8 years after his India debut, Sanju Samson finally notched up his maiden international century. It came at a very opportune time in the series decider with the series against South Africa locked at 1-1.
His knock of 108 runs in 114 balls helped India put up a total of 296 after being 49/2. That total proved to be more than enough as Arshdeep Singh’s four-fer bowled South Africa out for 218 and India won by 78 runs.
While Sanju Samson has not made his chances in the T20Is count, he has racked up terrific numbers in his ODI journey. In 14 ODI knocks now, the Kerala superstar averages 56 at a strike rate of 99 with 1 century and 3 fifties.
We haven’t been able to give Sanju Samson the chance at No. 3: KL Rahul
Sanju Samson’s century came from batting at number 3 in Paarl. Interim skipper KL Rahul highlighted that because of the presence of the “stalwart” who is Virat Kohli, the managements – current and past – have not been able to provide Samson with opportunities to bat at number 3.
“Pleased for Sanju, he’s been a phenomenal performer in the IPL over the years. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to give him the chance at No. 3, because obviously there are stalwarts in the ODIs who occupy those key spots. Glad he was able to grab his chances here,” KL Rahul said after the game in the post-match presentation ceremony. He added “There are world-class players [in the Indian side]. Given this opportunity, he capitalised.”
Kohli is 35 years old and in the last phase of his white-ball career. It seems in Samson India have the batter ready to take that slot once Kohli leaves white-ball formats.
The conditions were not easy for the batters when Sanju Samson came in to bat. He settled down, and played less aggressive cricket than he usually does in white-ball cricket. Once bedded in, then he unleashed his array of strokes with Tilak Varma struggling at the other end.
“I think that’s the trick,” Samson said. “This format gives you some extra time to understand the wicket, [and] understand the bowler. It gives you an extra ten or 20 balls to figure things out.”
