India v New Zealand 1st ODI: India Player Ratings

New Zealand had a dismal show in the Test series against India. Coming into the ODI series, they were bolstered by the comeback of Tim Southee and Corey Anderson. The teams arrived at the iconic stadium at Dharamsala for the first showdown. New Zealand came into the game seeking their first win on the tour. MS Dhoni resumed captaincy duties for India and looked to start on a high note too. The absence of Suresh Raina saw Kedar Jadhav get into the playing eleven for India. Hardik Pandya also found a place in the team and made his debut. Pandya impressed on debut as he bagged 3 wickets. Indian bowlers looked like bundling New Zealand for a low score. New Zealand were reeling on 67/7 when Tim Southee and Tom Latham rebuilt the innings. Gutsy half centuries from both players saw New Zealand post 190/10 in 43.5 overs. India made a decent start to their run chase with Ajinkya Rahane scoring 33. It was all Virat Kohli show from thereon as the middle-order batsman single-handedly took the game away from the visitors. India won the match with ease with 6 wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Here are the India player ratings from the match: Rohit Sharma – 3.5/10: Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: BCCI) Indian opener Rohit Sharma was expected to be firing in from all cylinders. With the kind of form he showed in Test cricket, Indian fans wanted him to chase the modest total quickly. Sharma took his time to settle in and eventually gave his wicket away when he should have accelerated. He started off with a bit of promise. He pulled with ease to hit a six over deep square leg. He then slowed down as his partner Rahane stepped on the accelerator. After setting himself up, he gave his wicket away on 14 off 26 balls. Earlier in the match, he had taken a good reflex catch in the slips to send Martin Guptill packing. Also read- IND v NZ 1st ODI Review: Clinical India take 1-0 lead in the series Ajinkya Rahane – 5/10: Ajinkya Rahane. (Photo Source: BCCI) Ajinkya Rahane was handed over the role of an opener in absence of regular opener Shikhar Dhawan. Interestingly, it was Rahane how took the charge to bowlers ahead of Rohit Sharma. He started off briskly hitting the Kiwi new ball bowlers with ease. He looked set for a big score. He lost his wicket to Jimmy Neesham as he edged one to the wicketkeeper. Rahane scored 33 off 34 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes. He could have and should have converted his good start to a big score. He scored 33, which is close to his usual ODI average. He gets 5 on the ratings. Virat Kohli – 9/10: Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. (Photo Source: BCCI) Virat Kohli proved yet again why he loves chasing and why he is the best man chasing any total. The total was modest but it needed some batting to get it. Virat Kohli took his time to settle in and then played sensible cricket to take India over the line. He did not play any risky shot. His only aerial shot was the winning six that saw India win by 6 wickets. He scored a match winning 85 off 81 balls with 9 fours and a six. Kohli’s effort was just too good to give New Zealand no chance of even sniffing a chance in the match. Kohli’s approach towards the run chase has been exceptional and his form is a good sign for India in the long season. Manish Pandey – 4/10: Manish Pandey. (Photo Source: BCCI) Youngster Manish Pandey scored 17 off 22 balls. Coming in to bat at number 4, a huge responsibility was bestowed on the middle-order batsman. The youngster from Karnataka failed to live up to the mark, though. Given the tough competition in getting to the playing eleven, Pandey should have made the most of the opportunity he got. Pandey was batting well with Virat Kohli. With Kohli at the other end, Pandey had the ideal setting to impress the fans yet again. A rush of blood saw him play an irrational shot that sent him back to the pavilion. Also read- Twitter Reactions: India start ODI series with a brilliant victory Kedar Jadhav – 8/10: Kedar Jadhav. (Photo Source: BCCI) Kedar Jadhav got his opportunity to play in absence of Suresh Raina. He was the wildcard with the ball. He picked up 2 wickets in 2 balls to stun the Kiwi players. He caught and bowled Jimmy Neesham before getting an outside edge of Mitchell Santner. Jadhav proved to be a good pick in the side today. He got his opportunity to bat as well. He played the second fiddle to Virat Kohli after the departure of MS Dhoni. Jadhav remained unbeaten on 10 off 12 balls with 2 fours to his name. Kedar Jadhav’s free-spirited game today earns him a high rating of 8. MS Dhoni – 7/10: Mahendra Singh Dhoni. (Photo Source: BCCI) Skipper MS Dhoni made a good comeback to the field. His master stroke with captaincy was the highlight of the match. He gave the new ball to debutant Hardik Pandya ahead of Jasprit Bumrah. The moved worked as Pandya bagged 3 wickets. He threw the ball to Kedar Jadhav ahead of specialist spinners like Amit Mishra and Axar Patel. Jadhav ended up scalping 2 in 2 balls. With the bat, he made a thunderous entry with a six. He looked good to take India over the line with Virat Kohli. However, a miscommunication with the Test skipper saw the skipper walk back after scoring only 21 off 24 balls. Hardik Pandya – 8.5/10: Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: BCCI) Debutant Hardik Pandya made a dream start to his ODI career. Pandya was given the new ball and he did not disappoint one bit. Pandya got the priced wicket of Martin Guptill in his very first over. He eventually returned with figures of 3/31 to put India in command with his bowling. Hardik played a good role of sharing the new ball with Umesh Yadav. Pandya did not get a chance to bat. But his fiery spell up front that set the stage for India is enough to earn him some high points in the ratings. Also read- Hardik is important for us going into the future: MS Dhoni Axar Patel – 3.5/10: Vineet Kulkarni is under fire from all corners. (Photo Source: BCCI) Axar Patel had a very little role to play in the match today. He got his share to bowl a little late in the innings. With Latham and Southee batting in full flow, Patel looked rusty and ineffective posing little or no trouble to the Kiwi batsmen. In the 9 overs that he bowled, he leaked 41 runs. He had nothing to show in the wicket column. Patel needs to brush up his skills in order to keep his place in the side. Amit Mishra – 6/10: Amit Mishra. (Photo Source: BCCI) Amit Mishra scalped 3/49 in his 8.3 overs. Though he had something to show in the wickets column, he did not have the best of the outings. Tim Southee and Tom Latham took special liking to him as he was taken away for plenty in the middle overs. In his defense, he broke crucial partnerships to keep India in control of the match. During the match, he also became the fastest Indian spinner to scalp 50 wickets in ODIs and the 4th fastest Indian bowler to reach the 50 wickets mark. Had he contained the opposition a little more, he would have helped India have a strangle hold on the match. Umesh Yadav – 7/10: Umesh Yadav. (Photo Source: BCCI) Umesh Yadav bowled fiery spells upfront. He was unplayable in the first 15 overs of the match. His ball moved well and he bent his back to bowl with pace. He got rid of Kane Williamson, the main man from the opposition. Yadav dismissed Ross Taylor for a golden duck on a delivery that did just enough to kiss the outside edge of Taylor’s bat. Yadav bagged 2/31 in his 8 overs. Towards the end, his length went wayward. Yadav also took a stunner at mid off to see the back of Corey Anderson. However, he loses his ratings for dropping a sitter of Tim Southee. Southee was on 2 when he was dropped. Southee went on to score a quickfire fifty thereafter. Also read- India v New Zealand, 1st ODI – 5 Talking Points Jasprit Bumrah – 4/10: India’s bowler Jasprit Bumrah (C) is congratulated by his teammates for taking four wickets. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t needed much in the game today. He wasn’t given the new ball. Hardik Pandya bowled ahead of him with the new ball. In the 8 overs that the speedster bowled, he returned with figures of 0/29. He bowled a maiden in the innings. He didn’t look scratchy though. However, it would have been better had he bagged something to show in the wickets column. Towards the end, skipper MS Dhoni handed the ball to him so that he could get rid of the tail. Bumrah bowled with rigor. Instead of bowling yorkers, something that he is good at, Bumrah bowled short stuff which seemed a bit inappropriate.

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India v New Zealand 1st ODI: India Player Ratings

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