ENG vs IND: 1st T20I, India Player Ratings

The much-awaited series between England and India has finally got underway on a grand note. However, the hosts didn’t have much to cheer as the Men in Blue annihilated them by eight wickets to win the first T20I in Manchester. Most importantly, they took a 1-0 lead in the three-match affair. The Brits put 159 runs on the board after being pushed back by some immaculate bowling from both the pacers and spinners.

The target was competitive, but not out of India’s reach by any stretch of the imagination. The contest eventually was made one-sided courtesy of the Blue Army’s belligerent strokeplay. With the victory, Virat Kohli’s men accomplished their seventh T20I win on the trot.

Following the triumph, we rate the Indian players as per their performances

Rohit Sharma – 7/10

The opener strained to find any timing, but he ensured that he stayed with KL Rahul in a partnership of 123 runs. The 31-year old scored 32 runs from 30 balls and lent the support his partner needed to shepherd his team home. He smacked three fours and one six in his knock.   

Shikhar Dhawan – 1/10

He started his knock with a streaky boundary through the slips, but David Willey broke his defense and castled him in the fifth ball of the very first over. He was in decent touch prior to this match, but couldn’t deliver for his team during the run chase.

KL Rahul- 9/10

With a formidable lineup in India’s armory, Rahul’s selection wasn’t obvious. However, he was drafted in and he has cemented his spot at least for the remaining T20Is courtesy of his second century in the format. He notched a fifty in 27 balls after which he came on to his own and reached his ton in 53 balls.

Virat Kohli (C)- 7/10

Kohli scored 20 runs from 22 balls in his knock, but he showed maturity and turned the strike over in order for Rahul to reach his second century. As a skipper, he was immaculate with his bowling changes and never allowed England’s initial blitz to unnerve him.

Suresh Raina- 

N/A

MS Dhoni (wk)- 6/10

Dhoni didn’t have much to do in the much, but he made two contributions, which turned the match on its head. He inflicted a couple of stumpings of Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root off Kuldeep Yadav’s bowling. The wickets pushed the Brits on the backfoot from which never recovered.

Hardik Pandya- 7 /10

Pandya conceded 18 runs in his third over when Buttler laid on to him. Apart from that over, he was impressive. The pacer beat Hales’ outside edge on quite a few times and also gave away five runs in the last over. He also picked up Moeen Ali’s wicket to further dent the hosts’ batting. His figures were 4-0-33-1.

Yuzvendra Chahal- 5/10

There have been very few occasions when Chahal has gone wicketless. Today’s match was one such instance. He was introduced inside the field restrictions and quite expectantly, Jason Roy and Buttler targeted him and scored 16 runs. He resurrected his figures and finished with 34 runs in his four overs.

Kuldeep Yadav- 9.5/10

He became the first Chinaman to pick up a five-wicket haul in T20Is. He started the carnage in the 12th over, by getting rid of Alex Hales. In his very next over, the tweaker churned out Bairstow, Root and Morgan’s wicket to leave England in shambles. In his last over, Kuldeep nipped out the big fish- Jos Buttler.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar- 3/10

Bhuvneshwar leaked 45 runs from his quota and had an off day with the leather. He was also the most expensive of all the bowlers. His opening spell went for quite a few runs in the powerplay and when he came back in the death overs David Willey spanked 18 runs off his penultimate over. His made some amends in the last over, giving away only eight runs.

Umesh Yadav- 8.5/10

The speedster picked up the wicket of Jason Roy to give India their first breakthrough. In his last over, the pacer nipped out Chris Jordan’s wicket and conceded on 21 runs in his quota. The Vidarbha fast-bowler gave nothing away for the English batsmen to work with in the death overs and gave only six runs in his last couple of overs.