At Henry Stadium in Wellington on November 7, 2026, India's batting order faced early turmoil while chasing New Zealand's total of 135. The top order crumbled in the opening overs, with Shubman Gill falling for a golden duck to Jacob Duffy in the second over. Virat Kohli contributed only 7 runs off 7 balls before Will Young caught him in the fourth over, and Rohit Sharma also departed as India slipped to 47 for 4, facing a significant batting crisis.

Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Gill opted to send Axar Patel at number 5 in the middle-order reconstruction, positioning him ahead of KL Rahul. Axar managed 7 runs off 17 balls before being caught by Duffy. The move drew attention as a tactical choice that reflected the team management's confidence in left-handed batting options during pressure situations.

Sunil Gavaskar examined the reasoning behind the decision on Sony Sports after the match. He explained the strategic thinking that underpinned the promotion of Axar ahead of Rahul, focusing on how the change of batting handedness could disrupt the opposition's bowling plans.

"The bowlers have slight difficulty if a left-handed batter comes because you have to change the line and length you would have for a right-hander. In trying to do that, your line can change slightly even to the right-hander, where more chances of getting runs are created," Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar acknowledged that such tactical experiments carry inherent risk but defended the logic behind the selection. He noted that the move would have been praised had Axar succeeded, and that the presence of a reliable batter like Rahul in the order provided security for the experiment.

"There was nothing wrong with that thought process. If Axar had scored runs, you would have said how good the captaincy was. Such moves work at times and don't work on other occasions, and it didn't work this time. You also knew there was a solid player like Rahul after him. That's why you experiment at times," Gavaskar said.

After the top-order collapse, Shreyas Iyer and Rahul stabilised India's innings. Iyer scored 30 runs as India reached 113 for 7 after 26 overs before rain interrupted play. India ultimately won the match by 4 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, securing a 2-0 series lead.

Axar's promotion to number 5 was not a new experiment for India's team management. He had batted at that position during the T20 World Cup 2024 final and maintained it throughout India's Champions Trophy 2025-winning campaign, demonstrating consistent faith in his ability to handle middle-order pressure situations.