Sanju Samson hit his maiden first-class hundred in over five years when he smashed 106 in 101 deliveries during the Duleep Trophy clash for India D against India B today (September 20).
Samson averaged 38.20 in 63 first-class matches before the ongoing Duleep Trophy match, with 10 hundreds. He walked out to bat at No.6 following the dismissal of Shreyas Iyer at 175-4.
He stitched on crucial partnerships with Ricky Bhui (56) and then Saransh Jain (26), taking the score to 307-6 against India B before the latter was dismissed. Samson ended Day 1 of the match on 89* and took little time to get to his hundred on Friday.
Navdeep Saini eventually dismissed Samson in the 84th over when the scorecard read 331. The last four wickets fell for 18 runs as India D, with Saini picking up five wickets. Samson’s innings contained 12 fours and three sixes with no other batter from the side crossing 60.
Sanju Samson’s first-class career: When did Samson last score a hundred?
Samson last made a first-class century in December 2019, scoring 116 for Kerala against Bengal in Thumba. The wicketkeeper had batted at No.3 on that occasion, guiding his side from 53-3 to 239 all out. Samson was only one of two batters to make more than fifty in the innings as Kerala were all out for 239.
Samson made his first-class debut in 2011 but has not been able to dominate the format with sporadic appearances coupled with inconsistent scores. He has 16 fifties in the format.
Before the current game, Samson had made five and 40 in the Duleep Trophy, after not playing in the first round of the tournament.
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