India v Pakistan player ratings: Kohli grabs 10 as Raina and Irfan disappoint

Pakistan

Ahmed Shehzad – 6/10

Shahid Afridi – 4.5/10

Promoted himself up the batting order in order to accelerate the run rate, however, could not handle the spin Ashwin and Jadeja were generating. He was economical with the ball, but did not get the wickets he was looking for.

Formed a crucial partnership with Shoaib Malik towards the end, and played the perfect support role. His knock of 22 runs proved to be crucial in what was a low-scoring game.

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He was the best of the Pakistani batsmen on the night and showed his experience and ability to handle both the spinners and the fast bowlers with relative ease. He hit three boundaries and a huge six in his knock of 26 runs, which provided Pakistan the much-needed impetus towards the end of the innings. However, he undid some of his good work in the second innings, when he proved to be expensive with the ball.

Sarfraz Ahmed – 4/10

Mohammad Hafeez – 3/10

He was surprisingly pushed down the batting order as Pakistan shuffled their lineup. He did not make any impact in the five balls he faced.

Unsurprisingly, he was the best of the lot among the Pakistani bowlers. He ran in hard and bowled with a lot of pace and accuracy. Gave away just 11 runs in his three overs, including the wicket of Rohit Sharma, as the Indian batsmen played him with a lot of respect. Sadly the youngster did not get any support from anyone else on the field.

(Also read about Kohli & Amir - the Kane & Abel of cricket)

He bowled too many loose deliveries and conceded a lot of runs in a match where runs did not come cheaply.

Mohammad Sami – 6.5

Wahab Riaz – 4.5

A lot was expected of him, and although he dismissed Yuvraj Singh, Riaz failed to make the impact Afridi would have expected of him while defending this total.

India

Shikhar Dhawan – 3.5/10

Rohit Sharma – 4.5/10

Made a decent start to the innings with two boundaries, but should not have taken the risk against Amir in the third over.

Everyone is running out of superlatives for this man as he continues to establish himself as one of the greatest run chasers this game has seen. On a pitch where nearly every batsman struggled at one point or the other, Kohli made batting look very easy. His match-winning 55-run knock is one of the best he has played in this format of this game so far. Just to put it into the context – the whole of the Pakistan team managed to hit a total of 11 boundaries and two sixes in their innings, while Kohli hit seven fours and a six on his own. A legend in the making!

Suresh Raina – 2/10

Yuvraj Singh – 6/10

Questions will be raised as to why Dhoni did not give him the opportunity to bowl. But he proved his worth once again with the bat, as he formed a crucial 61-run partnership with Kohli, just when India needed the most.

The skipper made some questionable bowling changes in the middle of the Pakistani innings, as he went back to Bumrah and Pandya despite the batsmen struggling against the spinners and the likes of Ashwin and Raina had overs remaining in their kitty. He kept his calm when he came ontobat and saw India home alongside Kohli in the end.

Hardik Pandya – 5.5/10

Ravindra Jadeja – 7.5/10

The surface offered him a lot of assistance, and he was almost unplayable at times. He took the important wicket of Akmal, and was a live wire on the field – saving important runs and taking the catch to dismiss Shehzad.

Didn't take any wicket on the night, however, he troubled every batsman in his three-over spell. Why Dhoni did not use his fourth over remains a mystery.

Jasprit Bumrah – 4.5/10

Ashish Nehra – 7.5/10

The left arm pacer produced a brilliant spell with the new ball and did not allow Pakistan to gain any momentum at the start. Showed his experience to take the all-important wicket of Malik in the end, just when the Pakistani batsman was looking to take the game away from India.