"No.3 curse todke performance dene ka ghamand hai"- Top 10 funny memes as India reach 296/8 in 3rd ODI vs South Africa in Paarl 

Team India managed to reach a decent total of 296/8 in 50 overs in the first innings of the 3rd ODI against India on Thursday, December 21, at Boland Park in Paarl. The 3-match series is currently level at 1-1.

South African captain Aiden Markram won the toss and opted to bowl first yet again after tasting success chasing in the previous match. Debutant Rajat Patidar (22) hit a flurry of boundaries and gave the visitors a brisk start.

Nandre Burger cut short his stay at the crease by cleaning him up with an inswinger in the 5th over. After two consecutive fifties, Sai Sudharsan (10) endured a failure in this contest.

Sanju Samson (108) then stabilized the innings by building partnerships with KL Rahul (21) and Tilak Varma (52). He anchored the innings perfectly with a well-composed century, his maiden one in international cricket. Rinku Singh (38) and Washington Sundar (14) played cameos in the end to lift India to 296.

Fans on social media enjoyed the action that unfolded during the first innings of the 3rd ODI match between the two sides. They expressed their reactions by sharing some hilarious memes on social media platforms.

Here is a collection of the best memes:

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"I have been putting in a lot of work on the background"- Indian batter Sanju Samson after his century in 3rd ODI against South Africa

At the mid-innings break, Sanju Samson reflected on his knock and said:

"Feels really interesting, going through the emotions still, but happy for it. I have been putting in a lot of work on the background, mentally and physically but the result has finally come in. Talking about the game, new ball they bowled well, as the ball got older, it was tough to score as it got slower.

Shedding light on his game plan, Samson added:

"When Rahul got out, the momentum shift happened where Maharaj bowled well in those 5-6 overs, but came back well later on after capitalizing spending time in the middle, but it's a challenging score on this track. Looking at the team combination, playing extra-batter with the all-rounder, but the way Arshdeep hit that six means we do bat well lower down the order, with that, we may be able to go harder initially."

Do you think India can defend the total and win the series? Let us know your views in the comments section below.