It was a memorable outing for Sanju Samson as he scored his maiden One-day international century during the 3rd and deciding match of the series against South Africa played at Boland Park, Paarl on 21st December 2023.
South African captain Aiden Markram won the toss and decided to field first. Sanju Samson came to the crease with the scoreboard reading 34 for 1. He looked cautious and hit the bad deliveries away for boundaries not allowing them to settle. India lost 2 quick wickets of Rajat Patidar and Sai Sudharsan in quick succession.
A maiden international ton – near flawless from Sanju Samson 💯
Tune in to the 3rd #SAvIND ODI LIVE NOW | @StarSportsIndia #Cricket #CricketReels #CricketOnReels pic.twitter.com/h0NRH5gDzf
— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 21, 2023
Samson and KL Rahul stitched a decent partnership taking singles and hitting boundaries to keep scoreboard ticking. After the fall of KL Rahul’s wicket, Samson could not any shots along with Tilak Varma. It was a sensible knock as Samson reached his fifty off 66 deliveries. He then upped the ante with some lovely shots that kept the South African bowling on the backfoot. Varma and Samson showed his class hitting boundaries at regular intervals.
After an impressive partnership for the 4th wicket, Samson upped the ante and reached his maiden ODI century off 110 deliveries. He showed his muscle by scoring his maiden ODI century after being dropped from the squad. Samson then scored quickly keeping the momentum and was eventually dismissed for 108 off 114 balls with 6 four and 3 sixes.
Rinku Singh also scored quick-fire knock that helped India post competitive total of 296 for 8. Arshdeep Singh hit a lovely six straight down the ground.
Samson’s performance in One-day international cricket
Sanju Samson registered his best score of 86 not out against South Africa at Ekana Stadium, Lucknow where the Indian team lost the match by a narrow margin.
He played a total of 16 One-day international matches (14 innings) scoring 510 runs including 1 century and 3 half-centuries. It was a sensational knock by Samson that kept the momentum going for the Indian team helping them to post a competitive total on a slow Paarl pitch.
Sanju Samson at the batting number that is his. 👏🏼👍🏽
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 21, 2023
Well played Sanju Samson. First ODI century. Gosh I hope that there are several more to come.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.
— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) December 21, 2023
Had Sanju Samson got a blazing 100 in 80 balls, you would have said well done Sanju! But that he came into bat in the 5th over & got his 100 in the 44th over & played to the team needs, seemingly against his nature, my admiration for Samson has grown considerably today! 👏👏👏
— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 21, 2023
Sanju Samson, for some reason, has never been in the inner circle of Indian team management. A perfect case of what could have been #INDvSA
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) December 21, 2023
Promoted to no.3 in the series decider and he rises to the challenge with a century! Well played @IamSanjuSamson 💪🏽 #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/NUhUoyWFEd
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) December 21, 2023
Superb century by #SanjuSamson on a bouncy pitch with some breathtaking shots🔥
Nothing is more sweeter than proving your haters wrong 🔥 #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/6rX4pslBc1
— Achilles (@Searching4ligh1) December 21, 2023
The Maiden Century By Sanju Samson in ODIS in SA
3rd ODI and 💯 in Important Match
Great Comeback and Great Innings from Sanju 🔥❤ Love you #SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/C69ZpBY724— VINEETH𓃵👑 (@sololoveee) December 21, 2023
I'm so so emotional at the moment. @IamSanjuSamson thank you for existing 💗 and inspiring me all over the years 🙏
He stood tall over all the lobby thing played against him and said I'm here and I'm not gonna give up 💪#SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/sEnJcxgmp4
— Aaradhya (@Aaradhya_2003) December 21, 2023
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