Team India registered a strong win against South Africa in the third and final ODI on Friday at Boland Park to win the series 2-1. India had received an impactful performance from Sanju Samson who has been out and about from the team in the recent period. But, this time Samson rose to the occasion with his obstrusive knock of 108 runs, which was something that Samson would treasure for long. This was Samson’s maiden century in ODIs, glaringly enough a career-defining one for Samson. There have been a lot of disappointments for Samson, missing out on his selection at the ODI World Cup and being snubbed from the limited formats repeatedly, but he pulled off on the landed opportunity solidifying his chances to remain intact in the limited-over format. Throwing his weight behind Sanju Samson, former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said that this century is going to change Samson’s career. 

“The standout for me from this innings was his shot selection. In the past, he has gotten out despite getting starts. Today, you couldn’t fault him at all, he was biding his time, waiting for the bad ball, and then getting a hundred. I think this hundred is going to change his career. One, he will get more opportunities because of this hundred,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports. 

"Secondly, I think he will also start to believe in himself more that he belongs to this level.Sometimes you know you are there, but the luck is not with you and things like that. You get a tremendous delivery, and a great catch, all these things can make you doubt whether you actually belong there. This century will make him believe he belongs here. He has always belonged here, mind you. We all know the talent he has. But somehow he had not delivered, but today he delivered not just for everybody but for himself as well,” he said.