Zimbabwe v India ODI series: India player ratings

The young Indian team led by MS Dhoni whitewashed Zimbabwe 3-0 in a series where India showed complete dominance with both the bat and the ball. While the likes of KL Rahul, Yuzvendra Chahal and Jasprit Bumrah proved a point, others like Ambati Rayudu, Dhawal Kulkarni, Brainder Sran, Faiz Fazal also put up impressive performances. Here we rate the players on the basis of their performances in the series.

(Note: Manish Pandey and Kedhar Jadhav hardly had any contributions to make with the bat. Hence, they’ve not been included)

Karun Nair – 4/10:

The gutsy right-handed batsman didn’t have a great debut series though he had his lessons learnt. While he got out on 7 on his debut, Nair failed to finish the game for India in the second game despite getting a life. He was dropped for the 3rd game. Nair has been a heavy performer in the domestic circuit and will surely get to don the Indian jersey again in the future to prove his credentials.

Faiz Fazal – 8/10:

Making his much-awaited debut in the final ODI, Faiz Fazal made an impressive fifty as he stayed not out through the innings. While it would be too early to judge him, his timing throughout the innings was perfect as he kept looking better with every ball that he played. It would be interesting to see how far does Fazal go from here on.

Also read – 12 Unknown facts about Faiz Fazal

KL Rahul – 9.5/10:

Having scored 195 runs in the 3 ODIs, KL Rahul had a dream ODI debut for India. He continued his good IPL form into the international circuit. While he scored a ton on debut in the first game, he followed it up with another fifty in the final game and ended up winning the man of the series. Getting out just once, he was the crusader at the top order for India.

Ambati Rayudu – 9/10:

Rayudu played sensational knocks in both the matches and finished the chase for India. He registered scores of 62* and 41* in the first two games he batted and saw the team through. Rayudu looked to be in a great patch and middled the ball well. Overall he would be mighty satisfied with his performance in the series.

MS Dhoni – 8/10:

Though he didn’t get to bat at all in the series, he put up his exemplary wicket keeping skills on display. He also crossed the 350 dismissals milestone in ODIs during the series. His captaincy was brilliant and the way he managed the youngsters and gave them the confidence throughout the series was worth appreciating.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 8/10:

The leg-spinner was excellent in his debut series. With an exceptional bowling average of 12.83, he managed to take six wickets and was the second highest wicket-taker in the series. Scurrying the batsmen with his turn, Chahal made life difficult for the Zimbabwe batsmen. The leg-spinner has created an impact and would surely be someone to look up to in the future.

Jasprit Bumrah 9.5/10:

With 9 wickets in the series which included two 4-wicket hauls, Bumrah showed glimpses of being a great bowler for India in making. Throughout the series, the young lad bowled significantly well that too at an outstanding bowling average of 8.55. His death bowling was amazing, a big positive which will benefit India in the future.

Dhawal Kulkarni – 7/10:

The right-arm medium pacer led the bowling from the front and was quite successful. Dhawal Kulkarni took early wickets and made sure that the Zimbabwe batsmen didn’t gain any momentum in the beginning. He didn’t try anything new as he was focused to bowl in the right areas and achieved success doing that.

Barinder Sran – 5/10:

In spite of a decent performance with the ball in the first 2 games, Sran’s bowling was quite wayward. He went wicketless in the final game where there was little assistance for the bowlers and was also a touch expensive. His fielding was quite poor according to international standards and he surely needs to put in some effort there. The series was another learning curve for him and he can only grow from here on.

Axar Patel – 6/10:

Axar Patel had a satisfactory tour of Zimbabwe. He was quite economical and restricted the run flow of the opposition. But despite all that, he hardly seemed threatening. For someone who has been around the Indian team for quite a long time, this series was his chance to create a lasting impact which he failed to.