Windies v India, 3rd ODI - India Player Ratings

Yet another clinical performance from team India was on display when they locked horns with the hosts’ Windies at Antigua in the 3rd ODI of the series. With the win, the men in blue now have an unassailable 2-0 lead with two more matches to play in the 5-match series. Coming into the game, they were the firm favourites to win it – call it because of their recent form, or perhaps the dearth of good form in the opposition.

After batting first, India lost their in-form opener, Shikhar Dhawan, cheaply. Skipper Virat Kohli could not do much either. Yuvraj Singh showed brief resistance as Ajinkya Rahane scored yet another fifty in the game. Towards the end, the final flourish was given by MS Dhoni’s unbeaten 78 and a quick 40 from Kedar Jadhav. India finished with 251 on the board.

The Windies, in their response, were never in the game and kept losing wickets. Kuldeep Yadav and R Ashwin bagged three wickets each to bundle out the opposition for a paltry 158 as India registered a 93 run win. As Kohli rightly cited, it was a total team effort from India on the day.

Here are the India Player Ratings for the match:

Shikhar Dhawan – 2/10

India’s in-form opener, Shikhar Dhawan, had a rare off day at work today. In the recent times, he has been constantly giving flying starts. In this particular game, he failed to do so. He scored only 2 before being dismissed by Miguel Cummins in the third over of the game. Fortunately for India, the other batsmen stepped up to the occasion in the match.

Ajinkya Rahane – 8/10

Ajinkya Rahane seems to be having a dream run in the series. He started off with a fifty in the first ODI. He went a shade better and notched up a crisp century in the second game. He backed the two innings with another gutsy show in the third. Run-making was not very easy in the middle but Rahane proved his masterclass with a 72 at the top of the order. His 72 came off 112 deliveries with 4 fours and a six to his name.

Virat Kohli – 4/10

The willow of Virat Kohli had a quiet time on the day. He arrived at the crease very early with the new ball doing a bit. Kohli found his feet struggling and just could not get going on the day. He registered a score of 11 before being dismissed. With the captaincy hat, he was spot on with the moves. Kohli marshalled his bowlers really well to set up the stranglehold on the opposition.

Yuvraj Singh – 6/10

Yuvraj Singh has cemented his spot at the number 4 spot in the Indian batting lineup. He arrived at the crease when the scorecard read 34/2 midway through the 10th over of the innings. The dismissals of Kohli and Dhawan had portrayed the fact that it was not easy to score runs on this particular track. Yuvraj took his time to settle in and then hit an odd boundary every now and then to keep the scorecard ticking. He scored 39 off 55 balls with 4 fours to his name.

MS Dhoni – 9/10

It was a vintage Dhoni of some sorts on display in this game. He took his time to get his feet going at the crease. But towards the end, he did what he is best renowned for doing – finish things off in style. Dhoni scored a well compiled fifty and then changed modes to finish the innings on a high. Some doubted his strike rate but it ended up with the high nineties. He scored an unbeaten 78 off 79 balls with 4 fours and 2 towering maximums. He was rewarded the Man of the Match for his heroics with the bat.

Kedar Jadhav – 8.5/10

Kedar Jadhav could do nothing wrong on the day. Be it with the bat, or with the ball – the veteran Maharashtra cricketer ticked all the boxes right with his performance on the day. He gave the ideal support to MS Dhoni with the bat and hit runs at a strike rate of over 153. He finished with an unbeate 40 off just 26 balls with 4 fours and a six to his name. With the ball, he picked up the final wicket on the very first ball that he bowled on the day.

Hardik Pandya – 7/10

Team India has found a very able all-rounder in Hardik Pandya in the recent times. He did not get his opportunity with the bat on the day. But he surely covered up for it with his bowling. He was the one who gave the early breakthroughs to the team in the early overs. Pandya got rid of Kyle Hope and Shai Hope to break into the Windies middle-order. He finished with figures of 2/32 to his name.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 8/10

Ace Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin bagged his second most impressive figures outside the Asian subcontinent in the match. He returned with figures of 3/28 in the complete quota of 10 overs that he bowled. He had a maiden to his name as well. Ashwin’s biggest catch on the day was the opposition skipper, Jason Holder, who he got stumped early on in the innings.

Kuldeep Yadav – 8/10

Kuldeep Yadav became only the second Indian bowler to have bagged two three-wicket hauls in the first two ODI matches that he has played – the first was Piyush Chawla. Kuldeep bagged the key wickets of Roston Chase and Jason Mohammed early on in the innings. Later, he came back into the attack to send Rovman Powell packing. He returned with figures of 3/41 in his 10 overs.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 5/10

Bhuvneshwar Kumar did not have a lot to do in the game. As expected, he bowled very tight lines with the ball. He got a fair bit of assistance with the conditions but it was more of his skill on the display. In the 5 overs that he bowled, he gave away only 19 runs. He went wicketless in the match.

Umesh Yadav – 6/10

Umesh Yadav started off things on a high for team India. On the very third delivery that he bowled in the game, he managed to rattle the woodwork of Windies opener Evin Lewis. He could not bag another wicket in the game but bowled well in his 7 overs. He returned with figures of 1/32 in the 7 overs that he bowled in the match.