Sanju Samson Delivers Gritty Half-Century In Ranji Trophy 2025-2026 Opener For Kerala After Snub In ODIs Against Australia

Ranji Trophy 2025-2026: Kerala have locked horns with Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy 2025-2026 season opener, at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, on Wednesday, October 15.

On Day 3, Sanju Samson displayed a stunning performance for Kerala, smashing a gritty half-century against Maharashtra in Thiruvananthapuram.

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli Offers Batting Tips To Shubman Gill Ahead of Perth Opener, ODI Captain Gets Tactical Counsel From Rohit Sharma

Sanju Samson Scores Fifty On His Return To Ranji Trophy 2025-2026

After one year, Sanju Samson made his return to first-class cricket with Kerala in the Ranji Trophy 2025-2026. In his comeback match, Samson played a 54-run knock from 63 balls at a strike rate of 85.71. He hammered 5 fours and 1 six during his time on the crease on Friday, October 17.

The wicketkeeper-batter played his last first-class match for Kerala on October 18 against Karnataka, in the Ranji Trophy 2024-2025.

During Kerala's first inning, Sanju Samson was the lone performer apart from Salman Nizar, who played a 49-run knock from 93 balls at a strike rate of 52.69.

With the help of Samson's fifty, Kerala propelled to 219 in their first inning against Maharashtra.

Samson was snubbed from Team India's ODI squad for the Australia Tour. To utilize the free time, the 30-year-old made his return to long-format cricket. However, Samson has been added to the T20I squad for the five-match series against the Aussies.

Recently, Sanju Samson played for Team India at the recently concluded Asia Cup 2025, where he played seven matches and four innings, scoring 132 runs at a strike rate of 124.53 and an average of 33.00.

ALSO READ: 'Let Him Say Whatever He Wants': Mohammed Shami Hits Back At Ajit Agarkar After Latest Fitness Jab

Sanju Samson's Stats In First-Class Cricket

The Kerala-born cricketer made his first-class debut in 2011 against Vidarbha in the Ranji Trophy. Since then, Sanju Samson played 65 matches and 107 innings, amassing 3834 runs at a strike rate of 59.95 and an average of 39.12. He hammered 11 centuries and 16 fifties in first-class cricket. However, the 30-year-old is yet to make his debut in the long-format for Team India.

At Stumps on Day 3, Maharashtra stood at 51/0, with Prithvi Shaw (37*) and Arshin Kulkarni (14*) unbeaten on the crease. Maharashtra also lead by 71 runs.