WI vs IND | Player Ratings - Rohit Sharma’s 67 makes eventual difference as India seal T20 series in DLS method
The DLS method eventually became the major deciding factor as India won the three-match T20 series with one match to go. After the visitors put up a 168-run target, the Windies batsmen failed to get going from the outset and once the rain stopped the game, India were declared winners by 22 runs.
Rohit Sharma (8/10): It was like Rohit was carrying on the unfinished business of Saturday with a kind of carnage that has separated him from the rest of the chasing pack in world cricket. There was silky touch compounded by his lazy feet movement as the Florida crowd was entertained by a classic ODI innings in a T20 match. Well, he could have of course gone bonkers after he had the start but it would be too harsh to give him anything less than 8.Â
Shikhar Dhawan (5/10): With every stroke, with every leave, and even with every single, Shikhar Dhawan seemed like calling for his exclusion from the T20 set-up altogether. His 23 runs neither had spunk nor the intensity to score an efficient T20 innings which, in turn, resulted in the Windies pacers gaining the momentum mid-way. Then again, it would be overly critical not to give him good points for his SR of 143.75 but it is high-time he pulls up his socks.
Virat Kohli (3/10): The Indian skipper’s struggle against left-arm pacers in T20s is a very common occurrence now, and Carlos Brathwaite’s judicious usage of Sheldon Cottrell made things easier for the Windies side. Restricting Kohli to a mediocre score in two consecutive games is a job well done, and Kohli would hardly be happy with his innings today.
Rishabh Pant (1/10): Okay, it is real. Trust me, there is no way out and stop expecting anything from Rishabh Pant but occasional burst of brilliance. When a batsman wanted to steer a ball to third-man with the face of the bat being weirdly angular, there is nothing you can do other than facepalm. Pant needs to find a way to come out of the rut and play a purposeful innings. It is high-time, really.
Manish Pandey (3/10): For the second game running, the Karnataka batsman squandered an opportunity to stick around the middle and his failure to contribute made him the prime candidate to sit out in favour of Shreyas Iyer on Monday. However, it was not entirely his fault because he didn’t have any other option than going for the pull, considering the situation and the team’s need to accelerate.Â
Krunal Pandya (8.5/10): It was just Pandya’s world and we mere mortals are just living in it. As Hardik Pandya decides to sit out, Krunal Pandya started weaving the magic around with some stunning displays of left-arm spin bowling and attacking batting. After giving the perfect finishing touch to the team’s total with a classy 20 runs off 13 balls, Pandya downed two Windies batsmen to land India another victory.
Ravindra Jadeja (6/10): It is pointless to have Ravindra Jadeja in the T20 squad but the relevancy of it took a deep nosedive after his role today. Of course, he faced only four balls and bowled only one over before rain announced its arrival but the way he was used raises questions about a lot of things. He should make way for Rahul Chahar and the team should work in the direction of World T20 and not senior player appeasement.
Washington Sundar (8.5/10): It was like watching Washington Sundar rewinding the clock back to March 2018 when he became India’s main powerplay weapon in the Nidahas Trophy. Today, his persistent length and keeping a nagging stump-to-stump line resulted in the Windies batsmen scoring only one run off him in his first two overs.Â
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (8/10): It was an excellent caught and bowled that was Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s carpe diem moment for the day. What Bhuvi excelled in today was the way he followed the batsman's movement and in the two-over spell, he made his own bowling unpredictable with subtle change in lengths. In simple words, it was a brilliant performance.
Navdeep Saini (3/10): Cricket is a great leveler. After securing the man of the match award in the first T20I, life turned upside down within the space of 24 hours for Navdeep Saini as he conceded 27 runs in three overs. His erratic full balls and low full tosses were too easy for Rovman Powell to send them out of the ground. Possibly a lesson for the youngster.
Khaleel Ahmed (6/10): Like Saini, Khaleel was also guilty of bowling too many bad balls but he was quick to realise his mistake and was genuinely seemed like trying to land the ball on a good length and asking probing questions to the batsman. Ahmed’s left-arm angle also came into effect when Windies right-handed batsmen were trying to capitalise on short boundary on the mid-wicket side from the pavilion end.
