IND vs SA, 1st ODI | Who said what ft. Sanju Samson, Heinrich Klassen

After a disappointing loss in the T20I series, South Africa looked like a revitalized bunch in the first ODI against India at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow on Thursday. A delayed start due to incessant showers meant the match was curtailed to a 40-overs a side. Openers Quinton de Kock and Janneman Malan provided them a good start despite the ball zipping around, the former particularly impressing with 48(54), However, Shardul Thakur inflicted a middle-order collapse with two quick wickets before David Miller and Heinrich Klassen steadied the innings with scores of 75* and 74* respectively. Chasing 250, the Men in Blue never found any momentum but a quick half-century from Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson's stellar 86(63) brought the team close to victory, only to fall nine runs short in the end.

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma was quick to acknowledge Samson's efforts before patting the middle order on their back for rescuing the team from deep waters. 

After struggling for support initially, Samson accelerated in the later half of his innings but by then the required run rate was already beyond salvation. He had a few kind words for his counterpart David Miller as well, who had also scored a century in the second T20I.  

It is always nice to spend some time in the middle and we always play to take our team over the line. I missed connecting two shots, next time I will work even harder. But I am satisfied with my contribution. Their bowlers were going about things nicely, Tabraiz Shamsi was a little expensive today so we felt we can target them. We knew he would bowl the last over, I knew if I had to get 24 runs in the final over, I can hit four sixes. We have some space to improve but we also need to look at the batters we are bowling too. I think David Miller is the best finisher in the world at the moment, bowling against him on this ground was very challenging.

Sanju Samson

It's a fortunate thing to be playing cricket for India. Indian cricket has a lot of big superstars and if you are getting this kind of support and know your batting this much, then it's a big motivation for me. When we started playing cricket when we were young, we all wanted these things only. So it's a dream and it's getting fulfilled. I am feeling very happy. And because of the fans, the expectations also go up. For instance, the practice sessions go from 2 hours to 4 hours. I tell myself that I have to perform in every innings. Expectations of people have risen. Accordingly, my preparation should also increase and I am looking to perform better.

Sanju Samson

Man of the match Heinrich Klassen did not get an opportunity in the T20I series but impressed in his first game of the tour further improving his ODI average against India to 61.33. he also commented on South Africa's struggles in the ongoing ICC Cricket World Cup Super League with the team needing a whitewash to keep hopes of a direct qualification alive.