Durban (South Africa): India took a lead of 1-0 in the three-match T20I series on Friday with a 61-run victory over South Africa. Sanju Samson starred for the Indian side with a knock of 107 runs from 50 deliveries. With his scintillating knock, Samson achieved a crucial milestone and joined an elite club.
Samson becomes the first Indian to hit back-to-back hundred
Indian batter-wicketkeeper Sanju Samson became the first Indian batter to smash centuries in two consecutive T20I innings. Also, he became the fourth batter to do so around the world after the likes of Gustav Mckeon, Rilee Rossouw, and Phil Salt. Samson had smashed a ton against Bangladesh in the bilateral series played earlier this year.
Also, Samson became only the second batter to score two or more T20I hundreds as a designated wicketkeeper. The other batter to do so is Serbia’s Leslie Adrian Dunbar. Samson set the record for the highest score from an Indian batter in a T20I against South Africa surpassing Rohit Sharma’s previous record of 106 runs.
Also, it was the fourth-highest score in Men’s T20I against South Africa after Babar Azam (122), Johnson Charles (118) and Chris Gayle (117).
India Emerged Triumphant by 61 runs
Batting first, Samson stole the limelight as he smashed a ton while the other batters around him played second fiddle. Tilak Verma played a handy knock of 33 runs from 18 deliveries and helped India post 202/8 in the first innings. Chasing the target, South Africa struggled right from the start and they lost wickets at regular intervals. Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi caused most of the damage to the opposition taking three wickets each.
