New Delhi: Prolific wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson became the first Indian batter to smash consecutive centuries in T20Is after he scored a hundred in the first T20I match against South Africa in Durban. With help of his blazing century, India scored 202 runs in the first innings, giving a target of massive 203 runs to the hosts after put into bat first.
While India lost the wicket of Abhishek Sharma early in the innings for just 7, Samson continued his masterclass getting to his second century in the shortest format in just 47 deliveries. Unfortunately, the talented Indian batter lost his wicket on 107 off 50 balls including 7 boundaries and 10 massive sixes. Samson’s last century (111) came in the third and final T20I against Bangladesh last month, which was his last T20 game.
Samson joins elite list of Indian players
By virtue of the blazing century against the Proteas, Sanju Samson joined an elite list of Indian players with most number of hundreds in the shortest format. After his second T20I hundred, Samson joined seasoned batter KL Rahul who also has two centuries in T20Is. The elite list is led by star player Rohit Sharma, who has 5 centuries to his name. Former Indian cricketer Suresh Raina was the first player to hit a century for the nation in T20 format.
Here’s the list
Rohit Sharma – 5
Suryakumar Yadav – 4
KL Rahul – 2
Sanju Samson – 2*
Meanwhile, from a comfortable position of 167/2 in 14.2 overs, India slipped and succumbed in front of South African bowling losing 6 wickets in next 5.4 overs and scored just 35 runs. Apart from Samson, Tilak Varma scored 33 runs while skipper Suryakumar Yadav scored 21 runs. For the Proteas, Gerald Coetzee claimed three wickets to be the pick of the bowlers while Marco Jansen, Patrick Kruger, and Nqabayomzi Peter claimed a wicket each.
South Africa vs India: Sanju Samson became the first Indian batter to smash back-to-back centuries in the T20I format. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
