Team India produced an improved batting display in Paarl on Thursday to post a challenging score of 293 for 7 in 50 overs after they were put into bat again by South Africa in the third and final ODI of the series at the Boland Park stadium.
Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma starred with the bat for the Men in Blue while Rinku Singh played a crucial cameo in the death overs to take the team score near the 300-run mark.
Samson and Varma star with the bat
Samson top-scored with 108 off 114 balls while Varma hit 52 and Rinku smashed 38 off 27 balls.
Debutant Rajat Patidar (22) and KL Rahul (21) also got starts but couldn't convert them into big scores. For the Proteas, Beuran Hendricks took 3 wickets while Nandre Burger took two.
Rinku's perfect cameo at the end
India scored 141 runs in the final 14 overs and 93 in the last powerplay to reach an above-par score at this venue. Rinku's excellent cameo towards the end gave the Indian the innings a a much-needed flourish before the completion of the 50 overs.
Samson reflects on emotional hundred
"Feels really emotional, going through the emotions now. Very happy to achieve this. Have been putting in a lot of work physically and mentally, happy to see the results go my way now.
"They bowled really well with the new ball, and the older ball was getting slower and more difficult to bat. So after KL got out, they had the momentum where Maharaj was bowling very well.
"But me and Tilak stuck it out and went strong at the end. We were playing an extra all rounder today, so me and Tilak had decided that we have to go hard from the 40th over onwards," Samson said at the mid-innings break after his knock.
