India Defeats South Africa by 61 Runs in T20 Opener, Samson Shines with Century
Samson's Spectacular 107 Leads India to 202/8
India’s Sanju Samson played a spectacular innings, scoring a century to guide his team to a 61-run victory over South Africa in the opening match of their four-match T20 series in Durban on Friday.
After being asked to bat first, India posted a total of 202/8 in their 20 overs. South Africa could only manage 141 all out in 17.5 overs, handing India a comfortable win.
Samson’s scintillating 107 off 50 balls, which included 10 sixes and 7 fours, was the highlight of India’s innings. He displayed his power-hitting prowess with a strike rate of 214, contributing over half of India’s total score. However, India’s momentum slowed toward the end of their innings after a strong start, as they added just 35 runs in the final five overs, losing six wickets in the process. Tilak Varma’s 33 was the next highest score.
For South Africa, Marco Jansen (1-24 in four overs) and Gerald Coetzee (3-37) were the standout bowlers.
In response, South Africa struggled to build any significant partnerships. India’s leg-spin duo of Varun Chakravarthy (3-25) and Ravi Bishnoi (3-28) tightened the screws, taking key wickets and restricting the hosts to a subpar total. Chakravarthy dismissed key players like Heinrich Klaasen (25) and David Miller (18) to derail the chase.
South African captain Aiden Markram admitted the team lost the game due to a poor start with the bat and credited Samson for his brilliant performance, saying it was difficult to contain a player in such form.
India will look to build on this win as they continue the series.
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