“We didn’t require someone to start hitting from ball one” - Shreyas Iyer explains why Axar Patel batted ahead of Dinesh Karthik in 2nd T20I

Team India batter Shreyas Iyer has explained the decision to send Axar Patel ahead of Dinesh Karthik in the second T20I against South Africa on June 12. He stated that it was a strategic move. Shreyas explained that India needed someone to hang around after they lost four wickets with more than seven overs remaining in their innings.

Axar came in to bat at No. 6 in the seconnd T20I at Cuttack on Sunday after South Africa won the toss and bowled first. The hosts were in trouble at 90/4 when Axar walked out to the middle. The left-hander struggled to make an impact though and was clean bowled by Anrich Nortje for 10 off 11 balls.

India ended up posting a below par 148/6 on the board and went on to lose the contest by four wickets, thus going 0-2 down in the five-match series. Asked about the move to promote Axar ahead of Karthik, Shreyas said at the post-match conference:

“We had seven overs left and Axar is someone who can take singles and keep rotating the strike. We didn’t require someone to come in and start hitting straightaway from ball one at that point in time. DK can also do that, but he has been a really good asset for us after 15 overs, where he can straightaway slog the ball. Even he was finding it a little bit difficult at the start.”

Following Axar’s dismissal, Karthik smashed 30* off 21 to lift India to a respectable total. It wasn’t enough though as Heinrich Klaasen’s 46-ball 81 ensured a four-wicket triumph for the Proteas.

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“It was really tough” - Shreyas Iyer on batting first in Cuttack

Shreyas was the top-scorer in India’s innings with 40. However, he needed 35 balls for the same and never looked at ease. Admitting that batting first on the surface was highly challenging, the 27-year-old stated:

“It was really tough to be honest. I played 35 balls and I really wasn’t able to identify how the wicket was going to play. I was trying to time the ball as well, I actually tried everything out there. But still, it was really difficult, especially for the new batsman to come in and get going.”

On whether Team India could have done anything differently with the willow, Shreyas commented:

“We could have spent a little more time up the order to try and gauge how the wicket was playing. At the same time, you need to keep the scoreboard ticking. 160 could have been a really good score to put them under a little bit of pressure.”

India were sent into bat after losing the toss for the second game in a row. They lost Ruturaj Gaikwad (1) in the first over and had slipped to 71/3 at the halfway stage. Shreyas and Karthik helped helped the hosts reach 148 but it wasn't enough.

They will hope to do better in the third T20 of the five-match series on Tuesday, June 14.