Sanju Samson played a match-defining 67 runs off 33 balls with eight 4s and four 6s in India's 226-run record chase against New Zealand in Christchurch in the first T20I match of the ongoing bilateral series. The sixty-plus run knock helped Samson get another Player of the Match award in his international career.

While Indian cricket fans were mesmerized with the opener's impactful batting, discarded Indian batter Hanuma Vihari raised his concerns. Vihari noted that Sanju Samson might have collected a good number of runs in the previous match, but there was a visible lack of footwork in his innings.

Hanuma Vihari points out one weakness in Sanju Samson's batting

Ahead of the India vs New Zealand 2nd T20I match, which will be held in Christchurch on Saturday (October 24), Hanuma Vihari expressed his concerns over Samson's style of batting. According to Hanuma Vihari, a former Delhi Capitals player, Samson has issues with his foot movement, even against the outgoing deliveries.

"There was not much swing, so there was no problem. But when there is swing, Sanju Samson has issues, as he stays deep in the crease. He does not have that kind of foot movement and often gets beaten and out. Even against Adam Milne, it was an outswinger, and his feet were nowhere. That is why he struggles a bit against swing. But if it comes straight, he will hit it straight," he said in a video on his YouTube channel.

Hanuma Vihari praises Sanju Samson's shot selection

After pointing out Sanju Samson's weakness, Hanuma Vihari explained why the top-order batter scores runs despite having a lot of ups and downs in maintaining consistent performance.

Highlighting India's previous T20I series against West Indies, the former DC batter stated that by playing a couple of good knocks, Samson hinted at his batting brilliance, and against New Zealand, by playing the balls straight down the ground, he got success.

"In recent times, Samson's consistency has been a little up and down. In the past, we saw him perform in one or two games and then a few failures. But in the West Indies series, we saw some consistency, and in this game, he also played well. His shot selection was great. He played straight down the ground," Vihari added in the same video.

Hanuma Vihari explains why India lost multiple wickets in the 1st T20I vs New Zealand

India got a good start inside the powerplay in the first match of the series against New Zealand through their openers Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma. But soon after the departure of Samson, the Men in Blue lost a few wickets in the mid-phase of the second innings.

As per Vihari's observation, because of the big boundaries, some of the Indian batters, including Sharma, Ishan Kishan, and Tilak Varma, lost their wickets while they attempted to clear the boundary rope.

"Due to the big boundaries, we lost some wickets in between. I will not say we struggled exactly. The shots Ishan and Tilak played would have been sixes in India. Abhishek also got out trying to hit, but this happens," he continued.