3 players who starred and 2 who flopped for India in the T20I series vs Australia ft. Rinku Singh and Arshdeep Singh
Team India secured a convincing triumph in their first assignment after the 2023 World Cup as they won four of their five T20I clashes against Australia under Suryakumar Yadav's leadership.
The Men in Blue will now turn their attention to the three-match T20I rubber against South Africa, which is in less than a week. Most of the players who featured against Australia will turn out against the Proteas as well, but certain names who failed to deliver won't be on the early plane to the Rainbow Nation.
On that note, here are three players who starred and two who flopped for Team India in the T20I series against Australia.
#5 Star - Ravi Bishnoi
After Kuldeep Yadav was rested for the T20I series following a grueling World Cup campaign, Ravi Bishnoi was always going to get plenty of chances to impress. He grabbed them with both hands to walk away with the Player of the Series award.
Bishnoi was taken for well over 50 runs in the opening game, but he came into his own as the series progressed. The leg-spinner found his lines and lengths, bamboozling the Aussie batters with his unorthodox angles and googlies.
Bishnoi finished with nine scalps, three more than any other bowler in the series, at an economy rate of 8.2. He is bound to be an integral part of India's T20I plans going forward.
#4 Flop - Arshdeep Singh
Arshdeep Singh ended the series on an excellent note as he sent down a terrific final over against Matthew Wade to help India secure a 4-1 scoreline with a win in the fifth T20I. Apart from that one over, though, the left-armer was way off the mark.
Arshdeep's over-reliance on the yorker contributed heavily to his downfall, and he rarely bowled to his field. The fast bowler leaked runs at an economy rate of 10.68 in the series and picked up just four wickets. If Deepak Chahar hadn't been unavailable for the last T20I, he wouldn't have played that game, having previously lost his place in the side.
Arshdeep has been off the boil for some time now and will hope that his fortunes turn around after his excellent final over.
#3 Star - Axar Patel
Axar Patel was a genuine candidate to be the Player of the Series. But Bishnoi collected that accolade, and the all-rounder had to settle for two Player of the Match awards instead.
Axar was close to his best with the ball, scalping six wickets at an economy rate of 6.2 and keeping the Aussie batters on a tight leash throughout. His numbers would've been even better had Suryakumar not thrown him the ball at the death in the third T20I.
Axar even made an important batting contribution in Bengaluru, scoring a valuable 31 to break a brief run of low scores. Unfortunately, though, the southpaw isn't part of India's T20I squad for the South Africa series.
#2 Flop - Prasidh Krishna
Prasidh Krishna was, by far, the worst bowler on display in the five-match series, even though he played only three of those games. The fast bowler sprayed the ball all over the place and refused to change his lines and lengths even while he was being taken to the cleaners.
Prasidh scalped four wickets at an economy rate of 13.25 and failed to defend 21 runs in the final over in the third T20I. His style of bowling doesn't seem to be ideal for the shortest format, and it might be some time before he returns to the national side.
#1 Star - Rinku Singh
Ruturaj Gaikwad finished as the highest run-scorer in the series, but no Indian batter had a higher strike rate than Rinku Singh. The 25-year-old amassed 105 runs at an average of 52.5 and a strike rate of 175, with a highest score of 46.
Rinku was ice-cold at the death and made important contributions in all matches he got to bat in except the last one. The left-hander is showing himself to be a real asset and should be backed to the hilt in the lead-up to the 2024 T20 World Cup.