In the fourth T20I match against New Zealand, <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ind-vs-nz-4th-t20i-shivam-dube-reflects-on-his-fiery-knock-against-new-zealand-23614267" rel="nofollow">Team India</a> suffered a defeat by 50 runs at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.
During the match, Team India's Sanju Samson scored 24 runs in 15 balls, with the help of three boundaries and a maximum.
In his last five T20I innings, Samson's highest score is 37, which came against South Africa in December last year.
Speaking about him on JioStar, veteran spinner <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/ipl-2025-yuzvendra-chahal-sits-out-final-league-match-but-expected-back-playoffs-23552541" rel="nofollow">Yuzvendra Chahal</a> feels that pressure should not be an excuse for Samson's failure. He also said that a player's failure can be acceptable in one or two matches, but not in four games.
"Sanju Samson has played for many years. He started in the IPL middle-order, then became an opener. After playing international cricket for 10-12 years, pressure shouldn't be an excuse. He has had four chances in this series. I can accept failure in one or two matches, but not in three or four. He knows someone like Ishan Kishan, who is the backup and is batting well at number three, is waiting. Sanju will blame himself. He had four opportunities but could not make them count," he said.
Considering that the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/article/t20-world-cup-2026-pakistan-will-play-india-match-but-sources-after-pcb-chief-mohsin-naqvi-meets-pm-muhammad-shehbaz-sharif-23613840" rel="nofollow">T20 World Cup 2026</a> is just around the corner, the spinner feels that management should consider in-form Ishan Kishan for the opener's role if Samson is struggling to deliver performances.
"However, there's no need to feel too bad because the T20 World Cup is still far. There's one more match against New Zealand. It now depends on the team management's thinking. If they feel Sanju is struggling as an opener and Ishan is doing well at number three, then the right call would be to make Sanju sit out and let Ishan Kishan take his spot as the opener and wicketkeeper in the final T20I," said the 35-year-old cricketer.
The "Men in Blue" under the leadership of Suryakumar Yadav have already sealed the series. They have a lead of 3-1 against the "Black Caps".
<h2>IND vs NZ 5th T20I: Date and venue</h2>
The fifth and final T20I match between Team India and <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/sports/cricket/photo/ind-vs-nz-4th-t20i-glenn-phillips-completes-100-sixes-for-new-zealand-109418/1" rel="nofollow">New Zealand</a> is scheduled to be played on January 31 at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
(With ANI Inputs)

IND vs NZ T20Is: During the fourth match, Team India`s Sanju Samson scored 24 runs in 15 balls, with the help of three boundaries and a maximum against Kiwis

IND vs NZ T20Is: Yuzvendra Chahal speaks about Sanju Samson`s poor run in format

WPL 2026: Smriti Mandhana, Grace Harris' crucial knocks help RCB defeat UPW

During the match, Team India's Sanju Samson scored 24 runs in 15 balls, with the help of three boundaries and a maximum. In his last five T20I innings, Samson's highest score is 37, which came against South Africa in December last year

IND vs NZ T20Is: Yuzvendra Chahal speaks about Sanju Samson's poor run in format

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