CHRISTCHURCH: India’s flexible batting order won the second T20I against New Zealand. It also asked a 15-year-old opener to bat out of position, and he lasted eight balls.

Sooryavanshi came in for Ishan Kishan, who strained an adductor in the series opener.

Management kept the opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma together, so Sooryavanshi walked in at No. 3 after Samson fell.

Sooryavanshi made four before Nathan Smith caught him at cover.

India still recovered from 70 for 5 to chase down 181 and go 2-0 up.

The decision appears to follow the first T20I, where Abhishek and Samson put on 93 in the powerplay of a record 226-run chase.

Samson hit 67 off 33 balls, breaking up a pair that wins matches at a visible cost, and the management chose to avoid it.

“Sooryavanshi just found himself a little like a fish out of water,” said former Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin on his YouTube channel.

Ashwin argued that Samson, the most experienced of the three openers, should drop to No. 3.

As Samson did when Sooryavanshi and Abhishek opened at the Asian Games.

Ashwin also said Abhishek should have helped settle the teenager, but he accepted that Sooryavanshi will eventually need to learn to rotate strike and find gaps.

“Splitting the openers made little sense because both the openers have done very well,” former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan said.

Sooryavanshi should grab the chance and make an impact, he added.

Former opener Sadagoppan Ramesh also supported keeping the pair, saying, “He would have panicked.

Because Sooryavanshi’s strength lies in attacking from ball one while only two fielders stand outside the ring.

Samson and Abhishek hold fixed roles, while Kishan, India’s leading T20I run-scorer in 2026, has moved around the order.

Eight balls cannot settle the argument, and India won. But the case against the approach does not rest on the scorecard.

Ashwin and Ramesh both describe a player whose strength lies at the top, and Sooryavanshi was player of the series on India’s T20I tour of Zimbabwe.

As per the reports, Kishan will miss the third T20I, so management will choose No. 3, move Samson down, or open with the teenager.

The answer will show whether India sees flexibility as a tool for its youngest batter or a test he must pass.