CT 2017, 2nd Semifinal, IND v BAN – India Player Ratings

It was a total mismatch in the 2nd semifinal of the 8th edition of the ICC Champions Trophy. Mashrafe Mortaza at the toss had said that “it is time to go further” referring to a possible positive result in successive knockout games that they have qualified at the ICC events. On both occasions, Bangladesh were knocked out by India.

Bangladesh did well to reach 152-2 in 27 overs but it all went down the hill post that. Indian bowlers did well to concede just 114 runs in the rest 23 overs as they picked 5 wickets. The middle overs have been the game changer during the entire tournament. India, along with the other finalist Pakistan, has struck gold between overs number 15-40 to stop teams from amassing big scores. A target of 265 at a very placid Edgbaston wicket was never going to challenge the best batting side of the tournament.

The game plan of India has been very straightforward in this competition. Their openers yet again gave them a solid foundation and the good work was continued by skipper Kohli, a familiar theme in the tournament. Rohit Sharma completed a hundred to ready himself for the finals on Sunday. Kohli too was in sublime form as he dismissed bowlers from his presence the moment he had walked to the centre. In the end, India overhauled the target of 265 with 9 wickets in hand and 59 balls to spare.

We bring you to the player ratings of the Indian side in this semifinal:

Rohit Sharma – 10/10

Rohit had a failure in the last game because he didn’t follow his game plan of taking his time early on. He wasn’t going to repeat his mistake again as he helped himself to a masterful hundred. Rohit’s knock set the tone for the chase and he remained unbeaten on 123 when the last runs were knocked off.

Shikhar Dhawan – 7/10

Dhawan was again at the forefront of India’s chase. The left-hander was in red hot form and took the game away from the Bangladeshis by hitting some crisp shots early on. He started his knock with two back foot forcing shots to the off side in Mustafizur’s first over. After pulling Mashrafe Mortaza for his 7th boundary, Dhawan was out next ball but not before scoring 46 pristine runs.

Virat Kohli – 9.5/10

Virat Kohli’s work wasn’t too challenging but he went about his business very professionally by scoring a fluent 96*. He looked for the singles early on and then unleashed a flurry of strokes to break the back of Bangladesh. Kohli has already two fifty-plus scores in the mega event but this knock was his most fluent and was very attractive as well.

Yuvraj Singh – N/A

While his childhood friend Harbhajan Singh wanted Yuvraj to bag the Man of the Match award in his iconic 300th ODI, the 35-year old wasn’t required to contribute to the win of India as the top order did exceptionally well to make light weight of their target. Yuvraj might not be happy by the way he fielded today and would look to improve upon it on Sunday.

MS Dhoni – 7/10

Dhoni used to punt a lot on Kedar Jadhav’s sloppy slingy off-spinners when he was the skipper and he urged Kohli to get him on when Tamim and Mustafizur were going great guns. Jadhav then dismissed both the batsmen in a game changing 6 over spell. Dhoni also took a great reflex catch of Shakib Al Hasan off Ravindra Jadeja.

Kedar Jadhav – 8.5/10

Jadhav has earned a tag of being a partnership breaker. He varied his pace and used the crease well to dismiss a dangerous Tamim Iqbal in the 28th over. Mushfiqur, who had added 123 with Tamim for the 3rd wicket, soon perished when he hit a slow loopy off-spinner off Jadhav straight to Kohli at midwicket. The 32-year old again did not get a chance to bat, the second time in a row.

Hardik Pandya – 2.5/10

Hardik had a forgetful outing as he was smashed around the ground by Tamim and Mushfiqur. He was sent on a leather hunt by the duo as 28 runs were taken from his first 3 overs. Pandya needs to improve his bowling as he has a tendency of leaking runs at crucial junctures of the game.

Ravindra Jadeja – 7/10

We are in a day and age where we applaud a bowler who goes for less than 6 runs an over in an ODI and Jadeja went for under 5 runs today. 1/48 off 10 is certainly a good performance. He chipped in with the wicket of Shakib at a crucial juncture of the game along with a neat grab at point to send Sabbir Rahman back to the pavilion.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 6/10

Ashwin went for 42 runs in his first 7 overs but came back well to concede just 12 runs from his final 3. It was an above average performance from Ashwin in his second game of the tournament. He dropped a catch off Hardik Pandya in the middle overs and must look to improve his fielding.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 7.5/10

Kumar gives India that early breakthrough in just about every game. Today he sent Soumya Sarkar back in the very first over to get India off to a great start. Sabbir Rahman was the next causality when Bhuvneshwar had him caught by Jadeja at point. His 2/53 earns him a good rating for this game.

Jasprit Bumrah – 9.5/10

Bumrah did what he is best known for. While he did not pick any wickets in the first spell, he came back to bowl pinpoint yorkers. Mahmudullah couldn’t dig one of them out and was out for 21. Mosaddek hit a hard length ball back to Bumrah. The 23-year old’s 2/39 ensured that Bangladesh does not get too many runs in the last 10 overs.

The focus now shifts to Sunday, where India and Pakistan will yet again pitted against each other in the finals at the Kennington Oval in London.