1st T20I
Sanju Samson has played a brilliant knock of 107 runs and has helped India to secure a win
India scored 202/8 in 20 overs, where as South Africa scored 141 in 17.5 overs.
So, finally India beat South Africa by 61 runs.
Sanju Samson became the first Indian—and the fourth player overall—to score back-to-back centuries in T20Is, as his explosive 47-ball century guided India to a total of 202/8 in their opening T20I against South Africa in Durban.
Samson’s remarkable knock, which included 10 sixes—10 of India’s 13 sixes in total—was the fastest century by an Indian against South Africa.
His powerful hitting helped India post their seventh 200-plus total of the year and take a 1-0 lead in the series, with South Africa falling short by 61 runs.
Samson quickly adapted to the bounce offered by the pitch, using his deep crease position to expertly pull any short deliveries for six.
When pacers like Marco Jansen adjusted with fuller deliveries, Samson flicked them away effortlessly.
Though Abhishek Sharma fell early, Samson, in partnership with Surya Kumar Yadav, took India to 56/1 in the Power Play.
South Africa’s 22-year-old leg-spinner Nqabayomzi Peter struggled against Samson, who dispatched two short, half-trackers into the stands at deep mid-wicket.
Like his destructive knock against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, where he scored 111 off 47 balls, Samson was ruthless against spin in Durban, smashing 58 off 27 balls against the slower bowlers.
Patrick Kruger tried a different approach, mixing slower balls and wide deliveries, but was also taken to the cleaners.
It was Kruger’s knuckleball that eventually halted Surya Kumar Yadav, who mistimed a lofted shot and was caught at deep square leg.
Samson continued his onslaught, bringing up 100 in the 11th over, off Keshav Maharaj.
In the 13th over, off debutant Andile Simelane, Samson played a sublime lofted drive over wide long-off for his most aesthetically pleasing six of the evening.
As India pushed past 200, the middle overs saw South Africa briefly claw back.
First, Maharaj dismissed Tilak Varma with a catch at deep mid-wicket, and then Samson was caught trying for his 11th six.
Despite the late stutter, India finished with 202/8, thanks to Samson’s early fireworks.
South Africa’s chase faltered right away with early wickets, as Arshdeep Singh dismissed Aiden Markram in the first over and Avesh Khan removed Tristan Stubbs in the fourth.
This set up a contest between Heinrich Klaasen and Hardik Pandya, which, unlike the T20 World Cup final earlier in the year, did not produce fireworks.
Surya Kumar Yadav’s spin pressure in the Power Play paid immediate dividends, with Varun CV getting Ryan Rickelton caught at long-on.
In the middle overs, India’s spinners, Varun and Ravi Bishnoi, kept South Africa’s chase in check, consistently bowling full and forcing the free-flowing Klaasen and Miller to scramble for room.
Varun’s precise lengths in the 10th over, where he conceded only two runs, increased the asking rate to 12.5 runs per over.
Bishnoi’s googly proved difficult for Miller to read, and he was eventually dismissed for just 1 run in the 11th over.
The pressure built by the spinners led to Varun claiming two big wickets—Klaasen and Miller—both caught in the deep by Axar Patel and Avesh Khan.
Bishnoi followed up his tight spell with a double-wicket over to leave South Africa reeling at 93/7, removing Patrick Kruger and Andile Simelane.
Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee showed some resistance with aggressive shots, but Bishnoi dismissed Jansen for his third wicket of the night.
Coetzee’s late charge with two massive sixes against Hardik Pandya was cut short by a direct hit from Surya Kumar, who ran him out at the non-striker’s end.
Avesh Khan wrapped up the game in the 18th over, cleaning up Keshav Maharaj to secure India’s comprehensive 61-run victory.
Leave a Reply