Sanju Samson scored his maiden international century today (December 21) in the final ODI of the three-match series against South Africa. Here’s how the cricket community reacted to his long-awaited hundred.

Being put in to bat first by the hosts, India started strong with debutant Rajat Patidar racing away to 22 off 15 balls before he was cleaned up by Nandre Burger in the fifth over. That brought Samson to the crease, playing just his 16th ODI.

Samson was circumspect at the start with his first 20 balls fetching just 10 runs. As the field spread after the first ten overs, Samson eased into his innings, expertly negotiating Keshav Maharaj and Aiden Markram, who bowled tidy lines and lengths to keep a lid on the scoring rate.

With Tilak Varma, Samson added 116 runs for the fourth wicket, setting up a solid platform for India to tee off in the last ten overs. The first ball of the 41st over was pulled for a huge six by Samson off the bowling of Burger, taking him into the nineties.

He finally reached his maiden international hundred on the last ball of the 44th over, pushing Keshav Maharaj for a single, and celebrated it by pointing to his biceps.

Having made his international debut way back in 2015, the wait for him to cross the three-figure had been a long one. Getting sporadic chances across the two white-ball formats, Samson has not yet been able to seal a spot in the national team. This knock has the potential to go a long way to changing that.

Samson departed soon after his hundred, scoring 108 off 114 balls, while India finished their innings on 296-8. Samson’s ODI career numbers now read 510 runs at an average of 56.7 and a strike rate of 99.6 with three fifties and one hundred.

Sanju Samson at the batting number that is his. 👏🏼👍🏽

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) December 21, 2023

Well played Sanju Samson. First ODI century. Gosh I hope that there are several more to come.👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻.

— Ian Raphael Bishop (@irbishi) December 21, 2023

Had Sanju Samson got a blazing 100 in 80 balls, you would have said well done Sanju! But that he came into bat in the 5th over & got his 100 in the 44th over & played to the team needs, seemingly against his nature, my admiration for Samson has grown considerably today! 👏👏👏

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) December 21, 2023

Sanju *𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠* Samson 🇮🇳💗

— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) December 21, 2023

Sensational Sanju’s comeback statement 💪

Maiden international ton for Samson in the series decider 💯#PlayBold #SAvIND #TeamIndia @IamSanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/IVffNuijEj

— Royal Challengers Bangalore (@RCBTweets) December 21, 2023

The first ones are always 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋! ✨

Congratulations to Sanju Samson on achieving his Maiden International Century! 💯💪 #SanjuSamson #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/avp87pIkX6

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) December 21, 2023

A very measured hundred from Sanju Samson 👏👏

Different gears.

— Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) December 21, 2023

Maiden ODI 💯 for Sanju Samson!

Been a while but worth it. An excellent knock. Hopefully he gets a run that helps him leave a mark.

Well played. 👏#SAvIND pic.twitter.com/Gg3Jukzujg

— Nikhil 🏏 (@CricCrazyNIKS) December 21, 2023

Sanju Samson scores his maiden international hundred in his 35th outing and 16th ODI for India across eight years. A knock under immense match pressure and that's a huge monkey off his back. And that would be two List A centuries across three innings. #INDvSA

— Lalith Kalidas (@lal__kal) December 21, 2023

Subscribe to the Wisden Cricket YouTube channel for post-match analysis, player interviews, and much more.