England vs India 2018, 1st T20I: Player Ratings
In the first international game of the English summer, Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to field. The English openers got off to a fiery start before Yadav castled Roy in the 5th over. Then, Hales and Buttler combined for a decent partnership before Hales departed for 8.
Just when it looked like England will get to 180 considering their batting depth, Kuldeep displayed the most magical piece of spin bowling seen in recent times. The England batsmen had no clue on how to counter his variations and this resulted in Kuldeep removing Bairstow, Root and Morgan in a single over. This spell completely derailed the England innings and they finished with 159/8.
Chasing 160, India lost Dhawan early but then Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul combined for a huge partnership of 123 runs. Rahul, who is in the form of his life showcased his whole talent with a wide array of strokes.
He was ably supported by Rohit who gave the strike back to him regularly. Then, Rahul got to his century and Kohli got to the milestone of 2000 runs in T20I’s. India chased the target down easily in 18.2 overs. Here are the player ratings for the match.
India
1. Shikhar Dhawan – 2/10
This was a rare off day for Dhawan as he lost his wicket while trying to drive against David Willey's bowling. His contribution on the field was also very little resulting in his low rating.
2. Rohit Sharma – 7/10
Rohit Sharma has not been in great form of late with his only memorable innings being the 97 against Ireland. Again, in this match also he struggled to time the ball but he understood the form Rahul is in and constantly rotated the strike with a few good shots in between.
3. KL Rahul – 9.5/10
Rahul has been in the ridiculous form of late and his incredible consistency continued with yet another glorious knock. He rarely played a slog throughout the innings and made batting look so easy throughout his whole knock. This was one of the most eye-pleasing innings of the year and it carried India to a superb victory
4. Virat Kohli – 7/10
Kohli’s captaincy was spot on yet again with perfectly balanced fields and he also brought on the right bowlers at the right time. While batting he ensured India did not lose any more wickets with a slightly uncharacteristic knock.
5. Suresh Raina – 4/10
He did not get a chance to bat with his only contribution being the catch he took to dismiss Moeen Ali.
6. MS Dhoni – 7/10
As usual, he was brilliant behind the stumps by stumping both Bairstow and Root but did not get a chance to do anything else,
7. Hardik Pandya – 7/10
He played his role of the fifth bowler very well by bowling economically and picking up the wicket of Ali in the end.
8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 4/10
This was very rare off day for Bhuvi with him struggling to find the right length throughout his spell.
9. Umesh Yadav – 8.5/10
He was simply outstanding in this match. He first picked up the huge wicket of Roy and then got Jordan out for a duck.
10. Yuzvendra Chahal – 6.5/10
He went for a few runs in his initial overs but bowled a tight line and length thus not giving the batsmen any room to hit sixes.
11. Kuldeep Yadav – 9.5/10
This was probably the best spell he has bowled to this day. He completely ripped apart the England batting order with guile and variations.