Back 
PremiumIndia vs South Africa highlights, 1st T20I: Sanju Samson scored a scintillating century as India inflicted a 61-run defeat on South Africa in the first T20I on Friday at Kingsmead in Durban. Invited to bat, Samson blazed away to 107 off 50 balls, hitting as many as 10 sixes and seven fours to help India post 202/8.
The spin duo of Varun Chakaravarthy (3/25) and Ravi Bishnoi (3/28) then shared six wickets between them to bowl out South Africa for 141 in 17.5 overs. Earlier, Samson became the first Indian to score back-to-back centuries in T20Is. The opener notched his second T20I hundred off just 47 balls.
His first had come in India's last outing against Bangladesh last month. However, South Africa clawed their way back into the game as they stemmed the flow of runs by picking wickets in the last five overs. Pacer Gerald Coetzee who claimed three wickets was the pick of the bowlers for the hosts.
Earlier, riding on Samson’s hundred, India put on their seventh 200-plus total in T20Is in 2024, thus equalling their own record from 2023. Samson added 66 runs in just 5.5 overs with Suryakumar Yadav (21) and another 77 with Tilak Varma (33) in 5.4 overs.
However, once Samson was dismissed, India could manage only 35 runs in the last five overs, which could cost them dearly in the long run. Both teams now head to St George's Park in Gqeberha for the second game on Sunday.
Sanju Samson: Really enjoyed my time in the middle. Playing it well, maximum utilisation of my current form you can say. The intent, we have been talking about being aggressive and keeping the team ahead of yourselves. Once you play three-four balls you are looking for the boundary, I'm not thinking much, sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn't, happy it worked out well today. It was very crucial, knowing home advantage South Africa has, they are a gun side and it was important to start the series well.
Avesh Khan gets the final wicket while Suryakumar Yadav hits the timbers directly as South Africa were bowled out for 141 in 17.5 overs. India win by 61 runs to go 1-0 up in the series.
South Africa need74 runs in the last four overs. In T20 cricket, its gettable but South Africans don't have the batters to score those runs. SA 129/8 (16)
Ravi Bishnoi gets hit for two sixes in an over before the Indian spinner dismisses Marco Jansen to have the last laugh. Hosts are eight down in chase. SA 114/8 (15)
South Africa lose wickets in heaps. First, it was Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller, who were undone by Varun Chakravarthy's spin in an over before Patrick Kruger holed out to Hardik Pandya off Ravi Bishnoi. Andile Simelane too becomes Bishnoi's second fish in the over. SA 93/7 (12.5)
The required rate has touched 12 but South Africa have two of the best T20I batters - Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller - in the middle. This is a fast scoring ground. SA 76/3 (9)
OUTTTT!!! Varun Chakravarthy comes into attack and picks up Ryan Rickleton with his third ball. Tilak Varma takes the catch at the boundary. SA 44/3 (5.2)
OUTTTTTT!!! Avesh Khan drops short and wide as Tristan Stubbs hits straight to SKY. SA 30/2 (3.3)
With 10 sixes, Sanju Samson equalled Rohit Sharma for most sixes by an Indian batter in a T20I game. Rohit's 10 came against Sri Lanka in 2017.
Avesh Khan concedes two fours in his first two balls before making a great comeback with a single run in his next four. SA 19/1 (2)
Welcome back in the chase. Aiden Markram starts off with a couple of boundaries off Arshdeep Singh before edging behind to Samson in the third ball. SA 10/1 (1)
Four wickets in the last eight balls for South Africa as the hosts restrict India to 202/8 in 20 overs. It was also the seventh 200-plus total for India in 2024, thus equalling their own record from 2023.
South Africa pull back strongly with three quick wickets. Onus Rinku Singh and Axar Patel to put a big score for India. IND 185/5 (18)
Nqabayomzi Peter finally gets Sanju Samson as Tristan Stubbs takes a blinder at the boundary. Samson departs for 107 off 50 balls. IND 175/4
Hundred for Sanju Samson! Special day for the Indian opener as he becomes the first Indian batter to smash two consecutive T20I hundreds. However, India lost Tilak Varma to Keshav Maharaj. IND 167/3 (15)
Sanju Samson goes big against Andile Simelane hitting the debutant for 4, 4, 6 in an over. IND 142/2
100 comes up for India as Sanju Samson dances down the track to despatch Keshav Maharaj over the bowler's head for a six. Pure class from Samson. Samson finishes the over with a four. IND 111/2 (11)
Andile Simelane comes to bowl his first ball in international cricket. Pretty good start for the debutant before Tilak Varma pulls one into the crowd in the last ball of the over. What a hit from the Mumbai Indians star. IND 99/2 (10)
Just WAAAO from Sanju Samson! Patrick Kruger bowls wide and slow but Samson knows how to deal with it. He just slams the ball to the wide long-off boundary. Pressure mounts on the bowler as he bowls two no-balls and three wides. OUTTTTT!!!! Respite for Kruger. Suryakumar Yadav holes at the hands of Simelane. IND 90/2 (9)
Banged away against the wind from Sanju Samson. Nqabayomzi Peter drops short and Samson wastes no time in hitting the ball for a six. Same ball and same result once again. Fifty for the Indian opener in just 27 balls. IND 75/1 (8)
50 comes up for India with a six off Sanju Samson. India finish the powerplay with seven runs in the sixth over. IND 56/1 (6)
Sanju Samson continues from where he left against Bangladesh. He welcome Marco Jansen back with a four and a huge six over wide long-on. Another four from Suryakumar Yadav, this time a nice little dab to third-man boundary. IND 49/1 (5)
Abhishek Sharma's struggle continues the India opener goes back for just 7 off Gerald Coetzee. The ball bounces a bit which foils Abhishek's timing and Aiden Markram does the rest. Suryakumar Yadav joins Sanju Samson in the middle. The Indian captain starts with a four and six. IND 34/1 (4)
Sanju Samson gets into groove with a four and six in the first two balls off Keshav Maharaj. 12 runs come from the over. IND 24/0 (3)
Aiden Markram comes to bowl and Abhishek Sharma smashes through the off side for a four. Sanju Samson joins the party with his first over mid-off. IND 12/0 (2)
Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma walk out in the middle for India. Marco Jansen to open the bowling for South Africa. IND 2/0 (1)
Players of both teams are on the sidelines to enter the field. National Anthems coming up. India to go first, followed up South Africa.
Suryakumar Yadav (IND): We were looking to bat first. The wicket looks nice, better than the practice wicket and we will try to put runs on the board. The guys in the dressing room have made my job easier, the fearless approach they play with for their respective franchises and have brought the same approach to the team.
Aiden Markram (SA): We are going to bowl first. Looks a pretty good wicket. There has been some rain around this week and if there's moisture we want to make use of it. Fantastic opportunity for guys to make their debuts at home and it is a great time for them to enjoy the game. We are quite a competitive team and the discussions have been how can we get positive results.
Both Suryakumar Yadav and Aiden Markram are in the middle for the toss. South Africa win the toss and opt to bowl.
We are just minutes away from the coin toss. The pitch is hard despite a lot of rain in the lead up. The wicket will help the bowlers as they can expect bounce and carry. A bit of rain is expected later in the day.
Suryakumar Yadav loves batting against South Africa. His scores against the Proteas in T20Is read 50 not out, 61, 8, 68, 56, 100, 3. Can the Indian captain continue his good form today ?
In the last five matches between the two teams, both India and South Africa have won two games each while one match was washed out.
India captain, Suryakumar Yadav: It has always been challenging playing against South Africa, be it in the T20 World Cup or any bilateral. The last time when we were here, we had a good series. Hopefully, we will have a game (tomorrow); last time we missed out on the game here. But yeah, it's always fun and challenging and both sides enjoy having that great competition.
Expect a few debuts today. While South Africa could hand Andile Simelane his maiden cap, India could also give Ramandeep Singh a breakthrough after his impressive shows in domestic cricket and India A.
For the unknown, Ramandeep Singh is much like Rinku Singh and take the game away from the opposition on any given day. In fact, he has hit five sixes in an over twice in his career. Will he make India debut today?
India have played 22 T20Is so far in 2024, winning 21. including the T20 World Cup final. That's some record for the Men in Blue in 2024.
Meanwhile, South Africa are coming into this series after losing to West Indies and drawing against Ireland in the shortest format. The hosts will however be missing the services of pacers Lungi Ngidi and Kagiso Rabada.
Another record that is up for grab for the Indians is that both Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya need nine more wickets to become India's highest wicket-taker in T20Is. Both Hardik and Arshdeep are on 87 scalps each. Yuzvendra Chahal leads the list with 96 wickets.
Good news in the Indian cricket team. KL Rahul and his wife Athiya Shetty are expecting their first child in 2025.
Suryakumar Yadav is on the brink of breaking Rohit Sharma’s T20I record against South Africa. Fondly called as SKY, the right-hander needs just 84 runs to surpass Rohit for most runs against the Proteas in the shortest format of the game. Suryakumar has scored 346 runs in 7 T20Is so far against South Africa.
The series also serves players from both teams to step up and show their caliber ahead of the IPL 2025 mega auction that is set to take place on November 24 and 25 in Saudi Arabia.
Also, Ramandeep Singh has impressed a lot recently with his all-rounder skills including some electric fielding during the Emerging Asia Cup.
The Indian pace attack of Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Vyshak Vijaykumar and Yash Dayal will be monitored closely by the BCCI selectors. Vijaykumar and Dayal are yet to make debuts for India.
India are set to open with Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. While Samson is coming after his maiden T20I hundred against Bangladesh, things are a bit tough for Abhishek as the left-hander's scores in last six games read 0, 10, 14, 16, 15, 4.
For the record, this will be Suryakumar Yadav's third T20I series as a full-time captain. He had led India to series victory against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh earlier in the year.
The last time India toured South Africa for a T20I series was in 2023 where both teams played a 1-1 draw after the opener was washed out in Durban. Today, according to weather forecast websites, there is a slight chance of rain. Expect a modest temperature otherwise. India hold a 15-11 head-to-head record against the Proteas.
Hello and welcome to the first T20I between India and South Africa in Durban. This is also the first time, both these teams are meeting after the T20 World Cup 2024 final in June.
