Zimbabwe v India T20I series: India Player Ratings

India started off their tour of Zimbabwe in an emphatic manner. They dominated the proceedings in the 3-match ODI series throughout and outplayed the hosts in every department to whitewash them 3-0. However, things turned grey when the two teams met in the first T20. A rather complacent team India succumbed to a 2-run defeat that was an alarming call for the visitors. They came back strong in the match that followed and registered a thumping 10-wicket win. Earlier they had reduced Zimbabwe to just 99/9 in 20 overs and then the Indian openers went on to wrap things around with all 10 wickets intact. The 3rd T20I went on to be the series decider. India surely put on an under par score of 138 on the board. However, they bowled exceedingly well to restrict the opposition to just 135 runs and win the game by 3 runs. Here are the player ratings for the team India in the series: KL Rahul – 6/10: India batsman Lokesh Rahul reacts after losing his wicket. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Lokesh Rahul had made a historic ODI debut when he became the first Indian batsman to score a century on debut. However, he had contrasting fortunes in the T20Is as he managed a golden duck on his T20I debut. Rahul however, came back good in the second game to score a decent unbeaten 47 and make a mark for himself in the shortest format. The last match saw him score 22 runs. He gave a good start to India on the occasion and hence showed the kind of form he was in. He was among the runs and hence had a decent tournament. Player ratings for the final match – Zimbabwe v India, 3rd T20I: India Player Ratings Mandeep Singh – 8/10: India batsman Mandeep Singh. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Mandeep Singh could not feature in the ODI series but made serious amends for the same in the T20 series. He got off to a good start in the first match but his best came in the 2nd T20 when he hit his maiden half-century in T20Is. His unbeaten 52 anchored India to a thumping 10-wicket win. He failed in the final game though as he could score just 4. On the whole, he had a good tournament and was the leading run-getter of the series with 87 runs to his name at an average of 43.5. Also read – Awards galore at the conclusion of the Zimbabwe v India T20I series Ambati Rayudu – 5/10: India batsman Ambati Rayudu. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Ambati Rayudu was the second most senior member in the squad after MS Dhoni on the tour. Though he showed good resilience in the ODI series, his T20 performances were far from being impressive. Rayudu struggled to convert his decent starts to big scores in the series. In the two innings that he batted in 3 matches, he could score only 39 runs at an average of 19.5. For a batsman of his calibre, this was certainly far from being impressive. Manish Pandey – 5/10: India’s batsman Manish Pandey holds his head after losing his wicket during the first T20 cricket match. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Manish Pandey started off the series on a high as he almost guided India to a win in the first match. He scored a gritty 48 off 34 balls with 3 maximums in the game and looked in control of the chase. His departure saw India collapse and lose the plot. Pandey did not get a chance to play in the 2nd match. He ended the tour on a low as he was run out on a duck in the 3rd T20I. He could have done a lot better to be in the mix of things for future series. Kedar Jadhav – 7/10: India’s batsman Kedar Jadhav plays a shot during the third and final T20 cricket match. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Kedar Jadhav was under fire for having performed poorly in the series. Jadhav, who had scored an ODI century the last time India visited Zimbabwe, had a poor ODI series this year. His T20 fortunes seemed dwindling as well as performed poorly in the first game. However, his best came in the last match when his 42-ball 58 was the standout performance for the Indians. He singlehandedly paraded the Indian innings to a decent score. MS Dhoni – 4/10: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni leads his team after victory. (Photo credit should read JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Indian skipper had a poor outing with the bat on the tour. He got his first opportunity to bat on this tour in the T20 series. He was put in a tough situation when he was shouldered the responsibility to hit 4 runs off the last ball in the first T20 to see Indian win. However, he could not do it and looked struggling in the middle. In the last t20 too, he didn’t look settled in the middle and perished on just 9. Had he finished better, India could have reached the 150-run mark on the day. Also read – We got more from the T20Is than the ODIs: MS Dhoni Axar Patel – 7.5/10: India batsman Axar Patel. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) By far Axar Patel was the best all-rounder in the tournament. Axar Patel not only kept the run flow in check but also made sure that he picked crucial wickets at crucial intervals. He was equally good with the ball too. He often got the chance to bat in tough conditions and towards the end of the innings, but that saw him unfazed. He hit a 9-ball 18 to give Zimbabwe a scare in the first game and repeated his heroics in the last game when he hit an unbeaten 11-ball 20. He followed it up with an economical spell of 1/18. Jaydev Unadkat – 2/10: Indian cricketer Jaydev Unadkat. (Photo by DIBYANGSHU SARKAR/AFP/Getty Images) Jaydev Unadkat was given the responsibility of bowling with the new ball in the first t20. He, however, ended up being on the receiving end as the Zimbabwe batsmen took a liking to his bowling. He was neither effective at the start of the innings, nor was he influential at the depth. A very poor outing for a player of his calibre it was. He leaked 43 runs in his 4 overs and went wicketless. He was subsequently not picked for the remaining two matches. Rishi Dhawan – 2/10: India’s bowler Rishi Dhawan bowls during the first T20 cricket match. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Rishi Dhawan shared the new ball with Jaydev Unadkat in the first T20 but could not make the most of the opportunity. Though he bagged a solitary wicket, that of Chamu Chibhabha early in the innings, he could pose no threat to any other batsmen with the older ball. He was taken away for 42 runs in his 4 overs. With the bat, he was put in a situation wherein he had to hit a boundary but he failed. He did not feature in the other two matches. Yuzvendra Chahal – 6/10: Yuzvendra Chahal. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) The leggie Chahal had a great tour on the whole. He ended up winning the emerging player of the tournament in the ODIs before making his T20 debut for India. He started off poorly in the first game as he was taken away for 38 runs and got a solitary wicket. In the next game, he was back to his economical best and scalped 1/19 in 4 overs. In the series decider, he got the priced wicket of Peter Moor, who threatened to take the game away from India. He finished with figures of 1/32 in the match. Jasprit Bumrah – 9/10: India’s bowler Jasprit Bumrah (C) is congratulated by his teammates for taking four wickets. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of all the bowlers in the series. With 9 wickets to his name at a miser economy of just 3, Bumrah was unplayable for the opposition. He emerged as the leading wicket-taker of the series. He started off in a fine fashion picking up 4/22 in the first game. The figures would have been a lot better had Elton Chigumbura not him for 14 runs in his final over then. In the game that followed, he again was at his best, picking up 3/11 in his four overs. Although he went wicketless in the final match, he gave just 23 runs and restricted the run flow. Barinder Sran – 8/10: Barinder Sran. (Photo Source: BCCI) Barinder Sran had the ball in hand as he had to defend 21 off the last over in the final game. The nerves got to him and no wonder he gave away 17 runs then. However, it would only be unfair to judge him based on that. He did not play the first game but emerged to be the pick of the bowlers in the 2nd match as he scalped 4/10 and ripped apart the Zimbabwean top order. In the final match, we could positively say that he successfully defended 21 off the last over to see India clinch the series 2-1. He returned with figures of 2/31 in the match. Dhawal Kulkarni – 6/10: India bowler Dhawal Kulkarni. (Photo by JEKESAI NJIKIZANA/AFP/Getty Images) Dhawal Kulkarni was not picked up for the first match and India did miss his services as neither Jaydev Unadkat nor Rishi Dhawan could make the ball talk then. He came in the second match but could not impress on the occasion. He got one wicket, that of Graeme Cremer, but ended up giving away 32 runs in his 4 overs. However, he made crucial breakthroughs in the final game as he returned with figures of 2/23 in his 4 overs. Bench – Karun Nair, Jayant Yadav and Faiz Fazal didn’t get a game

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Zimbabwe v India T20I series: India Player Ratings

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