Australia vs India, 3rd T20I: India Player Ratings

India have managed to level the T20I series with a thrilling victory at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Chasing the target of 165, the tourists got off to brilliant start courtesy of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma who went berserk in the powerplay. But the slow pitch and some clever bowling from Australia brought them back in the game and things went down the wire in the end. However, the Men in Blue had enough firepower to gun down the total and registered their first win on the tour.

Earlier, Australia also got off to a superb start but India never let them off the hook. D’Arcy Short finally lived up to the expectations but the middle-order including him threw away the start to the slower bowlers. But runs from Alex Carey and Nathan Coulter-Nile made sure that the home side posted a competitive total on the board.

Here are the India player ratings of the game:

1. Shikhar Dhawan – 8.5/10

Shikhar Dhawan has been the man for India with the bat in this series. He batted exceptionally well in the series opener but his knock went in vain. He continued in the same vein in this game and helped India get off to a sensational start. He attacked Coulter-Nile and Marcus Stoinis while racing to 41 off just 22 deliveries with six fours an a couple of delighting maximums. However, Mitchell Starc‘s searing yorker cut-short his innings but he had done enough by then.

2. Rohit Sharma – 5/10

Rohit Sharma looked out of sorts in this series. After failing at The Gabba, one of the best limited-overs batsmen, Rohit played a couple of good shots today. But the leg-spinner turned out to be nemesis. He could only muster 23 runs today off 16 balls. Rohit was decent during his stay in the middle but more was expected of him.

3. Virat Kohli – 9/10

Virat Kohli never misses out in crunch games. He came out to bat at number three today ahead of KL Rahul and proved that he belongs to the position. After stuttering a bit at the start, the captain started blossoming. Despite dot balls began piling up from the other end, he didn’t let the pressure get to him and fittingly played the winning shot. His first T20I half-century in 2018 came in a winning cause and this might just be the start for him in Australia.

Kohli remained unbeaten on 61 off 41 balls and most importantly kept his cool when the things went a little too close to India’s comfort in the end.

4. KL Rahul – 4/10

KL Rahul was too ordinary. After India got a great start, he should’ve at least rotated the strike. Instead, India’s new number four for the game, ate up too many balls and that too against the part-time off-spinner Glenn Maxwell. He accumulated 14 runs off a massive 20 balls thereby putting the pressure on his partner Kohli who also tried a false shot in between.

5. Rishabh Pant – 2/10

This rating for Pant is only for his wicketkeeping which still needs a lot of improvement. With the bat, he was just inexplicable. The shot he played off the slower bouncer from Andrew Tye was literally hard to understand and became the first Indian wicket-keeper to bag a golden duck in the T20 Internationals. He will have to perform well in the Test series now.

6. Dinesh Karthik – 8.5/10

Dinesh Karthik is the crisis man for India. After Nidahas Trophy, he almost did in Brisbane and this time in Sydney he played a perfect foil to the captain Kohli. Though it took time for him to get going, Karthik was always in control of his shots. In the end, he ended up taking the pressure off his partner and remained unbeaten on 22 off 18 balls with a six and a four which were hit at a perfect time for the team.

7. Krunal Pandya – 9/10

Krunal Pandya has redeemed himself superbly. After conceding 55 runs in the first game, the left-arm spinner was exceptional in the other two matches. In this match, Krunal scalped four important wickets and derailed the opposition who had got off to a brilliant start. Though he gave away 36 runs, in his four overs, he bowled a good spell which kept India ahead of the game always. He was also awarded the Man of the Match.

8. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 6/10

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is slowly coming to his best after returning from injury. Today, he conceded 33 runs in this four-over spell and couldn’t pick up any wicket. Having said that, Bhuvi’s tight first spell ensured that Australian openers never got away with a quickfire start. He will have a more important role to play in the Test series.

9. Kuldeep Yadav – 8/10

Kuldeep Yadav never let the batsmen off the hook during his four overs. He was the one to draw first blood. Aaron Finch was looking dangerous and the chinaman was brought into the attack to dismiss him and Kuldeep didn’t disappoint. The figures of 1/19 were brilliant in the game where 330 runs were scored.

10. Jasprit Bumrah – 5/10

Very rarely he goes wicketless. Jasprit Bumrah had an ordinary day by his standards. One would say, the luck wasn’t on his side. But Bumrah could’ve used his yorkers today instead of more slower balls. He was taken apart for 38 runs in his four overs and even he would be disappointed with his show.

11. Khaleel Ahmed – 6/10

Khaleel Ahmed, the youngster, is improving with every passing game. He bowled a lot of back of length deliveries today which was hard to explain. The left-arm pacer got wickets in Melbourne when he pitched the ball up and it was hard to understand why he didn’t try it this time. Having said that, bowling at some dangerous T20 batsmen, conceding 35 runs is still a decent effort but even he would have loved a wicket or two.