Sanju Samson played an important role in Team India’s first innings score of 296/8 as he played 108 innings off 114 balls that included six fours and three sixes. This was Sanju’s first ODI ton and also a fitting response to the critics of him. Before the third ODI match, Samson was dismissed for 12 runs in the second match and faced a lot of criticism from netizens on social media.

While talking to the announcers after the end of the first innings, Sanju Samson stated that he was feeling very emotional. He has been doing a lot of physical and mental work and was happy to finally get the result. He also claimed that South Africa had the momentum when KL Rahul got out but he and Tilak Varma decided to take the team forward strongly and managed a decent score in the first innings.

Watch: Sanju Samson excited about first ODI hundred

Sanju Samson said, “It feels very emotional going through the emotions now. Very happy to achieve it. I have been working hard physically and mentally, happy to see that the results are now going in my favor. They were bowling very well with the new ball and the older ball was getting slower and harder to hit.

“So after KL got out, they had the momentum where Maharaj was bowling very well. But Tilak and I held on and were strong in the end. Today we were playing with an extra all-rounder, so Tilak and I decided that we had to work hard from 40th place onwards.”

“A really emotional one, very happy about it.” 💙#SanjuSamson was all smiles after hard work came true with his first ODI ton 💯

Will it be a winning match?

Tune in to the third #SAvIND ODI, LIVE NOW on Star Sports Network#Cricket pic.twitter.com/VXNGYdkXXk

– Star Sports (@StarSportsIndia) December 21, 2023

Sanju Samson has been in and out of the Indian cricket team due to his poor performance. Samson has not known how to take advantage of the opportunities presented to him and he has always come out cheap. Samson has also faced a lot of criticism from netizens and fans of the Indian team for wasting opportunities.

However, there is also a group that has been constantly backing Sanju Samson and criticizing the selectors of the Indian cricket team for not giving him enough opportunities. Samson was not picked for the 2023 ODI World Cup or the 2023 Asian Games.

Sanju Samson was traveling as a reserve player with the Indian cricket team for the opening matches of Asia Cup 2023 and was later recalled when KL Rahul returned. It was also reported that Samson missed out on a deal with the county because of this.

Sanju Samson has shown a decent performance for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League and has been their top earner. Samson will lead the Royals again in IPL 2024.

However, currently, Sanju Samson wants to cement his place in the Indian cricket team by continuing his good performance and will also want to make it to the Indian cricket team squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup. However Apart from Samson, there is a lot of competition in the Indian cricket team and it will not be easy for Samson to maintain his place.