Records Broken In India Vs South Africa 4th T20I: Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma joined up to build the largest-ever 2nd wicket partnership in T20 cricket in the fourth India vs South Africa T20I last night. This was one of many records broken during the match.
As the Indian Cricket Team was up 2-1 in the four-match series, this was a must-win for both sides. This match was played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg and saw the visitors win the toss and decide to bat first.
Openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma gave India a blistering start. While Sanju looked in fine touch, Abhishek created a few chances for the bowlers. When the latter was dismissed for 36 runs, the team score was 73/1 in the sixth over.
Records Broken In India Vs South Africa 4th T20I
But the madness truly started when Tilak Varma walked into bat. What happened next is a very rare sight in cricket. Normally, one of two batters on strike is in song, while the other supports them and rotates the strike. But here, both the batters were looking to batter the opposition bowling.
First, Samson reached his 50, then Tilak took charge, and he reached his 50. While the latter handed a few chances to the fielders, which were dropped, the two not only batted with a blistering pace but didn’t lose their wickets as well. This meant that the Men in Blue first blew past the 200-run mark, then 250, and finally stopped at 283/1 at the end of the 20 overs.
This is the second-biggest T20I score by a Test-playing nation. Earlier this year, India scored 297/6 against Bangladesh, which is the highest score in the format for Test nations. Overall, yesterday’s battering was the fifth-highest score in T20I cricket.
Both Samson and Varma scored 100. While the Rajasthan Royals captain scored 109 off 56, the Mumbai Indians batter scored 120 off 47. Tilak’s ton made him only the fifth cricketer ever to score two consecutive tons in T20I cricket. He is now the second Indian to achieve this feat.
But the first Indian to score consecutive T20I tons had a fantastic night too, as Sanju scored his third century in the format of the year. This made him the first batter to score three T20I 100s in a single calendar year.
Sanju Samson and Tilak Varma came together for a 210* run partnership for the second wicket, which is the largest ever in t20I cricket, Test nations or otherwise.
But in all the destruction the batting caused on the day, the Indian bowling should be given its flowers as well. They took four wickets in the powerplay and bowled South Africa out for 148. This meant that India won the match by 135 runs. Not only is this the biggest margin of victory in T20Is between these two nations, but also the second biggest margin between two Test-playing nations in a match.
The Indian Cricket Team is now gearing up for the highly anticipated five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia Down Under, which will commence on November 22 with the first match in Perth.
Get the Latest Cricket Updates at IceCric.News. Also, Follow Our Social Media for Live Updates – Facebook & Instagram.
