Johannesburg [South Africa], November 15 : After playing a stupendous knock against South Africa in the fourth T20I match of the series, India wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson said that he had a lot of failures in his life and the century against the Proteas meant a lot to him.
Samson played an unbeaten 109-run knock from 56 balls. Samson smashed 6 fours and 9 sixes at a strike rate of 194.64.
Speaking at the inning break, Samson said that he kept believing in himself and worked hard to perform on Friday. He revealed that there were a lot of things going in his head before the match.
The India wicketkeeper-batter praised Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma and said that they helped him a lot in the first inning in Johannesburg.
"It is a bit hard to tell right now since I'm breathing so fast. I have had so many failures in my life, got two hundred and then two ducks, I kept on believing in myself, kept on working hard and it came off today. After a couple of failures, there were a lot of things going on in my head, Abhishek helped me out early on and then Tilak as well," Samson said.
After winning the toss, India's stand-in skipper Suryakumar Yadav opted to bat first. The decision proved fruitful as the team delivered an exceptional performance.
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma opened for India, forging a solid 73-run partnership. Abhishek displayed an impressive knock, hitting 2 fours and 4 sixes, but his innings ended in the sixth over when Lutho Sipamla dismissed him.
However, the Proteas couldn't capitalise on the breakthrough as Samson continued to dominate, now paired with Tilak Varma. The duo unleashed a relentless assault on the South African bowlers, who struggled to contain their onslaught.
As the innings entered the death overs, the partnership showed no signs of slowing down. In the 18th over, Sanju Samson brought up his century in just 51 balls, followed by Tilak Varma scoring his second T20I hundred in the very next over.
The record-breaking 210-run partnership between Samson and Tilak lifted India to a formidable 283/1. Samson contributed an explosive 109 runs off 51 balls, while Tilak smashed an unbeaten 120 off just 47 deliveries.
The South African bowling unit appeared lacklustre, with Lutho Sipamla being the only bowler to take a wicket. However, Sipamla also conceded the most runs, allowing the Indian batters to capitalise.
South Africa now face a daunting target of 284 runs to win the match in Johannesburg.