India kickstarted their 4-match T20I series versus South Africa on a positive note as Sanju Samson helped India win the game by 61 runs. Samson smashed back-to-back centuries in T20I cricket and rewrote the history books after his extraordinary knock.
Batting first, India posted a humongous total of 202 runs at the end of the 1st innings. Sanju Samson hogged the limelight 107 runs in 50 balls and his innings was packed with 7 fours and 10 sixes in his stellar knock.
Sanju Samson had opened the innings alongside Abhishek Sharma and made his presence felt in this game. In the previous T20I which India played on 12th October 2024 against Bangladesh, Sanju Samson had smashed a fiery knock of 111 runs in just 47 deliveries.
After the game, during the post-match presentation ceremony, the skipper of the Indian T20I side, Surya Kumar Yadav, heaped praise on the swashbuckling wicket-keeper batter from Kerala.
“The amount of hard work he has put in over the last few years, doing the boring work, he is eating the fruits of that. He was in the 90s but still he was looking for a boundary, playing for the team which shows the character of the man and that’s what we look for,” Surya Kumar Yadav said.
Surya Kumar Yadav has taken captaincy like a duck to water. He has a 100% win record in his first 4 T20Is and his partnership with Head Coach Gautam Gambhir is commendable. Speaking on his captaincy journey, he underlined the brand of cricket which he wants the side to follow.
“Boys have made my job easier, I don’t need to carry any baggage, the way they have been showing that fearless attitude, the boys are enjoying themselves on and off the field, which makes my job easier. The brand of cricket we play, even though we lose a few wickets, we want to play without fear. It’s a T20 game, we know we have 20 overs but if you can score 200 in 17 overs, why not,” said Surya Kumar Yadav.
India next lock horns with South Africa on 10th November 2024
The Indian cricket team next cross swords with South Africa on 10th November 2024 in the 2nd T20I at St. George’s Oval in Port Elizabeth. A win for India would mean that they will not be losing the series.
The 3rd and the 4th ODIs will be played on 13th and 15th November respectively.
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