India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I - India Player Ratings

India had a gala time in the field at the Holkar Stadium, Indore on Friday as they sent the Lankan bowling attack into a tailspin. In spite of a spirited fightback from the visitors, a target of 261 in a 20-over game meant that Sri Lanka had bitten off a lot more than they could possibly chew. India eventually won the game by 88 runs with 16 balls to spare, taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match T20I series.

Winning the toss has proved fatal to Sri Lanka than act as an advantage and it was no different in the second T20I against India. The Rohit Sharma-led side was put in to bat first and after playing with restrained aggression for the first few overs, they went berserk from after the initial powerplay overs. It was a dazzling display of Rohit Sharma‘s genius and KL Rahul’s exquisite skills as a batsman. Put together with MSD’s hard-hitting, India piled on 260 runs on the board.

The Lankans forced their way into the otherwise one-sided game by putting up a spirited fight in the first leg of the second innings. Although they were unable to stay at par with the gargantuan requires run rate, they fought hard to make a mark in the game and they can take heart from the brave batting put up by their number 2 and 3 batsmen. In the end, it was another landslide for them as they were bowled out for 172 runs in 17.2 overs.

Rohit Sharma – 10/10

Words would fall short if we were to describe Rohit Sharma’s innings on Friday. It was an epic innings, teeming with madness and brilliance. He hit 12 boundaries and 10 sixers, hitting almost every ball that came at him, irrespective of its merit. Sharma broke quite a few records along the way as he became the joint-fastest to score a T20 century as his 100 runs came off just 35 balls. He ended his innings at a score of 118 off 43 balls at a mindboggling strike rate of 274.42- the highest individual score by an Indian player.

KL Rahul – 9/10

KL Rahul would rue the missed opportunity of scoring another T20 century as he hit 89 runs off just 49 deliveries. He provided able assistance to his opening partner as they together piled on 165 runs on the opposition in just 12.4 overs before Sharma was dismissed. Rahul hit some mammoth sixers in the process, and one of them in particular off Akila Dananjaya’s bowling stole the show as it was hit with a perfect cover-drive stance, coupled with a flawless back-lift. His innings was no less constructive as that of Sharma’s in helping India reach the 260-run mark.

MS Dhoni – 7/10

MS Dhoni seems to have found his foothold at the number 3 position for India as he once again put in a significant contribution batting at 1 down for India. Although his run-tally was lower than what the Indian fans would’ve ideally liked, in his defence, he played the rotating-the-innings role to perfection. The former Indian skipper put together 28 runs for the Men in Blue off 21 deliveries at a strike rate of 133.33, hitting 2 boundaries and sixers apiece in the proceedings.

Hardik Pandya – 6/10

Hardik Pandya was set up the order to play his trademark pinch-hitting role and he didn’t exactly deliver. The wiry all-rounder hit a 4 and a 6 off the first two balls he faced and was dismissed on the third, bringing down the curtains on the expectations from him. He had an average day with the ball as well, as he got hit for 23 runs with 1 wicket to his name in 3.2 overs, at an economy of 6.9.

Shreyas Iyer – 1.5/10

Young Shreyas Iyer came in to bat at a point where the team didn’t exactly need too many runs but wouldn’t complain if they got them either. However, he was dismissed by Lankan skipper, Thisara Perera in the very first ball he faced. What’s worse is that Iyer took the review of the Indian team with him back to the pavilion as he reviews an absolute plumb LBW decision and quite naturally, it wasn’t overturned.

Manish Pandey – 2/10

When Manish Pandey came in to bat, there were just 4 deliveries left in the Indian innings and as a result, there wasn’t much he could do. He watched from the other end as Dhoni’s wicket fell and Dinesh Karthik hit a four off the second last ball of the innings. He scored 1 run off the 1 ball that he played and remained unbeaten at the end of the Indian innings.

Dinesh Karthik – 5/10

DK was one more addition to the list of batsmen who had barely any role to play in India’s batting efforts today. He hit a four off the penultimate delivery of the Indian innings. Had he hit a six or four off the last delivery of the Indian innings, he would have been able to take India to the highest ever T20 score in the history of world Cricket, but that was not to be. Karthik ended the game with an unbeaten individual score of 5 runs off 2 deliveries.

Kuldeep Yadav – 8/10

Chinaman bowler, Kuldeep Yadav shone once again as he picked up 3 wickets. He was hit for a tad too many runs as he faced the smash-hitting from Kusal Perera. Yadav conceded 52 runs in his quota of 4 overs, at an economy of 13 per over. But that can be overlooked, considering the fact that he picked up the wickets of the two explosive batsmen, Upul Tharanga and Kusal Perera, especially as the latter one had looked particularly dangerous.

Jaydev Unadkat – 7/10

Jaydev Unadkat impressed all once again, after his stellar performance in the first T20 at Cuttack. He drew the first blood from the Sri Lanka batting order, as he dismissed opener, Niroshan Dickwella. Unadkat sported bowling figures of 3-0-22-1 at the end of the second T20.

Jasprit Bumrah – 5/10

Pacer, Jasprit Bumrah was the only Indian bowler who went without a wicket in Friday’s game. He bowled considerably well, considering the placid pitch he was bowling on. Bumrah conceded 21 runs in 3 overs, at an economy of 7 per over, constricting the run flow towards the end of the Lankan innings, but sadly, wasn’t rewarded with a wicket for his efforts.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 9/10

Spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal, who had been named the ‘Player of the Match’ in the previous game, bowled spectacularly in the second T20 as well. He ripped through the lower order of the opposition’s batting attack and made sure that there were no loose ends for India. Chahal bagged 4 scalps and was albeit, a little expensive as he was hit for 52 runs in his quota of 4 overs.