Sanju Samson smashes 94-ball hundred in solid Duleep Trophy outing in Anantapur

Duleep Trophy 2024: Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson hit his 11th first-class hundred, smashing a 92-ball century for India D against India B in Anantapur. Samson made the most of the opportunity in the domestic red-ball tournament.

In Short

• Sanju Samson hit 101-ball 106 for India D against India B in Anantapur
• Samson notched up the 11th first-class hundred of his career
• Samson has been in good form for India D in the red-ball tournament

Wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson hit his maiden hundred in the Duleep Trophy first-class competition, getting to the landmark in just 92 balls for India D against India B on Friday, September 20. It was Samson's 11th first-class hundred as he made a mark in red-ball cricket at the start of a long domestic season.

Sanju Samson was initially not in the Duleep Trophy squads, but an injury to Ishan Kishan forced the selectors to bring the Kerala wicketkeeper in as a replacement in Team D, led by Shreyas Iyer. Samson had made 5 and 40 against India A in the second round after warming the bench in the first round.

The Rajasthan Royals captain made full use of the opportunity in the third and final round. Sanju Samson batting at No. 6, made sure India D continued their good work with the bat. Samson hit 12 boundaries and three sixes in an aggressive knock against a high-quality India B bowling unit, which had the likes of Mukesh Kumar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar and Navdeep Saini.

Samson stitched handy partnerships with Saransh Jain and Ricky Bhui, perfectly playing the aggressor's role. With India D's top three -- Devdutt Padikkal (50), KS Bharat (52) and Ricky Bhui (56) -- getting fifties, Samson's hundred propelled them to a handy first-innings total of 349.

India D had a bit of a wobble after a strong start as Nishant Sindhu (19) and captain Shreyas Iyer (0) were dismissed quickly. However, Samson made sure India B bowlers did not take control by playing a counter-attacking knock.

Samson was unbeaten on 89 at Stumps on Day 1 and he made sure he got to his hundred on Friday morning in quick time. Navdeep Saini dismissed Samson for 106 in 101 balls.

The hundred will give Sanju Samson a massive boost in confidence ahead of the Ranji Trophy season, starting in October. The 29-year-old wicketkeeper-batter will look to keep himself in the mix with a strong performance for Kerala after having had red-ball exposure in the highly-competitive Duleep Trophy.