Despite a lack of batting depth, with Arshdeep Singh positioned to bat at No. 8, India maintained their aggressive approach in the first T20I against South Africa on Friday.
“For the last two to three years, we’ve been discussing in the dressing room that we need to go all in,” he told reporters.
“Even if we lose the toss and conditions are tough, we have to go all in. We can’t aim for something like 160-170 on these pitches because chasing tends to be a bit easier. So, it was all about going all in, and we just looked to attack, even though the conditions slightly favored the bowlers,” he explained.
On Friday, Sanju Samson became only the fourth batter to score consecutive hundreds in T20 cricket. Previous players to achieve this feat were France’s Gustav McKeon (2022), South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw (2022), and England’s Phil Salt (2023). Samson scored his first T20 hundred less than a month ago, making 111 against Bangladesh in Hyderabad.
India’s Sanju Samson celebrates after reaching his century. (Reuters)
When asked which of the two knocks he preferred, the swashbuckling batter said: “I think both are equally special. Scoring a hundred for your country is always an amazing feeling.”
Samson also noted that persistent rain over the past three to four days had hampered preparation and added to the challenge.
“The conditions here were a bit different. The wicket had extra bounce; it was more spongy. It’s been raining here for three to four days, so it was more challenging,” he said.
ndia’s Sanju Samson celebrates after reaching his century. (Reuters)
“The wickets were under covers due to rain, and we barely got any regular practice. The practice pitches were also a bit sticky. Considering all these factors, along with losing the toss, I think the opposition also wanted to bowl on this pitch.”
“There was definitely a challenge, but we stuck to our approach.”
The game was a rematch of the T20 World Cup final, and Samson expressed satisfaction with how the Indian team played like world champions.
“When you’re up against a team like South Africa, you know the energy they bring. They have a strong team and play with real aggression.
“We discussed in our team meeting that South Africa would come at us hard, so we needed to respect them and focus on what we’re known for. We are the world champions right now, and we need to play like it. Our focus was on controlling what we could and continuing to dominate in this format, which we’ve been doing for the past year,” he said.
