Samson special scripts easy victory for India in first T20I

On a pitch where all other batters struggled, the opener scored a 47-ball century against Proteas in Durban

- Sanjeev K Samyal

MUSanju Samson's batting talent was always beyond doubt but consistency had been a problem. In his last T20I game before the series against South Africa, the right-handed batter had hit the headlines with a brilliant hundred in the final match against Bangladesh but prior to that, he had gone through a lean patch.

There had been two consecutive ducks in the series in Sri Lanka followed by below-par scores in the first two games against Bangladesh. The fans naturally were not sure what to expect when Samson came out to open against South Africa in the first T20I of the series at Durban on Friday.

The Rajasthan Royals captain did not disappoint this time though. To the delight of his legion of fans, he simply took off following his stunning hundred at Hyderabad against Bangladesh. For a batter who made his T20I debut in 2015 (against Zimbabwe at Harare), he had taken a long time to get his first hundred (October, 2024), but the second one just one innings later, making it back-to-back centuries for the Kerala player.