India Player Ratings from T20I series vs Australia as Suryakumar Yadav and Co. secure convincing triumph without big guns
Despite being without many first-choice players, Team India managed to secure the five-match series against Australia. The Men in Blue beat the Aussies by six runs in the fifth T20I in Bengaluru to establish a convincing 4-1 scoreline.
The only game India lost was the third T20I, which the visitors stole from the brink thanks to yet another Glenn Maxwell masterclass. Apart from that, while there were a couple of hard-fought encounters, Suryakumar Yadav and Co. were clearly the better team.
On that note, here are India's player ratings from the T20I series against Australia.
IND vs AUS 2023: Gaikwad finishes as highest run-scorer, Bishnoi adjudged Player of the Series
Ruturaj Gaikwad: 7.5/10
Gaikwad finished as the highest run-scorer in the series, with 223 runs at an average of 55.75 and a strike rate of 159.28. While those are impressive numbers, the 26-year-old wasn't at his best apart from his century in the third T20I. He has a lot of work to do on his attacking game, especially in the first few balls he faces.
Yashasvi Jaiswal: 7.5/10
Jaiswal had a contrasting problem, where he couldn't balance aggression and caution well enough. He ended up with an average under 30, but he always tried to score his runs at a good clip and make the most of the powerplay. The southpaw is only going to get better with time.
Shreyas Iyer: 7/10
Shreyas played the last two games of the series. While he failed to deliver in the fourth T20I, he played an excellent knock in testing conditions in the final game. The batter is a mainstay across formats, but whether he should be in the first-choice T20I XI is something that is still debatable.
Suryakumar Yadav: 7/10
Suryakumar crossed the 50-run mark only once in five innings, which didn't meet his usual standards in the shortest format. However, he looked to be in good nick and also led the team well.
Jitesh Sharma: 8/10
Granted a chance to impress in the last two T20Is, Jitesh did just that with a couple of valuable cameos. He is a truly fearless batter which is exactly what India are looking for in the middle order and should be in the thick of things against South Africa.
Rinku Singh: 9/10
Rinku finished the series with an average above 50 and a strike rate of 175. The last T20I was the only one in which he failed, with the southpaw exhibiting remarkable consistency and international pedigree throughout the assignment. He is already a frontrunner to man the lower-middle order in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Axar Patel: 9.5/10
Axar finished the series with two Player of the Match awards to his name and also came up with an important batting contribution in the fifth T20I to tick off another box. It was the best he has bowled in some time, with six scalps at an economy rate of 6.2.
Ravi Bishnoi: 9/10
Bishnoi was rightfully adjudged the Player of the Series. The leg-spinner recovered from an expensive outing in the series opener to come up with sensational displays in the remaining games, finishing with nine wickets at an economy rate of 8.2. He has clearly put himself in the reckoning to be India's premier wrist-spinner in the shortest format.
Arshdeep Singh: 2/10
Barring his excellent final over in the last T20I, Arshdeep had a disappointing series. Both his accuracy and his match awareness let him down on several occasions as he finished with just four wickets at an economy rate of 10.68. The left-armer should be doing better.
Avesh Khan: 6/10
Avesh Khan played three T20Is against Australia, and while he picked up only two wickets at an economy rate above nine, he turned in encouraging displays. The 26-year-old bowled better than his numbers suggest, showing improved control and execution in all phases. However, he isn't on the plane to South Africa.
Mukesh Kumar: 6.5/10
Mukesh played four games, with four wickets at an economy rate of 9.12 to show for. He hit his yorkers for the most part and came up with a couple of promising displays, but he can't quite be considered a reliable T20 option yet.
Prasidh Krishna: 1/10
Prasidh was easily the worst bowler on display in the series. He played three matches, leaking runs at an economy rate of 13.25. It's understandable that the selectors didn't pick the fast bowler in the T20I squad for the South Africa rubber.
Ishan Kishan: 8/10
Kishan notched up two half-centuries in the three games he played and struck the ball well. However, his role in the middle order is still unclear, and he has plenty of holes in his game that he needs to work on.
Tilak Varma: 6/10
Tilak wasn't at his authoritative best against Australia as an unfamiliar No. 5 role appeared to mess with his game. The left-hander averaged exactly 50 and struck at 138.88, though, and should be an integral part of India's plans going forward.
Deepak Chahar: 3/10
Chahar played just the one game and proved expensive. His bowling form and fitness have been seriously questioned for a while now.