Pandya surpassed England’s Liam Livingstone and Nepal’s Dipendra Singh Airee to regain the top position. This comes after the all-rounder performed well in both the batting and bowling departments against the Proteas.

Some of his highlights from the series include the knock of 39 in the second T20I which carried India to a fighting total. Then his economical spell of 1/8 in 3 overs in the fourth and final T20I helped India in ensuring their triumph in the series.

Another star performer for India in the series was batter Tilak Varma who scored consecutive centuries to lead the Men in Blue to victory in both the third and fourth T20I. In total, Varma scored 280 runs in the 4-match series and was awarded with the Player of the Series award.

These brilliant performances saw Varma rise 69 spots in the T20I batter rankings and ascend to the third position only behind Australia’s Travis Head and England’s Phil Salt. Varma also became the highest-ranked batter on the T20I batter rankings as skipper Suryakumar Yadav slipped to 4th place.

Sanju Samson also had a fantastic series where he scored 2 centuries and cemented his place in India’s T20I set-up. These fabulous performances saw him rise to the 22nd spot. The series against South Africa once again showcased India’s dominance in the T20I format.

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1. Shubman Gill – 126*

During a T20I between India and New Zealand in 2023, Gill played an absolutely stunning knock to carry the Men in Blue to a humongous total of 234/4 in 20 overs at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad.

2. Ruturaj Gaikwad – 123*

In India’s T20I encounter against Australia in Guwahati, Gaikwad slammed an amazing century to carry the hosts to the total of 222/3. However, Glenn Maxwell’s century would end up powering Australia to the victory with 5 deliveries remaining.

3. Virat Kohli – 122*

During India’s encounter against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup in 2022, Kohli slammed a magnificent century to carry the Men in Blue to a mammoth total of 212/2 in 20 overs.

4. Rohit Sharma – 121*

The Indian skipper stole the show against Afghanistan in Bengaluru and played a spectacular innings to carry the Men in Blue to a huge total of 212/4. Afghanistan would manage to tie the match with a brilliant batting performance, however India emerged victorious in the super over.

5. Tilak Varma – 120*

The Indian batter scored his second consecutive T20I century against South Africa in Johannesburg. Him alongside Sanju Samson, who also scored a fabulous ton carried India to a massive total of 283/1.

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The Indian team members confirmed this news during the post-match conference after the 135-run series win against South Africa.

After Suryakumar broke this news in a casual interview on BCCI’s website, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and skipper Suryakumar himself shared some words regarding this happy news.

Jersey number secret, hairdo and a special message for #TeamIndia Captain @ImRo45 🤗

Skipper SKY interviews 'Humble' centurions @IamSanjuSamson & @TilakV9 💯

WATCH 🎥 🔽 #SAvIND | @surya_14kumar

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 16, 2024

“Really very happy for you Rohit bhai. We were waiting for this moment. 1-2 din aur late ho jaata toh mai bhi pahuch jaata tha vaha pe (Had it been 1-2 days later I would have joined you there). I’m coming soon,” said Tilak Varma.

“Super happy for Cheta and his family,” added Samson.

“Hum log ko abhi ready hona padega. Ek chota side arm aur chote chote pads vagerah Sab lena padega, ek naya cricketer aaya hai (Now we have to get ready with small side arm and small pads as a new cricketer has arrived),” said Suryakumar.

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Samson started the 4-match series in sublime fashion as he scored a brilliant century to lead India to a formidable total. However, he wasn’t able to carry the momentum in the next 2 matches and got dismissed for consecutive ducks.

In the final match, however, Samson scored his second century of the series to take India to a humongous total of 283/1. He was assisted incredibly well by Tilak Varma (120* from 47 deliveries), who scored his 2nd century in consecutive matches and formed an amazing partnership of 210 runs with Samson.

This total wasn’t only India’s highest in a T20I in overseas conditions, but was also the highest by any country on South African soil.

Among the many records broken, the most special one is 2 Indian batters scoring centuries in same T20I innings. Samson and Varma also posted the highest partnership for India in T20Is with their record-breaking stand of over 200 runs.

Samson now has 3 T20I tons in the last 5 knocks which also included 2 ducks while Varma has scored back-to-back T20I tons.

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At the post-match presentation, Suryakumar shared his pride in leading a young squad that rose to the occasion. The 34-year-old emphasized how his teammates consistently eased pressure on him regarding the captaincy through their brilliant performances on the field.

“It is very challenging when we tour South Africa, to come and win here. This is a special win and will stay with me forever. [on the coaching and support staff] They were sitting and enjoying the show since the first day. They spoke to the boys and said whatever you want, you do, we will sit and enjoy. Even today, they said if you want to bat first and put runs on the board, do it,” Suryakumar said in the post-match presentation.

“Though we were up 2-1 in the series, today we wanted to follow good habits and not worry about the result. It happened naturally,” Suryakumar added.

India ended the T20I series in style as Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma’s twin centuries led them to a mammoth total of 283/1 in 20 overs. In reply, South Africa could only manage to score 148 runs before getting bundled out in 18.2 overs.

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As they opted to bat first, India posted a mammoth of a score of 283 for 1. This massive score was mainly possible due to the unbeaten centuries from Tilak Varma (120 not out off 47 balls) and Sanju Samson (109 not out off 56 balls).

After the batting lineup posted a massive total on the board, the bowling lineup stepped up and bowled South Africa out for 148 in 18.2 overs.

Tristan Stubbs was the top-scorer for his team with 46 runs, along with David Miller who contributed 36.

From the Indian side, Arshdeep Singh came out as the best bowler for this match as he made figures of 3/20. Varun Chakravarthy (2/42) and Axar Patel (2/6) were two other bowlers who shined bright as they took two wickets each.

Hardik Pandya, Ramandeep Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi were the players who took remaining three wickets.

Brief Scores:

India: 283 for 1 in 20 overs
South Africa: 148 all out in 18.2 overs

The post Centuries by Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma help India beat South Africa by 135 runs in 4th T20I: Win the series 3-1 appeared first on Cricket Country.

He formed an incredible 210-run partnership with Tilak Varma, who also completed his century and became the second Indian to score T20I centuries in successive matches after Samson himself.

However, an unfortunate moment in the Indian innings came when Samson hit a six to Tristan Stubbs on the leg side. It was an exquisite shot from the 30-year-old, but it would end up hitting a female fan in the face.

The cameras showed her crying in pain. Samson would also wave his hand towards the fan as a gesture of apology.

With this fantastic knock, Samson broke many records. He became the first wicketkeeper-batter in history to slam 3 centuries in the shortest format. He overtakes England’s Phil Salt, who has slammed 2 tons in the shortest format of the game.

Samson became only the third Indian player after Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav to slam 3 centuries for India in T20Is. He also became the first player in history to slam three centuries in T20Is in a calendar year.

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After losing Abhishek Sharma for a quick-fire 36 off 18 deliveries, Samson and Varma would go on to annihilate the South African bowling attack with their record-breaking partnership of 210 runs.

Both the batters would go on to score their second century of the series as India posted a mammoth total of 283/1 in their 20 overs. Samson remained unbeaten on 109 off 56 deliveries, while Varma remained unbeaten on 120 off 47 deliveries. The former scored 6 boundaries and 9 sixes while the latter scored 9 boundaries and 10 sixes in their respective knocks.

Social media erupted following the Indian innings and couldn’t help but sing praises for the duo of Samson and Varma, who absolutely crushed the South African bowlers.

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“He (Tilak) came to my room at Gqeberha and said give me a chance at No. 3, I want to do well and I said go out there and express yourself. He asked for it and he delivered. Very happy for him and his family,” said Suryakumar.

Suryakumar also said that he had told the team to play the match aggressively, which the team did as well.

“Very happy. What we spoke about in the team meeting, we played the brand of cricket we discussed. That’s what we have been telling them to do. They do that for the franchise, they do that in the nets. Very happy with the way things are going. Aggression and intent is always not about talking. They have made my job easier when I see them bat like that. I feel we are in the right direction. First time we were 6-7 minutes ahead on the field,” he added.

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Varma became the youngest player to score a T20I century against South Africa and the second-youngest Indian player to score a T20I ton only behind Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Abhishek Sharma first started the carnage with his knock of 50 from 25 deliveries before Varma carried India over the 200-run mark and eventually to the mammoth total of 219/6 in 20 overs. The left-hander came out unbeaten on 107, scoring 8 boundaries and 7 sixes.

South Africa started slow never really looked to be in the chase despite Heinrich Klaasen (41) and Marco Jansen (54) trying incredibly hard to take their side through. The Proteas ultimately got restricted to 207/7 in their 20 overs and lost the match.

With this victory, India now take a 2-1 lead and also ensure that they won’t come out on the losing side in the 4-match series. The Men in Blue will now play the series finale against the Proteas which is set to take place in Johannesburg on November 15.

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