Indian batsman Sai Sudharsan had a decent outing with the bat in the ongoing IND vs SA ODI series and scored two fifties. However, the young batsman from Tamil Nadu also showed the brilliance of his fielding reflexes. Sudharsan was given a stunner to remove South African batsman Heinrich Klaasen.
The South African team was 174/4 after the end of 32.1 overs when, on the second ball of the over, Heinrich Klaasen hit a ball from Avesh Khan, on which Sai Sudharsan caught the South African keeper-batsman diving and dismissed him for 21. races.
Watch: Sai Sudharsan’s fantastic catch
India reaches the top with this great shot from Sai Sudarshan 👌
Tune in to the 3rd #SAvIND ODI LIVE NOW | @StarSportsIndia #Cricket pic.twitter.com/115D7P6TS6
– ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) December 21, 2023
Making his debut in the ODI series, Sai Sudharsan scored consecutive half-centuries in the first two matches and set an example of his brilliance. Sudharsan had a brilliant season for the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League 2023 and is also among those players vying to make the team from other formats.
Coming back to the match, the Indian cricket team, while batting first, put up a decent show and scored 296/8. Openers Rajat Patidar and Sai Sudharsan came out with 22 and 16 runs respectively. However, it was Sanju Samson, who scored a ton of wins and built a momentum-changing partnership with Tilak Varma.
The duo added 116 runs off 136 balls for the fourth wicket and changed the momentum of the match. At one end, Sanju Samson scored 108 runs off 114 balls which included six fours and three sixes. Tilak Varma could also register a half-century and scored 52 runs off 77 balls. His innings included five fours and a six.
After the departure of Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh took the responsibility of finishing the innings and scored 38 runs off 27 balls which included three fours and two sixes. Washington Sundar also scored a couple of fours and finally the Indian team finished on 296/8.
Indian batsman Sanju Samson, who scored the first century of his ODI career, was very emotional after his knock and happy that his hard work finally paid off. Speaking to the announcers, Sanju Samson said, “He feels very excited, 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.”
Sanju Samson will be hoping to continue the same performance and cement his place in the Indian cricket team.
After the end of the ODI series, the ‘Men in Blue’ will play a two-match Test series starting December 26.
