Indian wicketkeeper batter Sanju Samson has etched his name into the history books during the India vs South Africa 1st T20I in Durban on Friday, November 8. Samson has become the first Indian batter to hit centuries in back-to-back innings in T20Is.
Samson achieved a massive milestone when he got to his second consecutive ton in the first T20I against the Proteas in 47 balls. His knock was laced with nine sixes and seven fours.
Samson had slammed his maiden T20I ton in his last outing against Bangladesh when Men in Blue were on butcher mode. He made 111 from 47 deliveries in the game where India amassed a record 297-run total against the Bangla Tigers in Hyderabad.
He is just the fourth player in the world with centuries in consecutive T20I innings after England's Phil Salt, South Africa's Rilee Rossouw and France's Gustav Mckeon.
Samson carried his blistering form from the Bangladesh game into this one and kept punishing the Bangladesh bowlers. He got to his fifty in 27 balls and completed his next 50 runs in just 20 balls. While he fell for 107 from 50 deliveries, he had done the major damage and had given India a great platform for a flourishing finish.
His knock was laced with 10 sixes, a joint-record for most sixes in an innings by an Indian alongside Rohit Sharma. Samson also hit seven fours in his astonishing knock.
India were asked to bat first after South Africa skipper Aiden Markram had won the toss. The Indians brought back Axar Patel, who was not in the squad for the Bangladesh T20Is. The Men in Blue also included Tilak Varma, who was in the squad for the Bangladesh series but did not play a game there.
"We are going to bowl first. Looks a pretty good wicket. There has been some rain around this week and if there's moisture we want to make use of it. Fantastic opportunity for guys to make their debuts at home and it is a great time for them to enjoy the game. We are quite a competitive team and the discussions have been how can we get positive results," South Africa captain Aiden Markram said at the toss.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said he was anyways looking to bat first. "We were looking to bat first. The wicket looks nice, better than the practice wicket and we will try to put runs on the board. The guys in the dressing room have made my job easier, the fearless approach they play with for their respective franchises and have brought the same approach to the team," Surya said at the toss.
India enjoy a brilliant run in Durban and are undefeated at the venue. They have played five matches here and have won four of them with one being a no result.
South Africa's Playing XI: Ryan Rickelton(w), Aiden Markram(c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Patrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter
India's Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan
