Sanju Samson becomes the first-ever Indian to hit back-to-back T20I tons

Opening for India in the first T20I against South Africa, Sanju Samson batted his way into the record charts on Friday. The series opener of the India Tour of South Africa kicked off with the Men in Blue being directed to bat first against the hosts. The opening duo from the Bangladesh T20Is, Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson, took their usual spots. While the young Abhishek Sharma continued his string of disappointing T20I innings in South Africa as well, Samson hogged the spotlight with yet another impressive outing. The batter smashed a ton to give a blazing start to the four-match series. Effectively, the batter became the first-ever cricketer from India to score two tons in consecutive T20Is.

Sanju Samson stars with a blazing ton in the opening T20I against South Africa

Sanju Samson took on South Africa following his explosive run-fest in the third and final India vs Bangladesh T20I. The batter picked up from where he left off as he went on to score another ton to start the proceedings in South Africa. Despite his opening partner, Abhishek Sharma, departing quite early at a paltry score of 7 off 8, Samson didn't let the setback hamper his flow. Coming off his 111 off 47 knock in the last T20I that he played, the 29-year-old became the first-ever Indian to hit back-to-back T20I tons when he reached the 100-run mark at Kingsmead on Monday.

Unfazed in his exploits, Samson bashed the Proteas all over the Kingsmead field in Durban, picking up a special liking for deliveries from spinner Keshav Maharaj and Nqabayomzi Peter. The opener reached his ton in just 47 balls as he claimed the three-figure score in the 15th over of the first innings. The knock by Sanju is also the fastest ton scored for India against South Africa. The record was previously held by Suryakumar Yadav, who is now leading the Indian T20I team. Giving a testament to his refined batting skills, the batter took just 20 deliveries to go from the 50-run mark to his century. Samson was eventually dismissed in the 16th over against Nqabayomzi Peter at the score of 107 off 50.

Team India posted 202 runs on the scoreboard as Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav hit 33 and 21 respectively. While no other batter managed to come up with an impressive knock, Samson's heroics pushed the total to a mighty 200+ score. The highest successful run chase recorded at Kingsmead Stadium is 191. Hence, the visitors appear in a comfortable position to claim the victory in the opening clash of the four-match T20I series.

India Playing 11 for the first T20I: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (w), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan.

South Africa Playing 11 for the first T20I: Ryan Rickelton (w), Aiden Markram (c), Tristan Stubbs, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Patrick Kruger, Marco Jansen, Andile Simelane, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Nqabayomzi Peter.