Australia vs India 3rd ODI at MCG: Player Ratings
A spirited India, propelled by a century by perhaps their most proactive cricketer, and fuelled with new hopes by their resurgent captain, were still not good enough for the world champions, who, by now, it seems, have perfected the art of orchestrating run-chases and finishing games. As Australia beat India by 4 wickets at the MCG and in the process took the series 3-0, with two to play, India were left pondering what to do to beat this Australian side.
There are plenty of answers to that, and those answers have been speculated upon every time that India have travelled away from the cozy realms of home. All of the three games were decided after the first innings finished, but in this one, India, at least, managed to stroke some fire through better bowling and some brilliance by their captain.
Here is how the players fared.
India
Rohit Sharma: 4/10
These ratings do not do justice to the kind of form he has been in, but in this game, he couldn’t continue the good run that he has had so far in the series when he was caught behind in the fifth over of the innings. In the field as well, he wasn’t as agile as he has been expected to be, as he conceded a couple of couples while fielding in the deep, when he could have kept it down to just one.
Shikhar Dhawan: 7/10
Although Dhawan showed glimpses of returning to form, he could not go on to capitalize on it and convert it into a big score. He could have taken a leaf out of his opening partner’s book, who had gone on to play the anchor’s role in the last two games. On the field as well, he fumbled once on the boundary thereby letting the ball go past the ropes, whereas it should have only been one run. He made up for it later on in the match to some extent with his two catches to dismiss Matthew Wade and Glenn Maxwell.
Virat Kohli: 9/10
When Kohli got out on 91 at Perth, Pakistani legend Wasim Akram had told him that he had missed out on a hundred. Kohli took the king of swing by surprise by replying that he would get at least two more hundreds in the series. He has got one of those two today, and he did that in an emphatic manner. With a run a ball 117 and the electricity that brought to the field cheering every wicket that India got, and staring into the eyes of the batsman when he fielded the ball at cover or mid-off, he deserves a 9 on 10.
Ajinkya Rahane: 8/10
If India are asked to bat on the moon, Rahane would still make runs. The go-to man for India in all kinds of situations, and for seemingly all kinds of roles, proved his mettle once again with a 55-ball 50 and a brilliant catch in the slips to dismiss India’s No. 1 dementor, Steve Smith. He ground fielding was immaculate as well, stopping several singles while fielding inside the ring.
MS Dhoni: 8/10
If there is a script to be written staging the comeback of MS Dhoni, they might begin it from this game, and take it from here on. If there could have been a perfect finisher given the position India were in when he came out to bat, he was almost there. A 9-ball 23 with 2 fours and 2 sixes was as good as it could get, though his dismissal did make a difference of 10-15 runs. If the finishing touch was glittery, his act behind the stumps was pure gold. He whipped off the bails in a flash to remove the man with the highest ODI average against India, George Bailey, before affecting a brilliant run-out off a wide throw to send back Mitchell Marsh.
Gurkeerat Mann: 5/10
It is never easy to make a debut at the MCG against the world champions with your side trying to stay alive in the series, but the flip side of it is the opportunity that it presents to make your presence felt. While it might be argued that Mann isn’t the best fit or the finisher’s slot, but once you’re in, you need to perform. The Punjab cricketer failed on that front, and didn’t impress with his part-time spin either. He dropped Finch in the 6th over the game, a chance that might have made a difference.
Ravindra Jadeja: 7.5/10
India’s best all-rounder at the moment proved his worth finally in the series, wherein despite his failure with the bat, he gave India crucial breakthroughs at crucial moments- that of two men who have been haunting India everywhere, Smith and Bailey. That apart, he was India’s best man on the field and had made the fielding position at backward-point his very own. The left-arm bowler extracted some purchase out of the flat MCG pitch and bowled the most economical spell amongst the Indian bowlers. Although, the spinner couldn't get India a breakthrough in his final spell which probably sealed the deal for Australia.
Rishi Dhawan: 5/10
India decided to include two debutants for the game, a move that didn’t pay off in the end, as the second one of them, Rishi Dhawan, playing as a seam-bowling all-rounder neiher could get India wickets, nor was he able to control the flow of runs exceptionally.
Ishant Sharma: 6.5/10
India’s senior-most bowler hasn’t come good in the series so far. Keeping his fumbles in the field aside, of which there was another example when he misfielded at mid-wicket, his bowling has blown hot and blown cold. His figures of 10-0-53-2 speak about a decent picture, but he gave away crucial opportunities to build pressure as well as stayed in his line and length on many occasions, something that is not expected from a bowler who needs to set examples for his peers.
Umesh Yadav: 6/10
Wasim Akram, again, in the post-match show said that Yadav is not inexperienced. The Pakistani was spot on. It is hard to comprehend what he did in the 43rd over after effectively bringing India back in the game through his previous few overs, including the 41st one wherein he conceded just one run. Glenn Maxwell, India’s wrecker-in-chief in he game, smashed a four and a six of the 43rd thereby bringing down the rate that was slowly creeping up towards 7.5 to 6.2 runs per over. The rates weren’t threatening but the pressure was released, as has always been the case with Umesh.
Barinder Sran: 4/10
The youngster who had been bowling with a lot of promise so far in the series didn’t bowl with much vigour today, something that can be partly associated with the slightly slow wicket, and partly with the inexperience. His figures of 0/63 from 8 overs speak volumes about his struggles today as his length was very short, and with no express pace, it was expected that the Australian batsmen would pull him comfortably.
Australia
Shaun Marsh: 8/10
David Warner’s paternity leave as come in as a blessing in disguise for the Australians, as his replacement Shaun Marsh has gained some vital form in white-ball cricket with consecutive half-centuries. His knock of 62 today laid the foundation for his team to execute yet another perfectly planned run chase.
Aaron Finch: 5/10
Finch couldn’t be at his destructive best as he was in Brisbane and Yadav managed to find the outside edge to send him back for 21.
Steve Smith: 7/10
A rating of 7 against India is an insult to Steve Smith, but thanks to Jadeja, that the Indians got to see his back relatively early in the game. But, it was not before he had dilated time and brisked to 41 off 45.
George Bailey: 6/10
Consecutive below-par ratings of two of Australia’s best batsmen against India meant that India’s bowlers had a relatively good day. Bailey on this occasion failed to read a delivery that spun just a bit, and found a Dhoni who looked as if he could be at two places at the same time today, thereby walking back for 23.
Glenn Maxwell: 9/10
The first five men left he game hanging in the balance, and after Mitch Marsh, the man next on the list, got run-out, the Indians were fireflies on the field. Maxwell’s greatness, if I dare say, doesn’t lie in beautiful stroke-play or compact defence. In fact, we haven’t seen him playing Tests. But in the limited-overs format, the utter indifference that he shows to the situations in order to continue his own game backed up by his natural abilities is what separates him from the rest.
He hit three sixes, all of them from the 40th over onwards, and all of them when it mattered the most. He flat-batted Sran in the 40th over, launched Umesh two overs later, and almost sealed the game in the penultimate over with another one. Every time there was pressure built up, Maxwell pulled out a ‘Maxwell-stroke.’
Mitchell Marsh: 5/10
It wasn’t the best of returns for Mitch Marsh, as he couldn’t do much with the ball in the couple of overs that he got, and got run-out by a man who might as well have run in the Mumbai Marathon if he weren’t playing cricket today.
James Faulkner: 7.5/10
All the talk of world cricket lacking genuine all-rounders, especially the team this man played against, could be put aside if you see Faulkner’s record while batting in the second innings. Averaging 113 with a strike-rate of 120, Faulkner has been the trendsetter of the term ‘finisher’ in modern-day cricket. His skills were on display today, as he played firm support to Maxwell, and hit the winning run.
John Hastings: 8/10
John Hastings justified his retention in the team with a career-best 4/58 in the first innings, thereby reining in the Indian batsmen and consequently, the target to be chased.
Kane Richardson: 6.5/10
Richardson bowled well but without much success as his figures of 1/48 indicated.
Scott Boland: 5/10
The bowler who made his debut at the beginning of the series could not do much wth the ball, as the likes of Kohli, Rahane and Dhawan took him to the cleaners.