Australia vs India, ODI Series 2019 - India Player Ratings

Team India scripted history when they beat Australia in the recently played Melbourne ODI. With the win, they sealed the ODI series with a 2-1 scoreline – registering their first ever bilateral ODI series win down under. Prior to the series, they had thumped the Aussies in the Test series as well and had drawn level in the T20I assignments.

Needless to concede, the Men in Blue were an absolute powerhouse throughout the tour. Coming to the ODI series, the team was bolstered by the return of the mighty MS Dhoni, who did no harm to his reputation in the days that followed. Riding on Dhoni’s consistency, combined with efforts from other players around him, saw team India come up with a perfect story as an end result.

In the first ODI, a Rohit Sharma ton went in vain as his lone ranging innings could not take the visitors over the line. Taken aback by the defeat, the Indian side bounced back well in the second match, and skipper Virat Kohli led from the front to score the equalizer. In the decider, leggie Yuzvendra Chahal turned out to be a dark horse scalping six wickets and then the big MS took over in the run chase to see India home. Overall, it was a complete team effort that saw the Indians tame the Kangaroos at home.

Here are the India Player Ratings for the series:

Rohit Sharma – 8.5/10

After a lacklustre run in the Test series, Rohit Sharma found his feet moving in his preferred format of the game. Rohit arrived in fine fashion by dictating terms in the first ODI. While the batsmen around him fell in heaps and clusters, Rohit stood tall with his 133 in Sydney, keeping the hopes of the Indians alive.

He was unfortunate to end up on the losing side. Rohit continued his good form in Adelaide and scored a timely 43. He had a rare failure in Melbourne. He finished the tour with an aggregate of 185 runs in 3 games at an average over 61.

Shikhar Dhawan – 5/10

Shikhar Dhawan’s perennial struggle to convert good starts to big ones continued in this series as well. After a golden duck in the first ODI, Dhawan did really well to show positive attacking intent in the second match where he scored 32. However, a soft dismissal saw his downfall and the story in the final match of the series was no different either. He could only muster 55 runs in the 3 matches played.

Virat Kohli – 8.5/10

Virat Kohli is an absolute superstar and there is doubt about it. When his side was under the pump of being 0-1 down in the series, Kohli rose to the occasion to score a brilliant ton – his 39th in ODI cricket. His fine 104 anchored the run chase of 298. He got another good start in the final ODI but could not make it a big one.

With the captaincy hat on, Kohli looked top notch and gave his bowlers the freedom to express themselves, a point that the commentators also made, drawing comparisons between the captaincy of Kohli and the Australian counterpart, Aaron Finch.

Ambati Rayudu – 2/10

Ambati Rayudu would know that the series was a case of a chance gone begging. He had ample opportunity to seal his spot in the side. He struggled big time and only looked like a shadow of the promise that he had made in recent times. With just 24 runs in two matches, he knew he had to make way for someone else in the final game of the series. To add to his woes, his bowling action also drew unwanted attention in the first ODI.

Kedar Jadhav – 9/10

Kedar Jadhav made it a point to grab his opportunity with both hands. Jadhav was not picked to play in the first two games. The only match that he played was the final ODI and he proved to be a big impact in the match. He scored an unbeaten 61 as he stitched an unbeaten partnership with MS Dhoni to take India over the line and win the series.

MS Dhoni – 9.5/10

MS Dhoni was awarded the Man of the Series for his consistent performance in the three matches. He started off with a sluggish fifty in Sydney, that drew the ire of some critics. However, when seen on a minute scale, it is something that the situation demanded. In the next game, Dhoni went a shade better and scored another fifty, this time taking his team over the line with a mighty six in the final over of the game.

In the final ODI, Dhoni slammed another unbeaten 87 to strike three fifties in a row. He amassed 193 runs in the three matches that he played at a staggering average of 193. He was dismissed just once, and that too courtesy of an erroneous call from the umpire.

Dinesh Karthik – 7/10

Dinesh Karthik is settling well in the role of the finisher for team India. He failed to cope up with the pressure in the first ODI but was quick to rectify it in the second. His timely unbeaten 14-ball 25 saw India home as MS Dhoni held the fort from the other end. Certainly, his knock went undervalued but it was a crucial one for the team.

Ravindra Jadeja – 4/10

Ravindra Jadeja had a good run in the Test series, but he failed to continue the good form in the ODIs. Not that he fared badly, but it was rather a case of showing no impact on the proceedings. He bowled his complete quota of overs in the first two matches conceding 48 and 49 respectively, as he scalped one wicket in each of the outings. In the final ODI, he was a tad expensive, giving away 53 runs in 9 overs, and went wicketless.

Vijay Shankar – 5/10

Vijay Shankar was drafted in the side as a replacement for Hardik Pandya. He played the final match of the series and was asked to bowl 6 overs. He bowled decently, and conceded 23 runs but failed to pick up a wicket. He did not get a chance to bat in the match. He would be hoping for more opportunities in New Zealand.

Kuldeep Yadav – 4.5/10

Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal have been the prime reasons of India’s success in white-ball cricket in the recent months. However, they did not get a chance to bowl in tandem in the ODI series down under. In the first two matches, Kuldeep was the preferred spinner. He bagged 2/54 in Sydney and ended up giving up 0/66 in Adelaide. Although he looked brilliant in short bursts, his overall figures suggest else wise.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 9/10

Skipper Kohli did not want his team India to be very predictable and hence, rested Kuldeep for the final game. Yuzvendra Chahal came in and certainly conquered the day. He ran through the Aussie line up at the MCG to return with figures of 6/42 and became only the second cricketer to have a six-wicket haul in ODIs and in T20Is. He made his plans work and showed some sheer brilliance with his cooperative works with MS Dhoni.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 9/10

While MS Dhoni was the star with the bat for team India, it was the good old precision of Bhuvneshwar Kumar that did the work for the visitors in the bowling department. The way Bhuvi tamed Aaron Finch in the first two ODIs showed his class. Albeit he was expensive in the first ODI (2/66), he did manage to make a strong comeback in the remaining fixtures.

He scalped 4/45 in the Adelaide ODI and put the brakes on the Australian innings that looked like escalating to 330 and nearabouts. In the final ODI, Bhuvi again bowled economically to come up with 2/28 in his 8 overs. He finished as the leading wicket-taker of the series.

Mohammed Siraj – 2/10

Mohammed Siraj made his ODI debut in the series. He came in as a replacement for Khaleel Ahmed in the Adelaide ODI. He failed to impress and was an easy target for Shaun Marsh and Co on the day. He was milked away for 76 runs in 10 overs with no wickets to show against his name. He bowled wayward lines and was under the scrutiny of the commentators who felt he needed to work harder.

Khaleel Ahmed – 2/10

Khaleel Ahmed had a good run in the T20Is on the tour but failed to replicate his success in the ODIs. He was in the starting eleven in the first ODI at Sydney. But an outing of 0/55 in 8 overs did no good to him and he was dropped thereafter.

Mohammed Shami – 7/10

Mohammed Shami had an excellent time in the Test matches. He made a comeback to the white ball cricket in the series. He went wicketless in the first match but bowled his heart out for his 3/58 in the second. While the figures suggest that he was not up to the mark, he certainly did bowl well despite those numbers. In the final ODI, he again managed to scalp 2/47, and fare up decently.

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