India v Australia 2017, 1st ODI: India Player Ratings

India defeated Australia in the first ODI by 26 runs by Duckworth Lewis Stern (DLS) method courtesy Hardik Pandya’s all-round performance. Rain marred the game after the first innings and finally after frequent starts and stops Aussies were set a target of 164 in 21 overs. India, after being reduced to 87/5, posted a phenomenal score of 281/9 thanks to Pandya and MS Dhoni’s half centuries.

After opting to bat first, Team India was rocked early thrice by Nathan Coulter-Nile who scalped Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey. But the young all-rounder and the ever so calm Dhoni made sure the Men in Blue were in the game and helped them post a decent total on the board. In reply, Australia was in a hurry from the word go as Indian bowlers bowled their variations beautifully. The batsmen went for their shots and found the fielders and eventually were bowled out for 145. Here are the ratings for the Indian players:

Ajinkya Rahane: 2/10

Rahane was drafted into the playing eleven in place of Shikhar Dhawan who opted out of the first three ODIs. But he disappointed as Coulter Nile snapped him for just 5 off 15 balls with an away swinger under overcast conditions. Rahane threw his wicket away given that the ball was close to the guideline and could have easily left alone. He would like to make amends in the next ODI and make the most of this opportunity.

Rohit Sharma: 3/10

Rohit Sharma started off cautiously as wickets fell around him and stabilised the innings early on with Kedar Jadhav. He added 53 runs with Jadhav and just when it looked like Rohit has got set for a big one, he played a loose pull shot which went straight into the hands of the deep mid-wicket fielder. The Mumbai lad scored 28 off 44 with 3 boundaries and gave his wicket to Marcus Stoinis. He needs to play a responsible role in the upcoming matches in the absence of Dhawan.

Virat Kohli: 1.5/10

A rare off day for the skipper Virat Kohli as he went back into the hut for a four-ball duck. Australia had a plan for him as they bowled outside off-stump in testing conditions. The ball again was full and wide which could have left alone but Kohli went for an expansive drive which went in the air. But Glenn Maxwell was alert at the backward point who pulled off an excellent one-handed catch. He led the side well in the shortened second innings and made good bowling changes.

Manish Pandey: 1/10

Manish Pandey lost a huge opportunity to bail India out of the trouble and did not trouble the scorers which saw him score a 2-ball duck. He tried to steal a single of an away swinging delivery from Coulter Nile again and nicked it to the wicket-keeper. Pandey won’t get a lot of opportunities at the crucial position of No. 4 and needs to produce runs consistently.

Kedar Jadhav: 5/10

Kedar Jadhav was sent up the order today at 5 ahead of Dhoni when India was staring down the barrel at 11/3. Jadhav looked confident from the word go and battled it out with Rohit. He played sensibly against the moving ball and made sure India don’t lose another wicket soon. But he was dismissed by Stoinis on 40 which left India in trouble at 87/5. Jadhav dragged a short one from the bowler straight into the hands of mid-wicket fielder Hilton Cartwright. He would like to score big in the upcoming games.

MS Dhoni: 8/10

‘Magnificent’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni once again came to the fore for the Men in Blue after another top-order failure, the third one in last 5 matches. But in all the three the cool and calm former captain has weathered the storm early on and then launched himself like a storm. Today he was well supported by Pandya but it was Dhoni who kept mentoring him in the middle. He smashed 79 off 88 deliveries and scored his first boundary only off the 66th ball he faced. Such was the impact of his innings that India managed to put up a more than competitive total on the board.

Hardik Pandya: 9.5/10

Hardik Pandya finally stood up to his all-rounder tag and played his best 50-over match today. First, with the bat, he was absolutely brilliant and then with the ball he snaffled important wickets of Steve Smith and Travis Head. The youngster looked confident and started slowly but steadily under the mentoring of MS Dhoni. Suddenly he launched his assault on the leggie Adam Zampa and hit 3 consecutive sixes straight down the ground. He lived by the sword and died by the sword as he gave his wicket to the same bowler but not before scoring a swashbuckling 83 off 65 balls with 5 fours and as many sixes. He was deservedly adjudged the Man of the Match.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 7.5/10

Bhuvneshwar Kumar did his job to the perfection by doing everything that he was asked for. He scored a crucial 32* with the bat after Hardik provided India with the much-needed momentum. He supported MS Dhoni at the death and himself hit 5 fours. He opened the bowling for the team under pressure as the game was shortened to 21 overs and picked up a wicket of Coulter Nile. His consistency just needs to continue for the team and he will be the go-to bowler for his skipper.

Kuldeep Yadav: 6.5/10

The left arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav, as expected spun a web around the Aussie batsmen when they required runs at more than 8 runs an over. He bowled beautifully to Warner and set him up for a straighter one which he missed only to nick it to Dhoni. The only blemish in his performance was his third over was Maxwell took him to the cleaners by scoring 22 runs. But he came back to scalp Stoinis who looked all at sea against the spin. Kuldeep ended up with the figures of 2/33 from his 4 overs.

Yuzvendra Chahal: 7.5/10

Another wrist spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, did even better than his ally and kept bowling teasing lines to the opposition batsmen. They consistently fell into the trap as he scalped the prized wicket of Maxwell who was threatening to take the game away from the hosts. Then he bamboozled Matthew Wade and Pat Cummins with his variations to finish with the figures of 3/30. He was the best bowler for India and looks set to don the national colours for a long time now.

Jasprit Bumrah: 6/10

Jasprit Bumrah continued from where he left in Sri Lanka and bowled perfect line and length which suited to the pitch. He provided the first breakthrough for his team by disturbing the timber of the debutant Hilton Cartwright. He never let the Australians off the hook by unfurling his variations. Bumrah is quickly becoming India’s main bowler in the limited-overs format and is one to look out for in future as well.