IND vs SA: Sanju Samson scripts history in Durban, becomes 1st Indian to hit consecutive T20I tons

IND vs SA: Sanju Samson becomes first Indian to hit consecutive T20I tons (X/RaviShastriOfc)

Sanju Samson carried forward his imperious form as he became the first Indian to slam consecutive tons in the T20I format. Samson achieved the feat in the first T20I against South Africa at Kingsmead, Durban, taking just 47 deliveries to reach the triple digit mark. Samson had completed his half-century in 27 deliveries. He was eventually dismissed for 107(50) by Nqabayomzi Peter as he kept searching for big hits but was excellently caught by Tristan Stubbs near the square leg region. Batting at a strike-rate of 214.00, Samson's innings was laced with seven 4s and ten 6s. (Follow | India vs South Africa 1st T20I Live Score Updates)

Samson headed into the contest after hitting a superb ton in the third and final T20I against Bangladesh in Hyderabad, which was the second quickest by an Indian player in the format. Samson had then smoked a 40-ball century before getting out for 111 off 47 balls.

Samson's effort in an overcast Durban helped him join the likes of Rilee Rossouw, Phil Salt in the list of batters with consecutive tons in T20Is. Meanwhile, the ten maximums by Samson is the most by a batter in a T20I between India and South Africa. Rossouw and Suryakumar held the previous record, which was eight each.

Meanwhile, a total of 11 Indian batters have managed to register tons in the shortest format of the game and out of them four have managed to achieve it more than once. Rohit Sharma, who has retired from the format, leads the charts, having scored five tons in 159 matches. Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul are the other two names and have two centuries each in the shortest format of the game.

Virat Kohli, another player who has retired from the format, has one ton under his name in this format, which he achieved against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup Super 4 clash in Dubai back in 2022.

Samson's feat also helped him take the crown of smashing the fastest T20I century against South Africa among the Indian batters.