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The real Sanju Samson stepped up as the Indian cricket tea took on South Africa in the third and final ODI of the series on Thursday. Samson scored his maiden ODI century, 8 long years after making his international debut but the milestone was worth the wait as the triple-digit score ensured India won the series-decider. Samson, a player who remains quite popular across India despite his struggles to cement a spot in the Indian team in any of the three formats, truly sent a wave of jubilation across the country. For fans, Samson’s heroics laid the foundation of a weekend full of entertainment, with many awaiting the release of Salaar movie.

Samson scored 108 off 114 as the Indian team put 296 runs on the board after batting first on a tricky wicket. Tilak Varma was the only Indian batter to have crossed the 50-run mark for the team. Here’s how fans reacted to Samson’s knock:

Sanju on Thursday. #Salaar on Friday! @IamSanjuSamson is easily one of the most naturally gifted batsmen currently playing the game!

— Prithviraj Sukumaran (@PrithviOfficial) December 21, 2023

Sanju Samson to haters:#SanjuSamson #Dunki #SRK𓃵 #Salaar #Sanju #DunkiFirstDayFirstShow pic.twitter.com/gnucEKjG0E

— Jivendra Singh (@Jivendr) December 21, 2023

Mohanlal is back at the box office with a bang and Sanju Samson scoring his first Century. A high day for Malayalees I think.

If Prithviraj hit it out of the park tomorrow, can’t ask for a better Xmas present.

So excited!#NeruMovie #SanjuSamson #Salaar #Mohanlal

— Bony Jacob (@bony_jacob) December 21, 2023

Mohanlal is back at the box office with a bang and Sanju Samson scoring his first Century. A high day for Malayalees I think.

If Prithviraj hit it out of the park tomorrow, can’t ask for a better Xmas present.

So excited!#NeruMovie #SanjuSamson #Salaar #Mohanlal

— Bony Jacob (@bony_jacob) December 21, 2023

Mohanlal is back at the box office with a bang and Sanju Samson scoring his first Century. A high day for Malayalees I think.

If Prithviraj hit it out of the park tomorrow, can’t ask for a better Xmas present.

So excited!#NeruMovie #SanjuSamson #Salaar #Mohanlal

— Bony Jacob (@bony_jacob) December 21, 2023

This innings from Sanju Samson in overseas at a very tough condition is gonna be remembered for a very very long time!#SanjuSamson #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/TE3kayApQa

— Prathisha.P (@prathi_17_18) December 21, 2023

Tony de Zorzi scored the highest for South Africa with 81 off 87 while captain Aiden Markram played a knock of 36 runs. For India Arshdeep Singh was the main destructor, as he bagged 4 wickets conceding just 30 runs while Washington Sundar returned with a figure of 2-38.

After India’s commanding victory in the series-opener, Proteas turned the tables around and registered an 8-wicket win in the second ODI at Gqeberha, however, Men in Blue made a stunning comeback in the series decider to win the third and final ODI by 78 runs.

This is the second time India defeated Proteas at their home in a bilateral series before this Men in Blue registered a 5-1 series victory over South Africa in 2018. With this win, KL Rahul became only the second Indian captain to win an ODI series in South Africa after Virat Kohli (2018).

With ANI inputs