“Sanju Samson will have to be slightly careful against…” - Aakash Chopra cautions Indian opener ahead of grand finale

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has cautioned the Indian opening batter Sanju Samson against the New Zealand pacers Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson. Notably, Henry troubled Samson in the recently concluded five-match T20I series against India, dismissing him twice.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra also advised the Indian team not to aim for a score of above 250 if they get to bat first, adding that they have to give themselves a little time before accelerating their innings.

"I think Sanju will have to be slightly careful against Henry because Henry is smart. He will bowl full and take the ball away. You go deep inside the crease, and he has troubled you earlier as well. I think a first-ball duck came against him. I think it was the Guwahati ground. The ball was bowled absolutely full, and it went and hit the stumps,” Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

"Lockie Ferguson came in the last match in Thiruvananthapuram and hit the ball on the stumps. I won't ask you to go all guns blazing against them because 250 aren't required to be scored every time. You need to accelerate after giving yourself a little time," he added.

Furthermore, the former cricketer asserted that the Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya’s role would be massive in the grand finale against New Zealand. adding that he knows the ground well, having lifted the trophy with the Gujarat Titans.

"I think Hardik's role will be massive because his four overs could be the difference between a win and a loss. If it's his good day, it's India's good day. If he has a very ordinary day, you get stuck. Later in batting, he is the one who scores runs. I felt he could have probably been the Player of the Match in the last match," he said.

"So Hardik is going to be a clutch player one more time. He knows this ground, has lifted the trophy, used to play for this franchise, won the trophy one year, and took them to the final the next year. It could be a good kind of a redemption story. He left from here, many people booed him, and he comes back here and lifts the World Cup, that will be a fitting end to a phenomenal story," he concluded.

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