Sanju Samson’s spirited maiden T20 International century powered India to a commanding 133-run win, sealing a 3-0 series sweep against a lackluster Bangladesh side on Saturday.
Batting first, Men in Blue put on a mammoth total of 297 on the board in their allotted 20 overs. Samson (111 off 47 balls, 11 fours, 8 sixes) delivered the second-fastest T20I century by an Indian, trailing only Rohit Sharma’s 35-ball effort. Alongside skipper Suryakumar Yadav (75 off 35 balls, 8 fours, 5 sixes), they forged a blistering 173-run partnership for the second wicket.
Hardik Pandya (47 off 18 balls, 4 fours, 4 sixes) and Riyan Parag (34 off 13 balls, 1 four, 4 sixes) put on a powerful display in the final stages of the innings, adding 70 runs for the fourth wicket and helping India set a record-breaking total. This score ranks as the second-highest T20I team total ever, just behind Nepal’s 314, ahead of Afghanistan’s 278/3, and stands as India’s highest in the format.
In reply, Bangladesh’s chase never gained momentum, as Parvez Hossain Emon fell on the first ball, gloving a bouncer from Mayank Yadav to Parag at first slip. Despite a brief counterattack from Najmul Hossain Shanto and Tanzid Hasan, who added 30 runs in the next two overs, Tanzid’s dismissal to Sundar at short third-man slowed the innings. Litton Das showed promise with a flurry of boundaries off Nitish’s over, but Shanto’s mistimed reverse sweep off Ravi Bishnoi resulted in a wicket-maiden.
Towhid Hridoy and Litton stitched together a 53-run stand, keeping Bangladesh in the hunt until Litton’s dismissal to Tilak Varma in the deep. Mahmudullah’s final T20I innings ended with just 8 runs. Varun Chakravarthy’s tight bowling, conceding only 23 runs in his four overs, further squeezed the scoring rate. Nitish struck to remove Mahedi for three, while Rishad fell for a duck, caught at long-off off Bishnoi’s bowling. Towhid Hridoy reached his half-century with a six, finishing unbeaten on 63, providing the only resistance for Bangladesh. Ultimately, they were bowled out for 164, falling far short as India wrapped up a dominant win.
A perfect finish to the T20I series 🙌#TeamIndia register a mammoth 133-run victory in the 3rd T20I and complete a 3⃣-0⃣ series win 👏👏
Scorecard – https://t.co/ldfcwtHGSC#INDvBAN | @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/BdLjE4MHoZ
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 12, 2024
“Basically, very happy, out of words, very emotional, very grateful to God that it has happened. Everyone has his own time,” Samson said in a video shared by the BCCI. “I just kept on doing my work, kept on believing in myself, and happy that you (Suryakumar Yadav) were there with me to celebrate that hundred,”
After this 3-0 drubbing of Bangla Tigers, Men in Blue’s focus returns to red-ball cricket as they take on New Zealand in a 3-match test series with the first test starting on 16 October in Bengaluru.
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Mohd Faisal Hakak is a sports author from Kashmir. He likes to keep tabs on the sporting world with a keen interest in football, motorsports, NBA, and other marquee sports. He is a science graduate from Islamia College Srinagar.
