England vs India 2018: Ranking India's top 5 players from the T20I series
India pulled off an epic T20I series win against the in-form England side, winning the 3rd match by 7 wickets (8 July 2018). Though the Indian team were bogged down by England's resurgence in the 2nd T20I, they valiantly fought in the series-decider with Pandya sealing it off in style with a huge six.
Batting first on a belter of a pitch, England had a thunderous start reaching the 100-run mark within 9 overs. However, a clinical bowling effort from Pandya (4-0-38-4) restricted England to 198. The daunting task of chasing 199 was pulverized by Rohit Sharma with a record 3rd T20I ton.
With vital contributions from Kohli and Pandya, the Indian team won the series 2-1 with 8 balls to spare. Virat Kohli and his men would not have expected a better start than this to the gruelling tour of England, winning their 6th consecutive T20I series.
At the post-match presentation, Virat Kohli said- "I think the comeback from the bowlers was outstanding, we thought they would get 225-230. The character they showed is something we are really proud of. As captain, very happy to see that."
"We will continue to try different things in the batting order and the bowlers. The guys are taking this as an opportunity. Great to start with a series win."
With the shortest format being done and dusted, its time for us to rank and rate the top 5 Indian players in the tournament after a well-fought series win.
#5 Kuldeep Yadav (8/10)
Kuldeep Yadav was the talk of the town after his breath-taking spell in the 1st T20I against England. After decimating the Australians, England were in blistering form coming into the T20I series. But in the 1st match, the English team struggled against the variations thrown by the slow left-arm unorthodox, losing 3 wickets in an over.
With a record of 4-0-24-5 in the match, Kuldeep became the first 1st chinaman bowler to pick up a 5-wicket haul in T20Is. Though he had an off day in the 2nd T20I, his variations will be an x-factor in the upcoming ODI series.