Former Indian cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar heaped praise on Sanju Samson for his outstanding century in the third ODI between India and South Africa in Parl.

Samson smashed his maiden international hundred after 8 years of his India debut, scoring 108 runs off 114 balls and rescuing the Men in Blue from a batting collapse early on against South Africa.

In this remarkable innings, Samson hit six boundaries and three sixes while batting in the no. 3 position instead of his usual middle-order position and helped Team India beat South Africa by 78 runs in the third and final ODI. With this win, India clinched the ODI series by a 2-1 margin on December 21.

Following Samson's brilliant century, Sanjay Manjrekar took to Twitter to praise the wicketkeeper-batter, saying the Kerala star played a slower innings compared to his usual style, as it was the need of the hour against South Africa.

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Manjrekar said on X: “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!”

Meanwhile, speaking about winning the Player of the Match, Samson said: “Proud of it, especially considering the result as well. Have been working hard, not just for the past couple of months so it’s nice. This format gives you some extra time to understand the wicket and the bowler’s mindset. Batting at the top of the order gives you those 10-20 extra deliveries.”

He signed off by saying, “The whole country is very proud of how Tilak Verma has stepped up, lot more to expect from him. The seniors have set the standards of Indian cricket and the juniors are coming in and doing the job. It’s not very easy, traveling in between and playing every 2-3 days but they’re getting the job done.”