Sanju Samson pushed us at end, but boys stood firm and took us to the win: Temba Bavuma

Even after a dazzling knock of 86* off 63 balls, Sanju Samson couldn’t help India win the first ODI of the series against South Africa. With the team losing a few early wickets, the pressure was inevitable on the middle order. Samson and Shreyas Iyer held their nerves after a shaky start and put on a solid show at Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow.

With 30 needed off the last over, Bavuma had no other option than bringing Tabraiz Shamsi in for the last over. Even though the Men in Blue managed to a get a good start but 30 was a mountain to climb. India fell a few runs short in the end but Sanju’s efforts were very much appreciated. Temba Bavuma, the captain of the South African team did mention Sanju’s terror in the post-match conference but also appreciated his teammates for standing firm.

“A good fight at the end, obviously Sanju pushed us at the end, but the boys stood firm and took us to the win. There wasn't much grass on the surface, we lost a couple of wickets in the middle overs, myself and Aiden (Markram), but the boys knuckled down,” Temba Bavuma said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

“Miller and Klaasen played positively, stung together a partnership and took us to a good score. Bowling upfront was good, in the first 15 overs by KG and Parnell. I thought we lost our way in the middle overs, gave away far too many runs, but at the end, the result did go our way and I'm happy with that,” the 32-year-old added.

Klassen-Miller partnership helped South Africa take a lead in the three-match ODI series

South Africa managed to clinch a very important win over India as they would be eyeing to dominate the ODIs after losing the T20I series to India recently. Batting first on Thursday, South Africa lost some early wickets in the middle and Kuldeep Yadav was looking very dangerous with the bowl. The spin wizard bamboozled Aiden Markram and was putting a lot of pressure on the new set of batters but Heinrich Klassen and David Miller were unfazed by that.

Their partnership of 139 runs helped South Africa reach 249 after 40 overs. Klassen smashed 74 off 65 deliveries while Miller scored 75 off 63 runs. In return, India took some time to adjust in the middle as they could score only 18 runs in the 8 overs of the powerplay. Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer did fight their way back but the conservative approach of the top order became a massive factor in India’s loss in the end.