India assistant coach reveals the reason why Axar Patel was promoted to No.3 in 2nd T20I vs SA

Team India assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has opened up on the actual reason why the Indian team management decided to promote the all-rounder Axar Patel up the batting order at No.3 in the second T20I vs South Africa in New Chandigarh.

Unfortunately, India suffered a 51-run defeat in the second T20I of the five-match series, which is currently levelled at 1-1. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Doeschate revealed that the team management has been keen to extend the batting line-up by sending in batters who can come out all guns blazing right from the first ball of the game.

"We are trying things combination-wise. We have eight or nine games before the T20 World Cup, and we have found ourselves three down at 35 over the last couple of months more times than we would have liked. So we are just exploring to extend our batting, the link between openers and the guys who we want to come out and smash around when things get easier,” the Indian assistant coach said in the post-match press conference.

On the other hand, Indian skipper Suryakumar Yadav, who was present at the post-match presentation ceremony, also revealed the reason behind the decision to send Axar up the order. Interestingly, Axar could score only 21 runs in 21 balls as the decision backfired, as India suffered a big defeat in the second game of the five-match series.

“We just thought in the last game that we had seen Axar bat really well in the longer format. So we wanted him to bat the same way today as well. But unfortunately, it didn’t work. He did bat well. But we will see what's up for us going on in the next game,” Captain Suryakumar Yadav said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

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