South Africa vs India, 1st T20I - India Player Ratings

Team India continued their dominating run in the limited overs cricket in South Africa. After having accomplished a historic ODI series win, they marched high on confidence in to the three match T20I series. Action moved to the Wanderers, Johannesburg for the first T20I. It was the same venue where the Indian fortunes had turned earlier on the tour. Their win in the Johannesburg Test had instilled great confidence in the side.

For the hosts, there was a positive to take as well. The only ODI win for the Proteas in the ODI series had come at the very same venue. Coming to this game, JP Duminy won the toss and opted to field first. India got off to a decent start with Rohit Sharma taking on the bowler in the very first over. Soon, Junior Dala got two quick wickets of Rohit and Suresh Raina to get the hosts back in the game.

A handy partnershup between Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli followed before Tabraiz Shamsi dismissed the latter. Meanwhile, Dhawan’s powerpacked 72 saw team India inch closer to the 200-run mark. Some crucial contributions from Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni, and Hardik Pandya saw India finish with 203/5 on the board in their 20 overs.

In the run chase, South Africa had a terrible start with the scorecard reading 48/3 at one stage. Reeza Hendricks and Farhaan Behardien added a crucial 81 run stand but that was never going to be enough. A brilliant over by Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the 17th over saw as many as 4 wickets fall. Hendricks top scored for the hosts with 70 to his name as they could only post 175/9 in their 20 overs. India won the match by 28 runs.

Here are the India Player Ratings for the first T20I:

Shikhar Dhawan – 9/10

Shikhar Dhawan was the star of the show for the Indian team with the bat in the match. Dhawan anchored the knock with utmost perfection in the game. He never let the tempo of the run flow go down for the Indian team in the match. He scored a brilliant 72 off just 39 deliveries. His knock was studded with 10 fours and a couple of sixes. He was unfortunate to have mistimed a scoop. He looked good for his maiden T20I hundred in the game.

Rohit Sharma – 5/10

The way Rohit Sharma started off in the game, the Proteas had their hearts in their mouths. Rohit smashed Dane Paterson for a couple of sixes and a four in the very first over of the match. Rohit’s quickfire knock did not last long though. He was dismissed on 21 (9) in the second over by Junior Dala.

Suresh Raina – 6/10

Suresh Raina was the comeback man for the Indian team in the match. A lot of eyes were on how Raina would go about his innings. Raina hit a six first up to give a lot of hope to the fans. But his attempt to hit another saw his perish after scoring just 15. On the field, Raina was good as ever. He took a very good catch to see the back of JP Duminy in the match. Later, he pocketed two more catches in the deep.

Virat Kohli – 5/10

Indian skipper Virat Kohli arrived in the game as the chief concern for the opposition. He had a decent start to his innings but found it tough going against Tabraiz Shamsi. Albeit he hit a four and a six off the bowling of Shamsi, the chinaman had the last laugh. Kohli, despite having given a let off by Behardien, scored just 26 in the match. Kohli was spot on with his captaincy later on in the game and shuffled his bowlers well.

Manish Pandey – 5.5/10

Manish Pandey finally got a game on the tour but the talented youngster could not really leave a lasting impressive. Pandey hit a six soon after he arrived at the crease. But he could not really get his act right after that. He remained unbeaten on 29 that came off 27 deliveries to see India cross the 200-run mark. However, it would have been a lot better had he hit a few more big shots.

MS Dhoni – 4/10

As team India entered the T20I series, their veteran star MS Dhoni was certainly under some tremendous pressure to perform. In the ODIs, he had failed to give the final flourish to the Indian side. Well, Dhoni was largely a disappointment in this game as well. He could only score 16 in this game and could not get the big ones going. With the gloves, Dhoni was great as ever and did not let anything slip through.

Hardik Pandya – 5.5/10

Hardik Pandya arrived at the crease to bat in the end stages of the game. He hit a couple of boundaries during his unbeaten stay at the crease. With the ball, Pandya got a big scalp early on in the game. He dismissed David Miller in the game. However, he was taken away for a lot of runs in the end overs. He went for 45 runs in the four overs that he bowled.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 8/10

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was arguably the best performer for the Indian team in the match. Not only did he show he can be great with the new ball, but also proved his prowess in the death overs. Bhuvi bagged two wickets in the powerplay to put India in a commanding position.

He dismissed JJ Smuts and JP Duminy in the powerplay. Later in the game, he bowled the all important 18th over. The over was the turning point for the Indian team. As many as 4 wickets fell in that over (including a run out). Bhuvneshwar finished with his career best figures of 5/24 in 4 overs.

Jasprit Bumrah – 4/10

Jasprit Bumrah’s numbers in the game certainly does not justify the way he bowled in the game. Bumrah bowled accurate lines up front. He was used as a first change bowler and he responded well by bowling consistent lines. Bumrah went wicketless in the game though. He gave away 32 runs in the four overs that he bowled on the day.

Jaydev Unadkat – 5/10

Jaydev Unadkat was drafted in the playing eleven as Kuldeep Yadav had to sit out with an injured finger. Unadkat had a decent start to the series. He was taken away for 15 runs in his very first over. Since then, he bowled really well to get back on track. He gave away 33 runs in his quota of four overs. He got the wicket of Andile Phehlukwayo in his final over of the game.

Yuzvendra Chahal – 5/10

Yuzvendra Chahal was the solitary spinner for the Indian team in the side. He certainly had a lot of pressure on him. Unlike his shows in the ODIs, Chahal failed to control the run flow in the game. He conceded 39 runs in his spell of 4 overs. However, he did manage to get a big wicket in the form of Farhaan Behardien on the last ball of his spell.

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