India in Australia ODI Series 2016 – Australia Player Ratings

India’s tour down under had a horrid start as India succumbed to 4 consecutive defeats in the first four matches of the 5-match ODI series. All the games were closely contested where the result could have been either way, but it was the temperament of the Aussie side and the skill to stay calm at crunch situations that made Australia emerge victorious with 4-0. Needless to say, the effort would not have been possible without every member contributing. So how did the players fare up individually? Here are the Australia Team ratings for India’s tour to Australia in 2016:

David Warner – 8/10

The flamboyant left-handed batsman made the most of the 3 matches that he played in the series. He missed the 2^nd and 3^rd ODI due to personal commitments but was spot on when he returned. He failed to make a mark in the first ODI and fell to Sran cheaply. But his knocks of 93 and 122 in the last two ODIs gave Australia the perfect start that they needed. His attack at the top of the order ensured that no Indian bowler settled in with the new ball. He was key to Australia’s success in the series. With 220 runs at an average of 73.33 in 3 ODIs, he deserves a rich 8/10.

Aaron Finch – 7/10

Aaron Finch, the Australian opener who played in all five games, amassed 213 runs in 5 matches. He started off poorly in the first ODI and struggled for a major part of his 81 ball 71 in the 2^nd ODI. The knock of 21 at his home ground didn’t help much either to his cause. But the hard hitting right handed batsman came to the fore in the fourth game at Canberra where he hit a run a ball 107 embellished with 9 fours and 2 sixes. He could not end on a high in the last game and was dismissed early in the innings. His largely inconsistent batting gets him a 7 in the ratings.

Shaun Marsh – 6.5 /10

Marsh stepped in as the stand-in opener in the second match in the absence of David Warner. He looked scratchy and never settled in the 2^nd ODI either, though he had 71 to his name. He struck another fifty in the next match but didn’t look at his comfortable best. Despite consecutive half centuries, he was unlucky to have missed his slot as Warner returned for the fourth game. The last ODI saw him bat at number 5 and scored just 7. His fielding wasn’t up to the mark either as he dropped Rohit Sharma in the 5^th ODI at the deep cover. He gets a 6.5 for not being the Marsh as he is known as.

Steve Smith (c) – 9/10

The Australian Skipper, Steve Smith, led from the front to guide his team to a thumping 4-0 victory over India. Being Australia’s leading run scorer with 315 runs in the series at an average of 63, Smith was spot on with his captaincy. He continued his good form against India and blasted a gigantic 149 in the first match to overhaul a target of 310 set by India. He put up 242 for the 3^rd wicket with George Bailey and took the game away from the visitors. His 46 and 41 in the next two games was crucial too. A half century at Canberra coming off just 29 balls propelled Australia’s score close to 350. A rare failure, from his standards, came in the last ODI. As a captain, he marshaled his troops well and capitalized at key situations taking the game away from India. He gets a 9/10.

George Bailey – 7/10

Some scintillating fielding on the ground and occasional blitz of brilliance sees Bailey get a richly deserved 7 in the ratings. When the chips were down for Australia in the 1^st ODI, at 21/2, it was George Bailey who proved to be the ideal partner for skipper Smith. An elegant 112 off 120 balls with 7 fours and 2 maximums almost saw him take his side to the victory. But he was dismissed and Smith had to do the task of finishing the game. His thunderous unbeaten 58 ball 76 snatched another game from India as Australia chased down 309 with Bailey being the major tormentor this time. However, he could not continue in the remainder of the series and had the string of low scores 23, 10 and 6.

Mitchell Marsh – 7/10

Mitchell Marsh could not hold on to his nerve in the last over of the final ODI where he needed to defend 13 and India won the match. Marsh, however, in the same game hit his maiden ODI ton (102* off 84 balls). He played an uncharacteristic 42 ball 33 in the game at Canberra, a match where he had a strike rate of 78.57 compared to a 100 plus strike rate of every other Aussie batsman. He picked up 3 wickets in the series and was handy with the ball, barring the fact that he leaked runs just like every other bowler in the series that saw over 3000 runs scored in 5 matches.

Matthew Wade – 6/10

Not that he didn’t play well, but the fact that Wade didn’t get much of a chance to play with the bat, gets him a 6 on 10. With just 42 from 5 matches (3 innings), he averaged just 14 in the series. His highest score of 36 came in the last ODI. As a keeper, though his performance was decent in the initial part of the series, it dipped in the last two. He dropped two sitters in the Canberra ODI. He held on to 7 catches in the series which earns him a 6 on 10.

James Faulkner – 7/10

Faulkner had the distinction of hitting the winning runs on two occasions in the series, could not do much with the bat. The last two ODIs saw him get out for 0 and 1. He hit an unbeaten 21 in the 3^rd ODI to guide Australia home. But the notable contribution from him came in the bowling department. With 5 wickets to his name, Faulkner bowled with grit in the death overs that often saw Indian team choking at the end. He gets a 7 on 10 for his effort.

Glenn Maxwell – 8/10

Truth be told, the most fearless batsman of the modern era, was on self-destruction mode when we threw his wicket for 6 runs losing his battle to R Ashwin in the first ODI. A more sensible unbeaten 26 in the 2^nd game saw him take his side to victory. But the best was due for the MCG where he hit 96 off 83 balls with 8 boundaries and 3 towering sixes. He followed it up with a quick fire 20 ball 41 at Canberra. His blitz with an occasional tint of consistency is certainly a positive for the Australian side.

Nathan Lyon – 5/10

The only specialist spinner in the team, Lyon got his chance in the last two ODIs of the series. He got the wicket of Gurkeerat Singh Mann, a wicket that would rather be owed to the batsman who threw it, was his only wicket of the series. He gave away 76 runs off his 10 overs in the 4^th match and leaked 58 off 8 overs in the concluding match. Clearly, he was not in the best of touch for the showdown and gets a 5 in the ratings.

Scott Boland – 4/10

Scott Boland had a forgettable ODI debut at WACA in the first ODI as Rohit Sharma absolutely hammered him to all parts of the ground. Having played in 4 matches in the series, Boland averaged 259 with the ball. He gave away 259 runs in the series at an economy of 6.64. He could manage to get just one wicket in 4 matches, wicket of MS Dhoni in the second ODI. In his defense, it could be said that the youngster was often the targeted bowler as he was the most inexperienced one. He gets just 4.

Joel Paris – 5/10

He played the first two matches of the series and had a rather impressive debut on batting belters. He gave away 53 runs in 8 overs in the first ODI but was the pick of the bowlers in the second with 1/40 in 8 overs at Adelaide. Given his economy of 5 at Adelaide, where bowlers were hit all around the park, the young lad definitely showed some promise. He gets a 5 on the cards.

John Hastings – 8/10

John Hastings was the pick of the Australian bowlers in the series. He is the leading wicket-taker in the series with 10 wickets to his name in 4 matches. His average of 21.50 in the series is the best among all bowlers. An impressive economy of 5.65 and a strike rate under 23 makes him the best bowler of the bilateral series. On absolute batting pitches, his performances were a saving grace for the bowlers. It was his spell in the fourth ODI, an over when he picked Dhoni and Dhawan, that halted India’s march towards a run chase of 348.

Kane Richardson – 7/10

Kane Richardson played 3 matches in the series and picked up 6 wickets. Having come as a replacement for Josh Hazlewood, Richardson went for heavy pounding at Adelaide with 61 runs in 8 overs. He came back strong at the MCG with figures of 1/48 in 10 overs. But the best came in the 4^th ODI, when he picked up 5/68 in his 10 overs. Bowling with an average of 29.50, he was the second best bowler for Australia in the series. He was the only bowler to have taken a five-for in the series and that yields him 7 in the ratings.

Josh Hazlewood – 5/10

The Aussie spearhead played just one game in the series and bowled to his merit. While most of the bowlers went for runs, Hazlewood ended up with figures of 10-0-41-1. He picked the first wicket of the series, that of Shikhar Dhawan at WACA, Perth.