Sunil Gavaskar Slams Sanju Samson Over Dismissal In 4th New Zealand T20I, Gives 'Footwork' Verdict

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson failed to impress once again, as he was dismissed for 24 during the fourth T20I encounter against New Zealand on Wednesday. Samson was off to a good start but was removed by Mitchell Santner after scoring 24 off 15 deliveries. He has scored just 40 runs in his last four matches, and with Ishan Kishan performing well at No. 3, Samson's spot in the T20 World Cup squad has come under the scanner. Legendary India captain Sunil Gavaskar was left fuming by the dismissal, pointing out that a significant lack of footwork led to the batter losing his wicket to Santner. "My first impression is that there was no footwork at all. I'm not very sure whether there was any turn; the first impression was he was just standing there, making room and playing through the off side," Gavaskar said on commentary.

"Like I said, there was hardly any movement of the feet. Going outside leg-stump, once again exposing all three stumps-and when you miss, the bowler's going to hit. That's what happened to Sanju Samson for the second time around," Gavaskar added.

New Zealand defeated India by 50 runs in the fourth T20 International.

Asked to bat first, New Zealand scored 215 for seven after the visitors got a flying start with Tim Seifert (62 off 36 balls) and Devon Conway (44 off 23) adding 100 runs in just 8.2 overs.

However, the Indian bowlers pulled things back somewhat in the back 10 with Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav picking up two wickets each before Daryl Mitchell provided the late impetus with an 18-ball 39.

In reply, India were all out for 165 in 18.4 overs despite Shivam Dube's brutal 23-ball 65 and Rinku Singh's 30-ball 39.

Skipper Mitchell Santner picked up 3/26 in four overs to emerge as the best bowler for New Zealand.

(With PTI inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

Sanju Samson Sunil Gavaskar India Cricket Team New Zealand Cricket Team India vs New Zealand 2026 Cricket