India won the ODI series against South Africa by 2-1 after defeating the latter by 78 runs in the third match.
After being snubbed from Team India squads for major tournaments, including World Cup 2023, star wicket-keeper Sanju Samson has earned massive praise over his maiden ODI ton against South Africa on Thursday (21 December 2023). The Rajasthan Royals skipper struck 108 runs in the series decider against the Proteas at Boland Park stadium in Paarl. It was a crucial knock by Samson as the KL Rahul-led side ended up winning the third ODI match by 78 runs and also secured the series in their name by 2-1.
Samson’s scintillating performance also earned him the praise of India’s former star opening batter, Gautam Gambhir. With respect to Samson's maiden ODI ton, Gambhir believes that it would benefit his international career.
“He’s got immense talent, evident from his performances in the IPL. However, today’s century marks the beginning of his international journey. Scoring a century creates pressure on the selectors, and now, we’ll have to wait and see how things unfold, especially with the upcoming focus on the T20 World Cup,” Gambhir said on Star Sports.
India batting first lost both the openers early before Samson (108 off 114 balls), which was his maiden ODI hundred, and Tilak Varma (52 off 77 balls) made useful contributions to take 296 for eight. Rinku Singh (38 off 27) also chipped in for the visitors. Beuran Hendricks (3/63) was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa, while Nandre Burger (2/64) also accounted for two wickets.
Chasing 297, opener Tony de Zorzi made 81 off 87 balls but none of the other Proteas batter could support him as the hosts were bowled for 218 in 45.5 overs.
For India, Arshdeep Singh (4/30), Washington Sundar (2/38) and Avesh Khan (2/45) were the main wicket takers.
(With inputs from PTI)
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