Sanju Samson Creates History, Becomes 1st Indian Wicketkeeper-Batter To...

Sanju Samson was on fire for Team India in the third T20I against Bangladesh, which was played at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Saturday (October 12). The 29-year-old right-handed wicketkeeper-batter, who made his T20I debut against Zimbabwe in 2015, opened for India and scored 111 runs from just 47 balls. During his stay at the crease, he hammered 11 fours and 8 sixes to help Suryakumar Yadav-led side post a total of 297 runs on the board, which is the second highest total in T20Is history.

By scoring his first T20I century, Samson created history as he became the first Indian wicketkeeper-batsman to reach the triple figure mark in T20Is. Before him, the highest score by a wicketkeeper for India in T20Is was 89, which Ishan Kishan scored in a T20I match played against Sri Lanka in Lucknow on February 24, 2022.

Highest scores by Indian wicketkeeper-batter in T20Is

• Sanju Samson – 111 vs Bangladesh in Hyderabad (October 12, 2024)
• Ishan Kishan – 89 vs Sri Lanka in Lucknow (February 24, 2022)
• Sanju Samson – 77 vs Ireland in Dublin (June 28, 2022)
• Rishabh Pant – 65 vs West Indies in Guyana (August 6, 2019)

Samson is overall the 11th Indian batter to score a century in T20Is and sixth after Suresh Raina, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, and Shubman Gill to score a century in both the ODI and T20I formats of the game for Men in Blue.

Samson, who has played in 16 ODIs and 33 T20Is for Team India so far, scored his maiden ODI century in his last ODI match played against South Africa in Paarl on December 21, 2023. In that match, he scored 108 runs from 114 balls as a No. 3 batter.

During his stay at the crease in the third T20I against Bangladesh in Hyderabad on Saturday (October 12), Samson added 173 runs for the second wicket with skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who smashed 75 runs from just 35 balls.

Samson crossed the 100-run mark with a boundary on the first ball of the 13th over. He needed only 40 balls to score 100 runs and now holds the record for scoring the second fastest century in T20Is by an Indian batter. He was dismissed for 111 runs by Mustafizur Rahman on the fourth ball of the 14th over. Samson tried to play a big shot against Mustafizur but failed to connect the ball properly and was caught by Mahedi Hasan.

For his super show in the match, which Indian won by 133 runs, Samson bagged the Player of the Match award.