1dRmCiG0

— Nikhil Kalal (@NikhilK85748502) August 18, 2022

India opts with Sanju Samson behind the sticks ahead of Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul

Deepak Chahar, who has been named in the reserves for the Asia Cup squad, presented a strong case for his selection in the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia with some exceptional swing bowling, leaving the batters clueless at the crease.

Samson, who founds himself in the team ahead of the in-form Rahul Tripathi has been brilliant behind the wickets and will like to make a strong case for his selection in the team with the bat in hand, especially with three wicket-keeping batters playing in the team in the series opener against Zimbabwe. He faces stiff competition from Ishan Kishan and skipper KL Rahul for the spot, while Rishabh Pant is the irreplaceable first choice for the Men in Blue at the moment.