Twitter Reactions: Sanju Samson, spinners orchestrate comfortable win for India in 1st T20I

At Kingsmead in Durban on Friday, November 8, India defeated South Africa by 61 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series, marking their 11th straight victory in T20Is. After Sanju Samson smashed his second consecutive century in T20Is, Varun Chakaravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi created a web around the South African batsmen.

After winning the toss, Aiden Markram asked India to bat first on a level pitch. Before being removed by Gerald Coetzee in the fourth over, Abhishek Sharma battled at the top. But fellow opener Samson was in outstanding form and dominated the South African bowlers. The Kerala batsman-wicketkeeper was especially vicious to the spinners, preventing them from settling in.

After reaching 21 off of 17 balls, Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed by Patrick Kruger. Nonetheless, he and Samson established a vital 66-run combination off 37 balls. The latter reached his half-century in the partnership with just 27 balls.

Samson was joined in the middle by Tilak Varma, and the two of them combined for a scorching 77 runs off of 34 balls. Only 47 balls were needed for the later to reach his century. South Africa began to rally, and in the 15th and 16th overs, respectively, Tilak and Samson were out.

After hitting seven fours and ten sixes in his incredible 107 off 50 balls, Samson left. This followed Tilak’s dismissal for a 33 off 18 balls. As Coetzee and Marco Jansen bowled deftly in the end, Hardik Pandya was dismissed for a six-ball two. India only managed to score 35 runs and lose six wickets in the final 33 balls of their innings. In their final 20 overs, the tourists scored 202/8.

Using their spin magic, Chakaravarthy and Bishnoi stop Klaasen and company.

After hitting consecutive boundaries from Arshdeep Singh in the opening over of the second innings, Markram was dismissed by a peach of a delivery. After coming out to bat at number three, Tristan Stubbs was dismissed for a run-a-ball eleven because he was unable to get going. Ryan Rickelton’s quick appearance of 21 off 11 balls was impressive. With his second delivery of the game, Chakaravarthy took the southpaw’s wicket, ending his tenure.

Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, the two most seasoned batters for South Africa, held the key to their ambitions. The pair attempted to work together to salvage the innings. Nevertheless, the two devastating batsmen were held in check by Chakaravarthy and Bishnoi’s extremely tight bowling. With Chakaravarthy giving up just two runs in the tenth over and Bishnoi giving up just one in the eleventh, the needed run-rate soared to 13.77.

Miller and Klaasen were removed by the Kolkata Knight Riders spinner in the 12th over, thereby ending South Africa’s chances of winning. Towards the conclusion of the innings, Jansen and Coetzee gave the South African supporters some lustful punches before the hosts were bowled out for 141 in 17.5 overs.

Also Read: ‘Shows the character of the man’- Suryakumar Yadav lauds Sanju Samson after consecutive T20I centuries

Bishnoi and Chakaravarthy ended with respective final scores of 3/28 and 3/25. Avesh Khan also took a few wickets in the interim.

Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to India’s comprehensive victory: