Zimbabwe vs India 3rd T20I: Rating the Indian players
Kedhar Jadhav was the unlikely hero for India today as MS Dhoni’s came from behind to win the three-match T20I series against hosts Zimbabwe 2-1 with a close 3-run victory. Zimbabwe almost clinched a remarkable victory in the final over but fortunately for the visitors, Sran kept his composure to give India a narrow victory in the cricket match.
Let’s take a look at how the Indian players fared today:
Lokesh Rahul – 7/10
Facing Tendai Chatara first up, the Indian opener played out a maiden to begin with before unleashing big time in the next over smashing the bowler for two boundaries and a hit over the fence. The fireworks stopped soon after though as he tried to manufacture a shot out of nowhere ending up gifting his wicket to the opposition for 22.
Mandeep Singh – 5/10
Mandeep was the first Indian batsman to be dismissed caught brilliantly by Maruma in the extra cover region. Never got a chance to really get going as he played second fiddle to Rahul who was the aggressor batting at the other end.
Ambati Rayudu – 7/10
After the loss of three wickets in the powerplay, Rayudu set about playing the sheet anchor role for the Men in Blue. He did it well enough getting himself to the 20-run mark but undid all the hard work by throwing his wicket away at a time when he should have pushed up the scoring rate.
Manish Pandey – 3/10
Nervousness got the better of Pandey today as his eagerness to get off the mark resulted in him getting dismissed run out after attempting a non-existing single. The run was never on and Pandey should have taken his time to settle down, considering that two wickets had already gone down.
Kedhar Jadhav – 9/10
Given the opportunity to bat ahead of skipper MS Dhoni in the line-up, Jadhav grabbed the chance with both hands as he played a masterful knock of 58 off just 42 balls, that helped India post a decent total of 138 which ultimately proved too much for the hosts. He smashed 7 fours and a six during his innings and emerged as an unlikely hero for the visitors.
MS Dhoni – 4/10
The Indian skipper played yet another below-par knock which will no doubt add weight to his detractors assessment that his finishing skills are on the wane. He scored only 9 off 13 balls at a time when India should have looked to play the big shots.
Axar Patel – 8/10
The Indian all-rounder had a nice day on the field with both bat and ball as he first shared a useful partnership with Kedhar Jadhav scoring 20 of 11 balls before making good use of the slow pitch to return with economical figures of 4-0-18-1.
Dhawal Kulkarni – 8/10
Kulkarni was the pick of the bowlers for India picking up two wickets while also conceding runs at less than six runs an over – always a more than acceptable performance in the T20 format.
Jasprit Bumrah – 7/10
Used by Dhoni in the death overs, Bumrah showed once again that he can always be relied upon when the pressure is firmly on him to deliver. The Mumbai Indians bowler never allowed the opportunity for the batsmen to free his arms and was able to contain the Zimbabwe batsmen from getting the big runs needed in the final overs.
Barinder Sran – 7/10
For a few minutes, Sran must have imagined his world turning upside down when he was getting smashed in the final over. From a dream debut in the second T20I, Sran followed up the good work today as well and ultimately kept his composure in the decisive delivery to deny the hosts a remarkable victory.
Yuzvendra Chahal – 6/10
The RCB spinner couldn’t weave his mystery as much as he would have liked around the opposition batsmen and ended up conceding eight runs an over off his quota of four overs. He did, however, pick up the wicket of the dangerous Peter Moor who looked more than likely to take the game away from India.