The Temba Bavuma-led side secured a narrow nine-run win over the Indian cricket team in the series opener of the ongoing 3-match series. South Africa posted a total of 249 runs on the scoreboard for the loss of four wickets in 40 overs after being invited to bat first by Shikhar Dhawan.
Chasing the target, the Indian side kickstarted with a poor start however they bounced back soon all thanks to the outstanding contributions from Sanju Samson (86 not out of 63 balls), Shreyas Iyer (50), and Shardul Thakur (33), but failed to cross the finish line.
Sanju Samson is receiving praises from all corners for his outstanding knock during the game. Sanju Samson smashed the Proteas bowlers to all the corners of the ground but he fell short of a few runs. Sanju who registered his highest ODI total on Thursday started well by smashing a six and followed it up with back-to-back boundaries on the next two balls of the 40th over but failed to score a run on the 4th delivery, which ultimately made a lot of difference. India needed 30 runs in the final over and the side could only manage to score 20 runs.
After the match, during the post-match presentation, Sanju Samson spoke in detail about the game and his performance. He said: “Thoda time wicket pe guzaarna bhot acha pasand karta hu aur Indian jersey pehen k to thoda aur bhi special he ho jaata hai. Magar khelte hain toh hum match jitaane ke liye, toh thoda sa reh gaya. Do shots reh gaya. Toh agli baar achi tareh karne dekhunga. Par apne contribution se sehmat hu”
(This roughly translates to: I like to spend some time at the wicket. When you play in the Indian jersey, it becomes more special. We always want to win, but we just fell short this time. I just fell short by two shots. But I’m satisfied with my contribution),
Further, speaking about the game plan of the team during the run chase, Sanju said that they had discussed targeting Tabraiz Shamsi, who was having an off-day on-field. He said:
“Unke bowlers achha daal rahe the par Shamsi expensive jaa rahe the, toh hum unko target kar sakte the. Unka ek over end me reh gaya tha, toh mujhe pata tha agar 24 run bhi honge, toh 4 chhakke main laga sakta tha. Main confident tha. Vo hi plan tha. Batsmen ne achhi tarah respond kiya, mujhe aisa laga.”
(This roughly translates to: They were bowling good but Shami was a bit expensive, so we planned to target him. I knew his one over remained and I thought, ‘If we have 24 runs remaining in the final over, I can hit 4 sixes’. I was confident and that was my plan. We responded well).
Meanwhile, after defeat in 1st ODI, the focus has now shifted to the second ODI of the 3-match series between India and South Africa, which will take place at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Sunday.
