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31% False Shots And...? Why Sanju Samson's Fifty vs Oman Can't Be Celebrated By India

Abhinav Tyagi

Sanju Samson vs Oman - (Source : @BCCI/X.com)Sanju Samson vs Oman - (Source : @BCCI/X.com)

On Friday, September 19, India locked horns against Oman in their final Asia Cup 2025 group stage match. The Men in Blue, batting first, put 180 runs on the board. India made two changes for the ongoing match.

Not only did the team change, but Suryakumar Yadav also made drastic changes in the batting order and promoted those who couldn't get to bat in the first two games.

Notably, Sanju Samson walked to bat at No.3, while Hardik Pandya batted at No. 4. Shedding light on the RR captain, Samson, who batted for the first time in this tournament, slammed a 41-ball fifty. 

It was the first fifty of the tournament for India and also an important one for Sanju. However, it was not the finest innings by the Rajasthan Royals' captain, and this article will look at the reasons why Samson's knock cannot be celebrated. 

1. Didn't Match Team's Intent

The idea behind promoting batters up the order against Oman was for everyone to bat and get the much-needed game time ahead of India's Super Four match against Pakistan on Sunday, September 21.

Except for Samson, the rest of the batters played quickfire innings, which got the scorecard ticking. Meanwhile, Sanju, who scored 56 (45), batted with a 124.44 strike-rate. However, if we look at other batters like Abhishek, Tilak, and Axar Patel, then all of them are batting with a 150+ strike rate.

2. 69%  Controlled Shots, 31% False Shots

If we look at Samson's innings, then only 69% of his shots were in control, which means that his 31% came from false shots. Notably, a couple of boundaries came of outside edges, while one of his four came after a fielders slipped at the boundary ropes and Samson got lucky.

Further, the luck was also on Sanju Samson's side as Oman had a couple of opportunities to get Samson out early after the ball went high up in the air, but better efforts from the fielders could have turned things around.