IND vs SA: After maiden ODI century, Sanju Samson says last 3-4 months were ‘mentally challenging’ | Cricket News

Sanju Samson scored his maiden century in Team India colours on Thursday to help India seal the three-match ODI series against South Africa a two-one margin. Samson scored 108 with Tilak Verma chipping in with a handy 52 runs before Arshdeep Singh claimed 4-30 to wrap up India’s victory a 78-run margin at Boland Park.
Before Thursday’s game, Samson had played 15 ODIs for India, managing to score just 402 runs, including three half-centuries at an average of 50.25. Samson was not picked for the Indian cricket team for the ODI World Cup at home, where India lost to Australia in the final at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. He was also overlooked for the Indian cricket team for the recent Asian Games in China’s Hangzhou.
But Samson was thrown a lifeline for the series against South Africa and with the century he grabbed his chance. And he grabbed it with his ton at Boland Park, going past his previous best score for India in ODIs of 86.
“The last three-four months were challenging for me mentally,” Sanju said after India’s win. “So going through all that and coming here I think doing what I did today, I think I feel really happy and grateful. I’ve been blessed in my genes. My father is also a sportsman, so how much ever setbacks you have, I think there’s always no other way to come back and bounce back… think how much you can work on yourself and how you can come back more strongly.”
Even India captain KL Rahul admitted that Samson had not gotten enough chances.
“He has been a phenomenal performer over the years, and hasn’t gotten enough chances for different reasons,” Rahul told host broadcaster at the post-match presentation. “There are world-class players (in the Indian side). But given this opportunity, he capitalised.”
What also worked for Samson was that he was asked to bat in his usual role at No 3. He capitalised with an innings that showed a mature approach: he got to his 50 off 66 balls, and his century off 110 balls.

“Honestly, I think I was not looking at the scorecard. Until I had a partnership with Tilak till then I just wanted to play and like go with the merit. I just watched the ball and bat and the boundaries and the scoring options ultimately happened. So I was just focused on the process and playing one ball at a time and then I think the scorecard kept on ticking.

“When Tilak came in when we both had a tough four or five overs where I think (Keshav) Maharaj, was bowling the best. I think both the ends were a bit tight. That’s when we thought that we need to go on and take some risks at the moment.”
Samson was asked how he kept his calm in the third ODI. He said, “I don’t know actually. It comes very naturally to me. It’s very important to make really good decisions. When you are calm and when you are aware of your thoughts, emotions of your physical being and mental being that helps me to make some really good decisions.”