India vs England 2017, 3rd T20I: Rating the Indian cricketers
A packed M Chinnaswamy Stadium welcomed India and England for the T20I series decider. Upon winning yet another toss, England skipper Eoin Morgan decided to insert India on a surface expected to facilitate run-scoring.
Riding on strong performances from their senior batsmen, the hosts surged to 202. Despite getting themselves into a promising position in the half-way mark, England collapsed spectacularly to the turning ball. India cruised to a comprehensive 75-run victory to clinch the series by a 2-1 margin. In doing so, they completed series victories in all three formats against the same opponents.
Here are the player ratings from the third and final T20I in Bangalore.
Yuzvendra Chahal – 9.5
This may well be an unforgettable game for the 26-year old leg-spinner. Upon striking during the third delivery of his spell, his brain fade allowed Jason Roy to escape a certain run-out soon afterwards. What followed was scarcely believable as Chahal scythed through England’s batting lineup to register the third best figures in T20Is – 4-0-25-6.
MS Dhoni – 9
One of the most mind-boggling statistics in T20 cricket was put to bed in this game. In his 76th match, Dhoni finally registered his maiden T20I fifty. Promoted up the order, the 35-year old targeted the shorter boundaries relentlessly to propel India to a formidable total. The preciseness with which he paced his innings evoked disbelief as to why he did not bat up the order in the past.
Amit Mishra – 9
There’s always a slight concern that Mishra would come unstuck in venues with short boundaries. However, the leg-spinner offered exceptional control at a time India needed him to step up. Using his experience to great effect, he kept the pressure on England as evidenced by his economy rate of 5.75. The delivery to dismiss Roy showed his expertise and value in the white-ball formats.
Suresh Raina – 8.5
Playing the sheet anchor role to perfection, Raina helped the hosts turn the tide after a sedate start. Comfortable against both pace and spin, the left-hander found the boundary on a regular basis. His valuable 45-ball 63 provided the platform for the middle-order batsmen to attack from the outset. However, he had a nightmarish time with the ball and conceded as many as 22 runs from his solitary over.
Jasprit Bumrah – 8.5
The game-changer in Nagpur, Bumrah was not required to do the heavy lifting this time around as the spinners had imposed themselves on the proceedings. He did pick up the crucial wicket of Jos Buttler before cleaning up the tail.
Yuvraj Singh – 8
It was one of those innings from Yuvraj. Reminiscent of Durban 2007 when Ravi Shastri had screamed – “came in like thunder, goes like lightning” – the southpaw smashed 3 towering sixes and one boundary in a 10-ball 27. Though it was not quite six sixes this time, he did enough to increase India’s run-rate before an extremely slow delivery (clocked at 98 KPH) from Tymal Mills confounded him.
Ashish Nehra – 7
The veteran set the tone by giving away only a single during the first over of the chase. His shoddy fielding notwithstanding, Nehra has had a good time in his comeback series.
KL Rahul – 6
Having regained his form in Nagpur, the opener took some time before going after the bowlers. Consecutive boundaries off Liam Plunkett helped him break the shackles. Upon dispatching a Moeen Ali delivery right over the roof, he promised another huge knock. But, an almighty slog against Ben Stokes ended his stay. Replays would eventually show that the bowler had overstepped.
Hardik Pandya – 6
A flat six and some frenetic running from Pandya helped India cross the 200-run mark. From a couple of overs with the ball, he did not do a bad job by conceding just 17 runs.
Rishabh Pant – 6
Receiving his maiden cap from former wicket-keeper and selector Saba Karim, Pant became the youngest player to debut for India in T20Is. Coming into bat at number six, he managed to etch some runs to his name.
Virat Kohli – 4.5
In the first two T20Is, the Indian captain could not quite meet those lofty standards that he has set for himself in this format. This time around, he threw his wicket away much earlier by looking for a suicidal single without getting himself in. However, his outfield catching was once again of the highest quality.