cricket

Updated: Feb 13, 2019 10:35 IST

India couldn’t end their brilliant tour of Australia and New Zealand with a victory in the T20 series. While the Kiwi batsmen came to the party in two out of the three matches, the Indian batsmen failed to capitalize on key moments during the series.

The visitors lost the first and third T20I by 80 runs and 4 runs respectively and they won the second T20I by 7 wickets.

Here’s a report card of the Indian players from the T20I series:

Rohit Sharma – Rating: 4/10, Verdict: Average

Rohit Sharma wasn’t in the best of form during the T20I series. The Mumbai batsman recorded one fifty and scored 39 runs totally in the other two innings. His half-century helped India win the second T20I, but a better performance from him in the other matches could have helped the visitors clinch the series.

Shikhar Dhawan – Rating: 2/10, Verdict: Very poor

Shikhar Dhawan being in good form is imperative for India’s World Cup chances and therefore his poor run in the T20 series is a cause for concern. Dhawan notched scores of 29, 30 and 5 in the T20 series. He failed to lay down the platform for India when they were chasing huge totals.

Vijay Shankar – Rating: 4/10, Verdict: Average

Vijay Shankar played as a specialist batsman in the T20I series and he came good only in the final T20I. With a score of 43 runs from 28 balls, he kept India in the game while they were chasing a total of 212/4. Shankar wasn’t given a chance to bowl in this series.

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Rishabh Pant – Rating: 4/10, Verdict: Average

Rishabh Pant couldn’t make a strong statement for finding a place in the World Cup squad. The wicketkeeper-batsman managed only one good score of 40* in the second T20I. In the other matches, he failed to play a longer innings to help his team win matches. Pant scored 72 runs in three innings.

Hardik Pandya – Rating: 2/10, Verdict: Very poor

Hardik Pandya had a very poor T20 series with the bat and ball. Pandya scored just 25 runs in two innings and he picked up three wickets in three matches. The pacer bowled at an economy rate of 10.91 and an average of 43.66. Pandya performed well in the ODI series, but couldn’t continue his form in the shortest format of the game.

MS Dhoni – Rating: 2/10, Verdict: Very poor

MS Dhoni had a disappointing T20 series with the bat. He was unbeaten on 20 when India won the second T20, but he couldn’t carry our magical chases in the other two matches. The wicketkeeper-batsman scored 61 runs in three matches. He effected one stumping and took two catches in the series.

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Dinesh Karthik – Rating: 4/10, Verdict: Average

Dinesh Karthik could have been the hero of a T20 competition victory but it was not to be. When India needed 14 runs from five deliveries, Karthik played out two dot balls, including a delivery in which he denied Krunal Pandya a single. India eventually had too much to get and therefore fell well short in the end. Karthik contributed with only five runs in his other innings in the series.

Krunal Pandya – Rating: 6/10, Verdict: Good

Krunal Pandya was one of the best performers for the Indian team in this series. Krunal, who picked up four wickets in the series, bowled at a decent average of 29.75. He was on the expensive side in the third T20I, but he won the player of the match award for his figures of 3/28 in the second T20I. Krunal looked in good touch with the bat in the last match with a score of 26 runs from 13 balls.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – Rating: 4/10, Verdict: Average

Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn’t have the best of series. The speedster picked up just three wickets in three innings at an average of 37.66. Bhuvneshwar conceded at a high economy rate of 9.41. The Uttar Pradesh bowler is a key player for India in the World Cup and therefore India will hope that he strikes form before the big tournament.

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Yuzvendra Chahal – Rating: 2/10, Verdict: Very poor

Yuzvendra Chahal had a very disappointing T20 series. He picked up only one wicket in two matches and conceded 72 runs. He conceded at a high economy rate of 9.00 and a strike-rate of 48.00. Chahal, who is usually terrific in T20s, went off the boil in this series.

Khaleel Ahmed – Rating: 4/10, Verdict: Average

Khaleel Ahmed failed to impress in this T20 series. The fast bowler took four wickets at an average of 30.50. He was on the expensive side, conceding at an economy rate of 10.16. Khaleel looked good only in the second T20I when he returned with figures of 2/27.

Kuldeep Yadav – Rating: 6/10, Verdict: Good

Kuldeep Yadav was impressive in the only T20I that he played. When Colin Munro and Tim Seifert were taking the game away from India in the third T20I, Kuldeep was the one who pulled things back for his team by dismissing both of them in the 8th and 14th overs. Kuldeep bowled at a decent economy rate of 6.50.