3 Indians who scored their maiden international hundred in South Africa. ft Sanju Samson
Sanju Samson scored a wonderful hundred in the third and final ODI of the series against South Africa at Boland Park in Paarl on Thursday. The 29-year-old right-handed batter hit 108 off 114 balls after the Proteas won the toss and invited the Men in Blue to bat first.
The visitors lost openers Rajat Patidar (22 off 16) and Sai Sudharsan (10 off 16) cheaply. However, Samson steadied the innings, adding 52 for the third wicket with skipper KL Rahul (21 off 35) and 116 for the fourth wicket with Tilak Varma (52 off 77).
The talented Kerala batter struck six fours and three sixes in his memorable innings as India posted 296/8 in their 50 overs. Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh then claimed 4/30 in nine overs as South Africa were bowled out for 218 in 45.5 overs.
Samson’s hundred, which also won him the Player of the Match award, was his first in international cricket. In the wake of his impressive batting performance, here is a look at three other Indian players who also scored their maiden international ton in South Africa.
#3 WV Raman
Former India opener WV Raman did not have a fruitful international career. Despite being a stalwart at the domestic level for Tamil Nadu, his international appearances were restricted to 11 Tests and 27 ODIs in which he scored 448 and 617 runs, respectively.
Raman scored seven half-centuries in international cricket but reached three figures only once. The former left-handed batter starred with a defiant 114 off 148 balls in the Centurion ODI during India’s tour of South Africa in 1992-93.
The Proteas were sent into bat first in the match and put up 214/5 in their 50 overs, a challenging total back in the 90s. Andrew Hudson top-scored with 87 off 130 balls. His knock, however, went in vain as Raman guided the chase with a fine hundred.
Raman struck six fours and a six in his innings before being dismissed by Allan Donald. Ajay Jadeja (20), Sachin Tendulkar (22), and Ravi Shastri (27* off 16) also chipped in to ensure that the centurion’s knock did not go in vain. In the end, India got home by four wickets with five balls to spare.
#2 Pravin Amre
During the 1992-93 tour of South Africa, another Indian batter who could not go on to make it big at the international level scored a famous hundred.
Pravin Amre, who was trained by the same coach as Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli (the legendary Ramakant Achrekar), hit a wonderful ton on his Test debut in Durban.
India won the toss and bowled first in the Test. They did well to restrict the Proteas to 254 despite Kepler Wessels’ 118 as Kapil Dev claimed three wickets, while Manoj Prabhakar, Anil Kumble, and Shastri picked up two each.
India’s response was led by debutant Amre, who held the innings together with a resolute 103 off 299 balls, occupying the crease for 374 minutes. The knock, which included 11 fours, is rated very highly since it came against a quality bowling attack comprising Donald, Brett Schultz, Brian McMillan, and Meyrick Pringle.
Thanks to Amre’s knock, India responded with 277 in their first innings; keeper-batter Kiran More also chipped in with 55 off 214 balls. The Test ended in a draw as Amre was named Player of the Match for his fine knock.
Despite the great start, Amre ended up playing only 11 Tests and 37 ODIs in his short international career.
#1 Rahul Dravid
Former India captain and current head coach Rahul Dravid also notched up his maiden international hundred in South Africa. Dravid narrowly missed out on a hundred on Test debut against England at Lord’s in 1996 as he was dismissed for 95. He followed it up with 84 in the next Test of the series in Nottingham.
Dravid, however, had to wait till January 1997 to notch up his maiden international ton. He scored a high-class 148 off 362 balls in Johannesburg in the third Test of the three-match series. India batted first after winning the toss and put up an impressive total of 410 on the board.
Dravid, who came into bat at his customary No. 3 position, was rooted to the crease for 541 minutes during which he struck 21 fours. His memorable innings ended when he was caught by Shaun Pollock off Hansie Cronje’s bowling.
South Africa responded with 321 after which Dravid starred in the second innings as well, scoring 81 off 146 balls. Chasing 356, the Proteas crumbled to 95/7. However, a superb rearguard hundred by Daryll Cullinan (122* off 200) helped them draw the Test.