With well-crafted ton in winning cause, batter presents his case for more opportunities higher up the order in ODIs
KOCHI: Thanks to his audacious strokeplay in the IPL, by now it is well known that Sanju Samson can attack the best opposition attacks from the word go. However, on Thursday against South Africa in Paarl, the 29-year-old took 110 balls to flex his muscles after reaching a career-defining hundred that helped India clinch the ODI series against the Proteas 2-1.
An exquisite timer of the ball, Samson seemed a T20 natural when he burst onto the scene almost a decade back. However, he has found the going tough in the shortest format despite making his India debut in Harare almost eight years ago. Samson seems more at home in ODIs, where he made his appearance only in July 2021 against Sri Lanka. In 16 ODIs, Samson has an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of close to a hundred, with three fifties, besides the century he scored on Thursday.
1/10:Sanju Samson's maiden ODI ton takes India to series win in South Africa
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2/10:India win ODI series
<p>Sanju Samson hit a maiden international century and set up a series-deciding win for India against South Africa in the third ODI in Paarl on Thursday.</p>Getty Images
3/10:India 296/8
<p>Samson made 108 in an Indian total of 296/8 on a slow pitch on a hot afternoon at Boland Park. </p>Getty Images
4/10:Patient batting
<p>Samson summed up the conditions well, batting patiently as stroke-making became challenging when the two white balls lost their hardness.</p>Getty Images
5/10:Match-winning stand
<p>Samson and Tilak Varma (52) took 88 balls to post a fifty partnership for the fourth wicket but they picked up the pace and eventually added 116 off 136 balls. </p>Getty Images
6/10:Sanju Samson
<p>Samson made his runs off 114 balls with six fours and three sixes. </p>Getty Images
7/10:Axar Patel
<p>India's lower order batsmen scored rapidly towards the end of the innings, with 51 runs scored off the last five overs. </p>Getty Images
8/10:The toss
<p>South African captain Aiden Markram's decision to send India in to bat backfired as the hosts were bowled out for 218.</p>Getty Images
9/10:South Africa
<p>South Africa were well-placed when Tony de Zorzi (87) and Markram (36) put on 65 for the third wicket to take the total to 141 in the 26th over.</p>Getty Images
10/10:Washington Sundar
<p>Then Markram gloved an attempted reverse sweep off Washington Sundar to wicketkeeper KL Rahul and De Zorzi was leg before wicket to Arshdeep 20 runs later.</p>Getty ImagesThe Rajasthan Royals skipper prefers to bat at No. 3 or No. 4 for his franchise and bats at the same position for Kerala in domestic cricket. For India, though, the innings in Paarl was just the third occasion when he has got an opportunity to bat at No.3. After the knock in Paarl, the Thiruvananthapuram lad hinted that he prefers to bat up the order. "This format gives you some extra time to understand the wicket and the bowler's mindset. Batting at the top of the order gives you those 10-20 extra deliveries," said Samson.
With ODI stalwart Virat Kohli occupying the No. 3 slot and Shreyas Iyer being preferred at No. 4, the team management had tried to give Sanju the role of a finisher in the year leading up to the ODI World Cup. They made him bat at No. 5 and No. 6 when the senior pros were either injured or rested.
Samson didn't do badly but when the big tournament came calling, the selectors opted for Suryakumar Yadav instead.
KL Rahul, India's skipper for the ODI series, even admitted that Samson hasn't received enough opportunities at the top of the order.
1/10:Statistical highlights: India's ODI series victory against South Africa
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2/10:India beat South Africa
<p>India completed a 76-run victory in the third and deciding match of the series against South Africa at Paarl. </p>AFP
3/10:2nd ODI series win
<p>This is the second time India have claimed an ODI series win in South Africa. India had won by 5-1 in 2017/18. </p>AP
4/10:Sanju Samson
<p>Sanju Samson (108) scored his first hundred in ODIs. His previous best was an 86* vs South Africa in Lucknow on October 6, 2022. </p>AFP
5/10:Tilak Varma
<p>Tilak Varma (52) scored his maiden half-century in his fourth ODI. </p>Reuters
6/10:The record stand
<p>116 runs put on by Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma for the fourth wicket, is India's highest partnership for any wicket vs South Africa in ODIs in Paarl. </p>Getty Images
7/10:Arshdeep Singh
<p>Arshdeep Singh's 5/37 in the 1st ODI in Johannesburg are the best bowling figures by an India pacer in South Africa. </p>Reuters
8/10:10 wickets in 3 ODIs
<p>Arshdeep Singh's 10 wickets across the three matches is the second most by an India pacer in a bilateral ODI series in South Africa. </p>Getty Images
9/10:Kuldeep Yadav
<p>The record of most four-plus wicket hauls for India against South Africa in ODIs now belongs to Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav (three each). </p>AP
10/10:India's 296/8
<p>India's 296/8 is the eighth 250-plus first innings score in 16 ODIs at the Boland Park and only one before this had ended in a defeat. </p>Getty ImagesSamson didn't get an opportunity to bat in the first ODI. He chopped the ball on to his stumps when he was on 12 in the second ODI in Gqeberha. So when he walked out to bat on Thursday, he knew his career was on the line. Pushed into a corner, he delivered.
"The last three, four months were challenging for me mentally. So going through all that and coming here doing what I did today, I feel really happy and grateful."
"I've been blessed in my genes. My father is also a sportsman, so however many setbacks you have, I think there's always no other way but to bounce back, just think about how much you can work on yourself and how you can come back more strongly," he added.
Bijumon N, with whom Samson has been working closely recently, said that he has adopted a more refined approach towards Samson's batting. "Though I can't divulge more details, Sanju has tried to change the approach to his batting. I am pleased that it has started showing results and the century exemplifies it. He is also working hard to improve his fitness," said Bijumon.
Sanju couldn't have timed his ton any better. It may have not only saved his fledgling career but also came as a perfect gift a day before his fifth wedding anniversary.
