Samson and leg-spinner give India a stunning T20 win against South Africa

Opening batsman Samson hit 10 sixes and seven fours in a spectacular innings of 107 off 50 balls, taking the Indian total to 202-8.

It proved to be more than enough. Leg-spinners Varun Chakravarthy and Ravi Bishnoi bowled in tandem and took three wickets each as South Africa collapsed to a total of 141.

Samson vowed to “stay grounded” after “ten long years in international cricket” during which he failed to secure a regular place in Indian white-ball teams.

His only two previous internationals in the last 12 months were 108 in a one-day international against South Africa last December and 111 in a T20I against Bangladesh in Hyderabad last month.

“I was in a zone, I just wanted to go with the flow,” he told SuperSport Television after his innings, which ended with a jumping catch from Tristan Stubbs at the deep midwicket boundary as he attempted another six-off -Leg spinner to meet Nqaba Peter.

Indian opening bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan both took early wickets in South Africa’s reply before Chakravarthy and Bishnoi bowled flawlessly in uninterrupted four overs.

They tied up South African stars Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller before both were dismissed within three balls by Chakravarthy, who was looking to score big.

Suryakumar Yadav, captain of an Indian team missing many of the country’s best players and either preparing for a Test series in Australia or representing India A in Australia, praised his team for their attacking approach.

He said he was not worried about the Indians’ only blemish, losing six wickets and scoring just 35 runs in the last 5.2 overs of their innings after Tilak Varma and Samson fell in quick succession.

“We just want to be fearless,” Yadav said.

South Africa captain Aiden Markram admitted Samson had put pressure on a largely inexperienced bowling attack but said he was disappointed with his team’s batting performance.

“It was a really good wicket. We would have liked to have gotten off to a much better start,” said Markram.

Short results:

India 202-8 in 20 overs.

South Africa 141 in 17.5 overs.

Result: India won by 61 runs.

Series: India leads the four-match series 1-0.

Litter: South Africa.

Remaining games:

November 10, Gqeberha

November 13, Centurion

November 15, Johannesburg

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