IND vs SA, 1st T20I: The Indian national cricket team began their T20I series against the South Africa national cricket team on a high as they thrashed the hosts by 61 runs in the series opener in Durban. Both Sanju Samson and Varun Chakravarthy helped India maintain their dominance against South Africa on Friday as it was the same opposition whom they had defeated in the Men's 2024 T20 World Cup summit clash.
With this win, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side have stayed unbeaten in Durban as they had won their fifth consecutive match of the seven that they had played till now. It's also the same venue where the famous bowl-out match between the arch-rivals India and Pakistan was also held here, where the Men in Blue once again performed brilliantly with both batters and bowlers. While batting first under overcast conditions, the visitors posted a mammoth target of 202/8 and then skittled South Africa out for 141 runs in 17.5 overs.
Sanju Samson played a huge role in helping India win this match as he scored a century off 47 balls and then bowling brilliance from Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi during the middle overs helped the visitors bundle South Africa's below-average batting lineup.
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None of the batters like Heinrich Klassen, David Miller, and Tristan Stubbs couldn't survive more than 25 balls, and that played a huge role in their heartbreak defeat.
Sanju's special hundred
Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir's decision to back Sanju Samson has worked in their favor as he scripted history in Durban. He also became the first Indian batter to have smashed two consecutive T20I centuries. He also has become the third overall batter to have achieved this milestone and is just behind Phil Salt and Rilee Roussouw.
His knock included seven fours and 10 sixes off 50 balls. He smacked the ball to all corners of the park and especially towards the square of the wicket. There were times when he cou;dn't reach the pitch of the ball but adjusted brilliantly with his wrists and smashed boundaries easily.
He stitched a gritty partnership with skipper Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma and helped the team score more than 200 runs quite easily although they suffered a batting collapse during the death overs.
Sanju dominates South Africa
Sanju Samson's brilliant innings played a huge role in India's mammoth target. He began his knock cautiously but went all-guns-blazing against the Protea spinners during the powerplay. Samson overshadowed players like Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma, who made significant contributions with the bat.
The visitors looked dominant when Sanju came into bat but lost the plot towards the end of India's innings after Samson got out during the 16th over. The team then suffered a batting collapse as they quickly lost players like Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patek, and Ravi Bishnoi.
They were 162/2 in 14 overs and were on the verge of breaking another T20I record, which they created against Bangladesh last month. But Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson getting out within a span of seven balls affected their innings.