Samson maiden ODI 100 helps India to beat Proteas 2-1 in series

 

Under the captaincy of KL Rahul, the Indian team has won the three-match ODI series in South Africa 2-1.  They defeated the host team by 78 runs in the third and last match of the series on Thursday (21 December).  It was under Rahul's captaincy that the team lost in 2022.  Then South Africa had won all three matches.  India even lost a test match when Rahul was captain.  Team India lost four matches under his leadership on that tour.  Forgetting those bitter memories, Rahul made a brilliant comeback as captain.

 In the match, South African captain Aiden Markram won the toss and decided to bowl.  India scored 296 runs for eight wickets in 50 overs.  In reply, South Africa was all out for 218 runs in 45.5 overs.

 

 India has won the ODI series in South Africa after five years.  In 2018, under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, Team India was successful in winning the six-match series 5-1.  Rahul became the second captain of India to win an ODI series in South Africa.  Team India has lost the series there in 1992, 2006, 2011, 2013 and 2022.  India wins ODI against South Africa for the first time at Boland Park in Paarl.  Earlier in 2022, he had to face defeat in two matches.

Tony De Zorji made the highest score of 81 runs for South Africa.  He led the team to victory by scoring a century in the last match.  This time he could not do so.  Captain Aiden Markram scored 36 runs.  Heinrich Klaasen scored 21, Reeza Hendricks scored 19, Buren Hendricks scored 18 and Keshav Maharaj scored 10 runs.  Rassie van der Dussen and Lizaad Williamson could score only two runs each.  Wiaan Mulder scored one run and Nandre Berger remained unbeaten after scoring one run.  Arshdeep Singh took four wickets for India.  He took a total of nine wickets in the series.  Avesh Khan and Washington Sundar got two successes each.  Mukesh Kumar and Akshar Patel took one wicket each.

South Africa had a good opening stand before Arshdeep dismissed Reeza Hendricks.  From 76/2 . Markram and Zorzi had a good 65 run stand and at 141/2 in 25 overs it looked that South Africa might chase down the target but wickets started to tumble after that as soon as Sundar got his SRH teammate Markram . Klaasen could not extend his start , Zorzi got out lbw at 86 to Arshdeep and Miller didnt fire . The rest quickly fell apart . 

 India's wicketkeeper batsman Sanju Samson managed the team's innings after the initial setbacks and scored a century for the first time in his international career.  Sanju hit six fours and three sixes in 114 balls in his innings of 108 runs.  Sanju played his first ODI match in 2021 and he has played 16 ODI matches so far.  Sanju made important partnerships of 52 runs with captain KL Rahul for the third wicket and 116 runs with Tilak Verma for the fourth wicket.

Tilak also scored a half-century for the first time in his ODI career.  He scored 52 runs in his innings of 77 balls and hit five fours and one six.  Apart from him, Rinku Singh of Aligarh also played a useful innings.  He played 27 balls in the innings of 38 runs and hit 3 fours and 2 sixes.

 Madhya Pradesh batsman Rajat Patidar made his debut in international cricket.  Ruturaj Gaikwad could not recover from the finger injury he suffered while fielding in the second ODI, due to which he did not play in the third match.  Washington Sundar was given a chance in place of Kuldeep Yadav.

 

 The Indian opening pair could not get a big partnership for the third consecutive match.  With the team score of 32 runs, Burger (2/64) bowled Patidar (22). Patidar did plat some sparkling drives, cuts and pulls and looked kn great rhytm before he was bowled by Burger's incutter .  Then on the team's 49 runs, Sai Sudarshan (10) also became LBW on the ball of Beuran Hendricks (3/63).  After the initial setbacks, captain KL Rahul supported Sanju.  While playing, Rahul seemed that he would play a long innings, but on the personal score of 21, Mulder (1/36) got him caught out by Klaasen.

 Then Sanju and Tilak started handling the innings.  Tilak hit a six on Markram's ball.  Then he completed his half-century in 75 balls by hitting a four off Burger's ball.  However, after this he got caught by Mulder in the next over off the ball of Keshav Maharaj (1/37).  At one time Tilak was playing on 9 runs in 38 balls, but he quickly scored 43 runs in the next 39 balls playing since glorious shots .

 

 Rinku started playing fast as soon as she came to the crease.  He hit a stepped out four through the offside  in Maharaj's over and a pulled six in Burger's over.  Meanwhile, Sanju completed his century in 110 balls by taking a single off Maharaj's ball. He played some crisp drives and imperious pull shots .  However, he was caught by Reeza Hendricks off the bowling of Lizard Williams (1/71) while attempting a six.  In the last over of the innings, Rinku had raised India's hopes of crossing 300 by hitting a four and a six on the first two balls of Burger, but he was caught out by Reeza near the boundary line on the third ball.  Rinku Singh (38 runs) and Washington Sundar (14 runs) took India's innings past 290 runs.