After valiant effort vs SA, Samson reveals one thing that motivates him to work harder

India and South Africa locked horns in the first One-Day International of their three-match series on Thursday. Sanju Samson played a crucial role for his team with the bat as he scored an unbeaten 86 runs but his valiant effort went in vain as India lost the game by 9 runs. After the match, Samson revealed that the support he has been receiving from fans is a big motivation for him to work harder and perform better for the country. 

Samson stated that representing India at the highest level is a fortunate thing. The 27-year-old continued by saying that the fans' encouragement and increased expectations spur him to put in even more effort. Samson asserted that because of the increased expectations of people, he tells himself that he must deliver in every inning that he plays for the country.

 "It's a fortunate thing to be playing cricket for India. Indian cricket has a lot of big superstars and if you are getting this kind of support and know your batting this much, then it's a big motivation for me. When we started playing cricket when we were young, we all wanted these things only. So it's a dream and it's getting fulfilled. I am feeling very happy," he said.

"And because of the fans, the expectations also go up. For instance, the practice sessions go from 2 hours to 4 hours. I tell myself that I have to perform in every innings. Expectations of people have risen. Accordingly, my preparation should also increase and I am looking to perform better," he added.

India vs South Africa, 1st ODI

Samson came into bat with India reeling at 51/4 in the 18th over of the rain-curtailed 40-over match. He started slowly but went after South African bowlers towards the back end of the Indian innings. Samson smashed 20 off the last over when India needed 30 runs to win and almost took India to victory with his unbeaten knock of 86 runs, however, lack of support from the others meant India fell short by 9 runs. 

Earlier in the match, Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and elected to field first. South Africa scored 249/4 in 20 overs courtesy of some outstanding performances from David Miller and Henrich Klaasen, who scored 75 and 74 runs, respectively. Klaasen was named the player of the match for his spectacular knock. 

Image: Twitter@BCCI