Ambati Rayudu wants India to make a major change to the batting order for the third ODI against New Zealand, even though the side leads the five-match series 2-0. The former India batter said on Cricbuzz that Ishan Kishan should bat at No. 4 in Hamilton on Tuesday, with Shreyas Iyer at five, KL Rahul at six and Axar Patel at seven. Rayudu’s point is that India need a left-hander in the top six who is not Axar, and Kishan fits that role.
Ambati Rayudu spelled out the order he wants. “There should be a left-hander in the mix, and I want Ishan Kishan to come at No.4, and Shreyas Iyer comes in at No.5 and KL at No.6, and then Axar at No.7,” he said. “That is only because it brings a left-hander there and someone who is really good against spin and pace. So, I just think that he will add a lot more value even going into the World Cup.” The change would push Iyer down one place and Rahul down one place, with Axar dropping to seven.
Ambati Rayudu on Axar Patel at No. 5
Axar has batted at No. 5 in both ODIs so far, and the move has not worked. He made a two-ball duck in the opener at Eden Park, and he made seven off 17 balls in Wellington before he was out trying to ramp Matthew Fisher over third man. India were 47 for four in the 13th over of a chase of 135 when he fell, and the middle order had to rebuild from there. Rayudu said the side needs a left-hander higher up who can take on spin and pace alike. Ambati Rayudu has made the same point before, about the need for a left-hander in the middle order.
Wellington showed why Ambati Rayudu is pushing for the change. India’s top three made 30 runs between them, with Gill caught behind for a golden duck off Jacob Duffy, Kohli out for seven and Rohit Sharma out for 23. Iyer top-scored with 30 off 46 balls, and KL Rahul’s unbeaten 26 off 38 took India to 113 for seven when the rain came. India won by four runs on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, but the batting had wobbled again.
The case for Ishan Kishan at No. 4
Kishan has played five ODIs this year after a gap of two and a half years, and he is vice-captain for the last two matches against New Zealand. Ambati Rayudu said Kishan would add balance and give the side a left-hander who can counter-attack when the bowlers are on top. “I just think that it adds far more balance when the conditions are tough, and it also gives you freedom as a batting unit to sometimes have a counter-attack strategy,” he said. Kishan is a wicketkeeper as well, which gives the side another option behind the stumps.
Ambati Rayudu and the Hamilton ODI
Ambati Rayudu also pointed to Tilak Varma as a left-handed option for the future, noting that he bowls off-spin as well. Former India spinner Murali Kartik, on the same Cricbuzz discussion, took a different view and said Kishan should stay at the top of the order. India can seal the series in Hamilton on Tuesday, 10 November, before the Test squad players leave to prepare for the two-match Tests. The batting order Rayudu wants would be tested in a match India can afford to use for trying things out.
India lead the series 2-0 after the two wins, both of them low-scoring games in tough conditions. The first ODI in Auckland on 4 November saw New Zealand bowled out for 185, and India won by five wickets. The second in Wellington on 7 November was decided by rain, with India four runs ahead of the par score when play stopped. The batting has been the worry in both games, and that is why Ambati Rayudu wants the order changed now.