ICC World Cup 2019: Match 28, IND vs AFG – India Player Ratings

Rohit Sharma had an ordinary day when everybody expected to go all guns blazing. He could muster only 1 run with the bat and was castled by Mujeeb Ur Rahman with a superb delivery. He didn’t have much to do on the field and should get back to scoring the runs in the next game. Hopefully, for the Indian fans, this is just a blip.

KL Rahul – 3.5/10

KL Rahul was decent with the bat. But he should be critical of himself for playing the reverse sweep off Mohammad Nabi when it wasn’t needed. Rahul scored 30 runs off 53 deliveries with two fours. He had a fine day on the field but needs to score runs on a consistent basis with Shikhar Dhawan ruled out of the tournament now.

Virat Kohli – 9/10

Virat Kohli was a class apart with the bat. He was clearly batting on a different pitch. He ended up as the only batsman to score at a strike-rate of over 100. Kohli scored 67 off 63 balls with five fours before getting out to Nabi. He was also active with his captaincy and was involved in the game all the time. Apart from one review which went against India just by an inch, Kohli was spot on using his five bowlers and gets an extra point for the same.

Vijay Shankar – 3/10

Vijay Shankar batted at four for the first time for India in international cricket. He looked calm and composed during his stay in the middle. But again it was the same story with a batsman getting in and throwing his wicket away. Shankar scored 29 off 41 deliveries before getting out to a part-timer Rahmat Shah. A point has been deducted for his shoddy fielding today. He conceded an extra run on the field while he should’ve gone for a catch as well when Nabi had skied one early in his innings.

MS Dhoni – 5/10

MS Dhoni was not at his best with the bat. Though the pitch was tough to score runs the veteran should’ve tried to rotate the strike. He crawled to 28 off 52 balls and played way too many dot balls. Having said that, his partnership with Kedar Jadhav made the difference in the match in the end. Behind the stumps, he conceded 4 byes early in the innings but then was clinical as ever. Mahi affected a stumping as well to send back Rashid Khan and was also in the bowlers’ ears time and again when things got close.

Kedar Jadhav – 7/10

Kedar Jadhav did a fine job with the bat in the context of the game. He was criticised at the halfway mark but eventually, it was his knock which kept India in the hunt. Jadhav remained unbeaten on 52 off 68 deliveries with three fours and a six. On the field, he was exceptional as well and kept his cool when it needed the most.

Hardik Pandya 6/10

Hardik Pandya struggled with the bat scoring only 7 off 9 deliveries. India were banking on him to provide a brilliant finish in the death overs. But the all-rounder couldn’t get the hold of a pitch and got out to Aftab Alam in the penultimate over of the innings. With the ball, Pandya was superb but Kohli and Dhoni were constantly keeping him in check to bowl well. He returned with the figures of 2/51 picking up the wickets of Gulbadin Naib and Najibullah Zadran.

Mohammed Shami – 9.5/10

Mohammed Shami, playing in his first match in this World Cup, delivered when the team needed him the most. He started off with the new ball delivering a brilliant spell of 1/6 in four overs. And then came back to bowl in the middle overs to keep a check on the run-scoring. He bowled one of the best last overs and picked a sensational hat-trick to win the game for India by 11 runs. Shami ended with 4/40 in his 9.5 overs.

Kuldeep Yadav – 4/10

Kuldeep Yadav was expected to make an impact with the ball after the way the Afghanistan bowlers had bowled. But he went wicketless much to the disappointment of his skipper. However, the chinaman bowler didn’t concede many as Afghanistan batsmen could only milk him for 39 runs in 10 overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 8.5/10

Yuzvendra Chahal stepped up to the task at the right time for India. He was not so good in the first spell but then found the rhythm in the second spell. The leggie got crucial wickets of Asghar Aghan and Rashid Khan. He was also exceptional in the field taking two crucial catches with one of them being of a well set Rahmat Shah. He ended up with miserly figures of 2/36.

Jasprit Bumrah – 9.5/10

Jasprit Bumrah was just mindblowing today with his execution of yorkers. He was literally unplayable at times and though the pacer didn’t pick many wickets, he set it up for Shami by conceding only 5 runs in the penultimate over of the innings. He finished with 2/39 in his 10 overs and will be key for India going ahead in the tournament.