India vs South Africa 2022: Rating India's batting performances
The much-awaited India vs South Africa tour ended with a whimper for the visitors. After losing the Test series 2-1, the Men in Blue were white-washed in the three-match ODI series.
The 3-0 loss by the visitors had their share of positives and flaws. In a series that saw less than 300 runs scored per side, India failed to defend and struggled to chase down the targets on all three occasions.
On that note, we take a look at how the batters performed and grade their performances.
#1 India skipper KL Rahul: 4/10
Matches: 3, Runs: 76, Avg: 25.33, SR: 71.69
It was a forgettable series for stand-in India skipper KL Rahul. Not only did he see a dip in his batting performance, but there were also questions about his tactics on the field. Rahul managed to score just one half-century in the limited series. However, it wasn't enough to inject life into India's innings in the second ODI.
Rahul's rating is primarily due to the fact that he could have planned and executed the team's strategy a lot better.
#2 Shikhar Dhawan: 7/10
Matches: 3, Runs: 169, Avg: 56.33, SR: 86.66
Coming back to the Indian side as an opener in Rohit Sharma's absence was southpaw Shikhar Dhawan. It's safe to say, he made the most of the series by scoring two fifties in three games. Dhawan's timing, experience and fluency meant he would go on to anchor the innings for the side and contribute to their total.
#3 Virat Kohli: 7/10
Matches: 3, Runs: 116, Avg: 38.66, SR: 76.31
It was a tumultuous tour for Virat Kohli. However, he showed his class and finesse by propping up two breezy half-centuries in the ODI series albeit in losing causes. Barring a second-match duck, Kohli scored 51 and 65 in the first and third ODIs.
Kohli's fluency stirred hopes of a well-deserved and much-needed ton to break his century drought. However, it appears fans will just have to wait to see the former captain back to his best.
#4 Shreyas Iyer: 3/10
Matches: 3, Runs: 54, Avg: 18.00, SR: 83.07
Perhaps one of the bigger disappointments of the tour, Shreyas Iyer looked out of sorts in all three games he played. There were hints of attacking gameplay but Iyer failed to capitalize on the decent starts he made.
One could argue that Iyer was batting in a position that was more suited to someone with Rishabh Pant's skillset. However, the chases were such that a settled Iyer would have been more dangerous than an explosive Pant.
#5 Rishabh Pant: 5/10
Matches: 3, Runs: 101, Avg: 32.66, SR: 107.44
Rishabh Pant was India's third-highest runscorer, but the inconsistency and the questionable shot selection put him at just 5/10 in the ratings. The ill-timed and uncalled shot in the 3rd ODI not only earned a glare from Kohli but would have had fans banging their heads against the wall.
#6 Suryakumar Yadav: 6/10
Matches: 1, Runs: 32, Avg: 39, SR: 121.88
He may have played just one game, but Suryakumar Yadav's crisp 32-ball-39 was instrumental in the side getting closer to that total in the 3rd ODI. He and Deepak Chahar (54 off 34) went down fighting before Dwaine Pretorius came back and had him caught at mid-off.
Yadav's counter-attacking knock almost saw the side home and for that he deserved a better rating.