Ambati Rayudu failed once again in the third ODI against Australia in Ranchi and fans on social media have lashed out against him, asking the team management to drop him. 

India made a disastrous start to a big run chase by losing both their openers -- Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan -- early and the stage was perfectly stage for Rayudu to silence his critics. But the 33-year-old failed to make a mark as he was dismissed for just 2 runs by a Pat Cummins delivery. 

Rayudu did not look comfortable in his short stay at the crease before he was beaten all ends up by a Cummins delivery which castled his off stump. The batsman crouched as the ball shattered his stumps as if to indicate the ball kept low but it did not and he was simply done by a ball he missed. The ball pitched on a good length at good pace and moved slightly off the seam to expose Rayudu's technical deficiency against pace bowling.

Ambati Rayudu
Rayudu has been in very bad form.Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Rayudu's string of low scores has once again raised the perennial debate surrounding Indian cricket -- who will play at number 4 in the World Cup. Apart from his score of 90 against New Zealand in the fifth ODI at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington, Rayudu has no half-centuries in his last ten innings. His scores are 0, 24, 13*, 47, 40*, 0, 13, 18, 2. 

His failure naturally irked fans on Twitter who lashed out at the batsman hailing from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh. 

Earlier on, Virat Kohli won the toss and asked Australia to bat first. The Aussie openers took full advantage of the opportunity by scoring big runs. Skipper Aaron Finch returned to form by scoring 93 while his partner Usman Khawaja notched up his maiden ODI hundred. 

In reply, India is three down and captain Kohli has been joined by former captain MS Dhoni in his home ground as the hosts look to regroup chasing 314 to seal the series.