NEW DELHI: Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor gave a grand welcome to India’s cricket star Sanju Samson upon his return to Kerala, following his explosive maiden T20I century against Bangladesh.
Taking to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Monday, Tharoor shared pictures from their meeting, celebrating Samson’s homecoming.
“Delighted to give a hero’s welcome to ‘ton-up Sanju’ as @IamSanjuSamson returned to Thiruvananthapuram after his stunning century versus Bangladesh. Found a ‘ponnada’ in the appropriate Indian colours to honour him with!” Tharoor posted, referring to the blue ceremonial shawl gifted to the cricketer.
Samson's scintillating knock of 111 off just 47 balls powered India to a record total of 297/6, their highest-ever score in T20I history by a full-member ICC nation.
His innings, featuring 11 fours and eight sixes, also earned him the distinction of hitting the second-fastest T20I century by an Indian, reaching the milestone in just 40 balls.
This extraordinary performance helped India complete a 3-0 clean sweep of the series with a commanding 133-run victory in the final game on Saturday.
Reflecting on his breakthrough performance, Samson expressed a mixture of relief and determination. "(I am) very happy that they (teammates) are happy I did well. It can get frustrating knowing what you can do out there, and I have also felt I can do much better,” he admitted during the post-match presentation.
The Kerala-born cricketer also acknowledged the challenges of inconsistent form but emphasized the importance of staying focused. "Playing for your country, that pressure was there, but I wanted to perform and wanted to show. But I still kept it basic and wanted to take it by one ball (at a time),” Samson shared.
Samson credited the team leadership for standing by him through ups and downs. “The leadership tells me they back me no matter what... not just in words but in actions also. Last series, I got two ducks and went back to Kerala thinking what will happen, but I'm here,” he said, grateful for the faith shown in him.
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