Durban [South Africa], November 8 : Sanju Samson's name went straight into the golden pages of the history book after he became just the fourth player to slam back-to-back centuries in consecutive innings in T20Is.
As the new era after stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's retirement, Samson has taken the mantle of being the next big thing and is sharing the brunt of taking Indian cricket to new heights.
Under the new landscape, Samson has found his purple patch just at the right moment. After a disappointing display in the first two T20Is against Bangladesh, Samson repaid the faith entrusted to him.
Samson upped the ante in the third T20I and hammered 111(47) against Bangladesh to mark the beginning of his fiery form.
On Friday, in the series opener against South Africa, Samson lit Durban on fire with his blitzkrieg. He smoked the ball past the boundary line, tonked towering sixes and slammed 107(50), laced with seven fours and a whopping 10 maximums.
Following his heroic feat, Samson joined the exclusive club of cricketers who have struck successive centuries in consecutive innings. Before Samson, Gustav Mckeon, Rilee Rossouw and Phil Salt achieved the feat.
The 29-year-old's 107 is the highest individual score in a T20I between India and South Africa. He removed David Miller's unbeaten 106 in Guwahati in 2022. His single-handed effort sent India to a mammoth score of 202/8.
Samson felt that he was in the zone where runs flowed automatically while relying on his intent to hit the ball that was meant to be hit.
"I was in a zone, it was automatically flowing, so I let it flow. [what is intent for you?] It's a good question actually, if the ball is there to be hit, go for it. Focus on one ball at a time and that helps. The wicket does play a big role here, extra bounce and coming from India we do take time to understand the wicket. There's a huge wind blowing from one end and their bowlers bowled very well, our bowlers too would like to copy from them," Samson said after the end of the first innings.