Sooryavanshi bats at No. 3 on India return

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi returned to India’s team for the second T20I against New Zealand, but captain Shreyas Iyer said at the toss that the teenager would bat at No. 3 rather than open. Sooryavanshi made four runs from eight balls before being dismissed, according to the match account. India selected Sooryavanshi in place of the injured Ishan Kishan, while retaining Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma as its opening pair. Iyer said Kishan was injured and confirmed Sooryavanshi’s position in the batting order. India won the toss and chose to bowl first. Sooryavanshi entered the innings after Samson was dismissed in the fifth over. He had an early reprieve when Bevon Jacobs missed a catching opportunity off his second ball, the match account said. Sooryavanshi was later dismissed by Nathan Smith in the seventh over. Former India batter Mohammad Kaif supported the decision to keep Samson and Abhishek together at the top of the order. Kaif said it would be unfair to judge Sooryavanshi on one or two innings, particularly after changing his role. He also argued that batting at No. 3 avoided further changes if Kishan returned to the side, and said flexibility in batting positions is part...