West Indies v India 2nd T20I – India Player Ratings

The bilateral between India and West Indies came to a very tame end after rains brought curtains down to the second T20I played in Florida. India was on top of West Indies and had made themselves favorites to win the game. After electing to bowl first, the Indian bowlers put up a wonderful bowling performance much to the surprise of the spectators and bowled out West Indies for just 143 in the first innings.

India, in reply, started off calmly making 15/0 in two overs. But suddenly the rains began to pour and filled the outfield with water. The umpired conducted two inspections and found the conditions to be unsuitable and eventually called off the game.

1. Ajinkya Rahane – 3/10 

Ajinkya Rahane had to walk out to the pavilion completely unsatisfied. Rahane might have got to play just four ball but he looked really well-prepared today for a good knock. This was sensed in the way he left a rip roaring bouncer close to the body safely to the wicket keeper. It looked like a normal routine but for Rahane it was about not repeating the mistake he did last night. The right Hander had nudged a similar delivery off the same bowler towards deep third man and was caught by Dwayne Bravo.

2. Rohit Sharma – 4/10 

Rohit Sharma started off smoothly today as well scoring 10 off 8 balls. He too was well set to play another good knock after hitting a valuable 62 in the first game. He came in a tricky situation and bailed out India with KL Rahul. Rohit looked well set for a century but unfortunately lost his wicket.

3. Virat Kohli – 3/10 (DID NOT BAT)

Virat Kohli will leave USA with a sense of dissatisfaction. He was dismissed cheaply in the first game while chasing and unfortunately did not get any opportunity to bat today as well. He carried a great responsibility. The superstar was one of the main attractions here and this unsuccessful time here might leave a bitter taste in him.

4. KL Rahul – 2/10 (DID NOT BAT)

K Rahul certainly did not have an opportunity to hit a century again considering the ordinary target. But, he will leave with great memories here. The scintillating 110 runs knock which took his team on the doorsteps of victory will always remain special to him.

Also read: Twitter Reactions: Rain plays spoilsport in the second T20I

5. MS Dhoni  8.5/10 (DID NOT BAT)

MS Dhoni had a busy day on the field. Firstly he was at his tactical best and mixed his bowlers really well. he used his fast bowlers and spinners cleverly to deny the opposition any chance to dominate . he was also involved in two dismissals. The first was a superb stumping off Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling to send back Lendl Simmons and the second was a simple catch standing behind to Jasprit Bumrah.

6. Ravichandran Ashwin – 9/10

Ravichandran Ashwin, the man who brought things back on track for India in the last game, had a great influence on the proceeding today as well. The wily off-spinner ended with outstanding figures of 2/11. He looked at his very best today missing off breaks quicker ones and his flickers to great use. His tactics earned him two wickets today.

His first wicket was an act of pure brilliance after he outfoxed Lendl Simmons superbly to get him stumped. His second wicket came as a result of his carom ball. Kieron Pollard looked completely baffled when Ashwin got one back to turn into him from the leg side and trap him leg before.

7. Ravindra Jadeja – 7.5/10

Ravindra Jadeja was yet again at his miserly best. The left-arm spinner bowled like he always does and didn’t try any fancy tactics. He followed a simple stump to stump line and bowled the occasional wider ones to keep the position under his thumb. On a pitch where 489 runs were scored last night, Jadeja bowled an one run over to start his day.

It was Lendl Simmons who was cramped for breathing space in the middle. The six balls to Simmons were bowled in no time as he completed the over in just 87 seconds MS Dhoni’s decision to call him into the attack ahead of Jasprit Bumrah turned to be very fruitful. He give away 10 runs in his second and the last over of the game.

8. Mohammad Shami – 8/10

Mohammad Shami bowled with some extra nip today. He opened India’s bowling with the new ball and also accounted to the first breakthrough for India today when he dismissed last match’s centurion Evin Lewis in the 4th over of the match. Lewis found him quite irritating and threw his wicket after frustration began to creep in him.

He wasn’t able to swing freely like he did yesterday which forced him to mistimed a pull shot which went directly into the hands of Amit Mishra. This wicket set the momentum for other Indian bowlers. Shami, despite playing with the mind of Lewis was unable to contain Charles who hit for a good amount of runs and ruins his numbers. His second wicket of the day was of the less important Samuel Badree.

9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 7/10

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was the most expensive bowler today. He can blame Johnson Charles for it as he was targeted by the Opener once again. He started off well with wide full-length deliveries but soon Charles found a way to milk him. His first spell, therefore, was completely unsuccessful while his peer bowled economical overs. Kumar, however, did well in his second spell.  He stuck to his plans and took his sole wicket of the day by dismissing the dangerous Andre Russell in the 17th over. Much credit to him for doing so as Russell could have been the game changer if he had got into the rhythm in the death overs.

10. Jasprit Bumrah – 9.5/10

Jasprit was at his natural best. The T20 specialist returned with the highly impressive figures of 2/26 in four overs. Bumrah was called into bowl after the half way stage of the game. He added to the pressure created by Shami, Mishra and Jadeja earlier in the innings. He opened his wickets tally off the very first ball bowled in the match after he forced Marlon Samuels nick one behind to MS Dhoni. He snapped his second wicket in his next over. This time, it was the struggling Andre Fletcher. Bumrah paid a perfect tribute to his mentor Lasith Malinga on his birthday by cleaning up the Windies wicket-keeper batsman with a pin-point yorker.

11. Amit Mishra – 10/10

Amit Mishra was the pick of the bowlers today. The leg-spinner, who was brought in as the replacement for Stuart Binny, made most of the opportunity and returned with figures of 3/24. All his wickets were highly important ones. He took a wicket off the first ball of his spell after Johnson Charles was caught by Rahane at long-on. His next victim was Dwayne Bravo, The ‘Champion’ all-rounder was deceived completely by a googly in the 16th over and cleaned up. His third and last wicket was of the opposition skipper Carlos Brathwaite who also was undone in the same manner in his following over.

Also read: West Indies v India T20I Series – Combined XI