Ireland vs India, 2nd T20I - Indian Players Ratings

India’s tour to the UK started off on a grand note. They clean swept the Ireland team 2-0 in the T20I series. This win will definitely give the team some great confidence going to England. Also, this is the first time ever that India got to two consecutive 200+ scores in T20Is.

Ireland yet again won the toss and opted to bat first. The Indians made as many as four changes in their line-up for this game. All the players but Washington Sundar who didn’t play the first game got a chance in the second. In their 20 overs, the Indians posted 213 runs on the board for the loss of 4 wickets. The bowlers were equally clinical with the ball as India won the game by 143 runs. Further, this is also the first time that they won a T20I by more than 100 runs.

Here are the Indian player ratings for the game:

KL Rahul – 9/10

KL Rahul is regarded as one of India’s best T20 players. However, it was quite surprising that he wasn’t a part of the XI in the first game. Having got a chance in the second game, Rahul made the most of the opportunity. He started off on a cautious note but quickly shifted gears. KL played a brilliant knock of 70 which came off just 36 balls. He hit 6 humungous sixes and 3 fours in his innings.

Virat Kohli – 2/10

After having bagged a duck in the first game, the Indian skipper decided to open the innings in the second game. However, the decision didn’t really pay off. Although he was hitting the ball well, Virat failed to put up a big score batting up the order. He got out trying to play some aggressive cricket and only managed to score 9 runs off 8 deliveries to end a poor tour to Ireland.

Suresh Raina – 8.5/10

Suresh Raina didn’t have much time to do anything in the first T20I. But, coming to the second game, he got into the middle quite early. He paced his innings beautifully and played some glorious strokes. The inside-out six that he hit off Stuart Thompson was the shot of the match and he scored 69 runs off 45 balls.

Rohit Sharma – 0/10

Rohit Sharma was India’s hero in the first game. He scored 97 runs in that game. However, he was not sent in to open the innings in this game. Batting out of position, Sharma couldn’t really make an impact in the game. He was dismissed for a duck by Kevin O’Brien. He didn’t have much to do on the field.

Manish Pandey – 3/10

In a game that was as high scoring as this one, Manish Pandey failed to score quick runs. He completely went against the momentum of the innings disappointing many. Although he tried hard to smash a few boundaries, he couldn’t really send the ball to the other side of the ropes. Pandey remained not out on 21 off 20 deliveries at the end of the innings.

Hardik Pandya – 9/10

Hardik Pandya was highly impressive in this game. He got his chance to bat towards the end of the innings. He lit it up with some fireworks and gave the team the final flourish. He faced 9 deliveries towards the end and managed to score 32 runs at an unbelievable strike-rate of 355. With the ball, Hardik picked one wicket in the two overs that he bowled.

Dinesh Karthik – Not Assigned

Dinesh Karthik was roped into the XI in place of MS Dhoni as the latter was rested. However, he didn’t get a chance to bat and was good enough behind the stumps.

Kuldeep Yadav – 8/10

Kuldeep Yadav carried on his form from the first T20I. After picking up 4 wickets in the first game, he continued the good work by picking 3 wickets tonight. He cleared up the Ireland tail without much ado. At the same time, he was a tad bit expensive conceding 16 runs in the 2.3 overs that he bowled.

Umesh Yadav – 7/10

Indian team has played over 60 T20Is since Umesh Yadav last played a T20I. On the back of some impressive IPL performances, he was picked in the Indian team. Umesh opened the bowling for India and provided the breakthrough right in the first over. He picked 2 wickets in the two overs that he bowled and conceded 19 runs.

Siddarth Kaul – 7/10

It didn’t appear as if Siddarth Kaul was making his debut for India in this game. Kaul opened the bowling for the team and bowled exceptionally well. He bowled two overs in the innings giving away just 4 runs and also picked a wicket.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 9/10

Yuzvendra Chahal was the pick of the Indian bowlers. His spell ensured that India won the game by a huge margin. Chahal picked 3 wickets in his spell of 4 overs and conceded 21 runs. It is yet again the wrist spinners who put breaks on the Irish batsmen.

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