"Beyond my understanding" - Zaheer Khan on India's batting order in 3rd ODI vs Australia

Former fast bowler Zaheer Khan has stated that he was surprised to see Team India tinkering with their batting order in the crucial ODI series decider against Australia in Chennai on Wednesday.

Addressing the changes as necessary, he emphasized that the team management should have shown faith in their batters. Zaheer pointed out that there was no need to make many changes, especially when Rohit Sharma and Co. were off to an impressive start in the run-chase.

Here's what he said during a discussion on Cricbuzz following India's heartbreaking 21-run loss in the 3rd ODI:

"India had a good start. Mitchell Starc not getting wickets—that box was ticked in this particular match. But the batting order changed. It's still beyond my understanding. It's easy to say from the outside when you're watching, but still, I think sometimes you have to be proactive. It was like changing things unnecessarily.

"You've got to have faith in your batting lineup, and you also had a good start. Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill batted beautifully for the first 10 overs and then Virat Kohli continued with that, but the whole change in the batting order post that is something that needs to be looked at again, especially in crucial matches going forward."

Notably, Suryakumar Yadav was demoted to the No. 5 position and the likes of KL Rahul and Axar Patel were sent ahead of him in the encounter. The move backfired as the side ultimately failed to chase down Australia's 270-run target.

Speaking in the same video, Dinesh Karthik highlighted that the visitors assessed the conditions in Chennai very well. He suggested that Steve Smith made the right call by deciding to bat first, whereas Rohit Sharma was inclined towards chasing.

The keeper-batter noted that with there being no swing, the Australian bowlers were quick to change their strategy, relying more on their spinners.

Elaborating on the visiting team's performance, he said:

"This game was all about how the old ball was going to be played. It is very interesting how Australia played it. I thought they were very smart about it right at the outset, with Mitchell Starc bowling a lot of scrambled seam.

"It didn't swing as much, so they realized that their best chance was to get the ball to reverse. So the way they used the new ball, and they knew that their two spinners were their trump card.

"The most important part was identifying that batting second was going to be tougher. Generally in Chennai, batting second under the lights gets better, but they read this wicket beautifully and chose to bat first, while Rohit Sharma said he would have chosen to bowl first."

India were cruising at one stage after their top-order batters got off to decent starts. However, things went downhill once Virat Kohli was dismissed after a well-made 54. Following the important breakthrough, the Australian bowlers didn't give the hosts any openings to come back into the match.

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"The star of the show was how well Steve Smith led that Australian team" - Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik further stated that spinners Adam Zampa and Ashton Agar teaming up to pick up six wickets in the clash made a big difference, as the in-form Mitchell Starc failed to make a significant impact.

The 37-year-old also reserved high praise for Australia's stand-in captain Steve Smith, lauding him for his proactive changes at crucial junctures.

On this, Karthik said:

"The way the spinners bowled, six wickets between them was pretty much the key. Their most important bowler, Mitchell Starc, didn't pick up a wicket and went for runs. Despite that, they defended that score pretty comfortably. So credit where credit is due. The star of the show was how well Steve Smith led that Australian team. He was brilliant."

Zampa was the pick of the bowlers, scalping four wickets. Agar also chipped in with a tidy spell, bagging two scalps. Australia secured a stunning 2-1 ODI series victory over the Rohit Sharma-led side that will give them a big boost on the road to the ICC 50-over World Cup.