Watch: Sanju Samson dismissed for golden duck during IND vs NZ 3rd T20I

Heading into the third T20I of the five-match series against New Zealand, ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026, the pressure was massive on the opening wicket-keeper batter, Sanju Samson, who had double failures in the first two clashes, and he was also in a fight with his mirror-image role, Ishan Kishan, who was in a red-hot form in the series. 

Sanju Samson couldn’t hope for a poor start in the innings as he was dismissed for a golden duck in the game. Matt Henry raised his finger and roared in joy. It was an angling in length delivery with hardly any movement after it pitched on the turf. Samson went for a dab as the ball brushed on his back leg before crushing into the stumps.

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The pressure will now be incredible for the new Chennai Super Kings (CSK) batter, who may not get replaced by Kishan in the opening position, if Tilak Varma returns to the XI for the third contest in Vizag at number three. Samson hasn’t done anything significant in the encounter at all.

Sanju Samson dismissed for first-ball duck in NZ vs IND 3rd T20I

New Zealand continued to miss their golden chances with the bat in the first innings as they made several fumbles with the bat. They found themselves under early pressure, losing three wickets inside the powerplay before Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman provided them some breathing space with the 52-run fourth-wicket stand.

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Mitchell Santner again stood out for his vital knock of 27 runs in just 17 balls at a strike rate of 158.82, with the help of three boundaries and a couple of sixes. The Blackcaps ended with 153 runs for the loss of nine wickets in their allotted 20 overs.

Despite losing Samson for the first ball, India continued their aggressive approach as Ishan Kishan smashed Henry for two sixes and a four, before Abhishek Sharma joined the party from the other end.

Brief Scores: New Zealand 153/9 (Glenn Phillips 48, Jasprit Bumrah 3/17, Ravi Bishnoi 2/18) vs India 53/1 (Ishan Kishan 28*, Matt Henry 1/16)