India v England, 3rd ODI - India Player Ratings

Team India walked in as the favorites in the final ODI against England. Having beaten the visitors comfortably in the previous two encounters, the spirit of the team was sky high for the Kolkata ODI. Coming into the match, Indian skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and opted to bowl first. Clearly, the chase master wanted to finish things off in style. India drafted in Ajinkya Rahane in the playing eleven in place of Shikhar Dhawan. England had to make two forced changes.

They drafted in Jonny Bairstow and Sam Billings in place of Joe Root and Alex Hales. England did a great job as they posted yet another total in excess of 300. Riding on fifties from Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, and Ben Stokes, they finished up with 321/8 in their 50 overs. Hardik Pandya was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3/49 to his name.

India had a poor start to their run chase. The openers fell cheaply. Virat Kohli scored a gritty fifty yet again but could not add more to it. MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh chipped in with cameos. But the much-needed impetus was provided by the fifty of Hardik Pandya and a brilliant 90 by Kedar Jadhav that almost won the match for India.

Here are the India player ratings for the match:

KL Rahul – 2/10

KL Rahul came into the Indian side riding on a big player reputation. His heroics in the Test and his previous endeavors in limited overs had created all the hype that he got prior to the commencement of the series. Much to his disliking and the team’s discomfort, KL Rahul’s struggle in the series continued. He showed sparks with a six and a four in his run-a-ball 11.

But it was all that he had to offer on the night. He perished to a delivery by Jake Ball and failed to make an impact on the series. He must be a disappointed man. More importantly, India’s opening conundrums continue to trouble them.

Also read- India v England, 3rd ODI – 5 Talking Points

Ajinkya Rahane – 1/10

Ajinkya Rahane had a great chance to prove his mettle in the final ODI. He was brought in at the expense of Shikhar Dhawan in the side. He had the opportunity to seize his spot in the side in the absence of the regular openers. However, Rahane made a mockery of the opportunity that was bestowed on him.

He was cleaned up by David Willey for just 1. He was the first batsman to be dismissed in the India innings. His early departure saw India fail to get an opening stand yet again.

Virat Kohli – 7/10

Skipper Virat Kohli had a tough time shuffling his bowlers in the England innings. Later in the day, when India started off their run chase, Kohli had to walk in early at the departure of Ajinkya Rahane. The stage was set for the chase master to launch one more time. The kind of shots that came off his bat only strengthened the claim a little further.

He got a life chance when Jake Ball dropped him at fine leg when on 35. He went on to score 55 off 63 deliveries with 8 fours before being caught behind off the bowling of Ben Stokes. The master failed to see India home on the day.

Yuvraj Singh – 6.5/10

Yuvraj Singh had a dream day in the second ODI at Cuttack. Coming into the match riding on a phenomenal knock of 150 in the previous game, Yuvraj started off from where he had left. He took his time to settle in and was tested with the short deliveries. Yuvraj played them with flair barring one that hit his chest hard.

The heartwarming pull shots of Yuvraj Singh showed glimpses of vintage Yuvi at the crease. He missed out on a well-deserved fifty and fell short by 5 runs before being caught in the deep midwicket. He was dismissed on 45 off 57 balls with 5 fours and a six. He gets a 6.5 in the ratings.

MS Dhoni – 4/10

The departure of Virat Kohli saw MS Dhoni walk in to bat with the chants of Dhoni ringing aloud in the stands. Dhoni’s century in the previous game had heightened the hopes of the Indian fans. He batted with Yuvraj Singh and it looked like a certain deja vu at the middle. But it was not his day at Kolkata.

Soon after Yuvraj’s departure, MS Dhoni perished too. He hit a six and a four en route hi 36-ball 25 to provide some brief entertainment. Dhoni had the chance to reinstate his authority as the finisher but failed to do it on the day.

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Kedar Jadhav – 9.5/10

Kedar Jadhav never ceases to amaze. Most people considered his heroics at Pune to be a one match wonder. He silenced all critics when he put India in a winning position during his stay at the crease. With both Yuvraj and Dhoni back in the hut, not many gave India a sniff at the target.

Jadhav had some other plans, though. He hammered 90 off 75 balls and got India to a striking distance eventually. He was only unlucky to have missed out on not being able to seal the match for India. He hit 12 fours and a six in his masterly knock.

Hardik Pandya – 8/10

Hardik Pandya made it to the Indian team as a batsman when he arrived last year. However, the fans were deprived of his prowess with the bat. Today, Pandya showed why he is such a consistent batsman for his domestic side Baroda. He stitched a 104-run stand with Kedar Jadhav and took India close to victory at a situation when most people had ruled India out of the equation.

He scored 56 off 43 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes during his stay at the crease. Earlier, in the day, he returned with figures of 3/49 in his quota of 10 overs with a maiden to his name. He was the pick of the Indian bowlers.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 1/10

Ravichandran Ashwin had a horrid day in the Kolkata ODI. He failed to impress in either departments. He was taken for 60 runs in his 9 overs and had no wickets to show in his wickets column. Such has been the series for Ashwin.

He failed with the ball in the Pune ODI and then was the pick of the Indian bowlers in the Cuttack ODI. At Kolkata, he struggled again. Later when the team needed him to play the second fiddle to Kedar Jadhav in the run chase, he failed yet again. He was dismissed on 1 yet again.

Ravindra Jadeja – 5.5/10

Ravindra Jadeja had a mixed day at the office. Early in the day, he managed to take two key wickets but could not control the run flow. In the 10 overs that he bowled, he gave away 62 runs and scalped 2 wickets. He accounted for the dismissals of both the English openers – Sam Billings and Jason Roy.

Later in the day, coming in to bat at number 8, Jadeja struck two fierce boundaries to give a lot of hope to the Indian fans. But, he perished on the very next delivery. He departed after scoring 10 off 6 deliveries. He gets 5.5 ratings for his bowling.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 3/10

Pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar managed to retain his place in the team after bowling exceedingly well in the last match. Coming into the Kolkata idea, Bhuvneshwar had sweet memories of the venue. The last time he played here in an international match was against New Zealand in a Test where he had bagged a five-wicket haul.

Things did not seem to be on the same merry note against England though. Bhuvneshwar leaked plenty of runs as the English openers took a special liking to his bowling. He was taken for 56 runs in the 8 overs that he bowled. He went wicketless on the day.

Jasprit Bumrah – 4/10

Jasprit Bumrah has been India’s strike weapon with the ball in the recent times. He was expected to bowl with guile and precision at the death overs but was largely unsuccessful in his attempt today. Bumrah gave away 68- run in his spell of 10 overs to have a wicket to his name.

He got the wicket of Moeen Ali towards the fag end of the innings. From India’s perspective, things could have surely been better for their strike bowler.