The Men in Blue defeated Afghanistan 3-0 to win the three-match T20I series to mark a happy return for Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to the T20I squad after a long time. Hence, without further delay, let’s take a look at the report card of the Indian players for the three-match series.
Top Order
Rohit Sharma (7/10): Indian skipper Rohit Sharma lost his wicket for a duck in the two initial matches of the series. However, Sharma made a brilliant comeback in the last T20I with an unforgettable century.
After the Men in Blue lost four important wickets at the score of 22, Rohit kept his composure and steered India to a total of 212 runs with the help of Rinku Singh’s half-century. After scoring 121 runs in the first innings, Sharma scored 13 runs in the first super over and 11 runs in the second one winning the Player of the Match accolade in the third T20I.
Shubman Gill (3/10): Due to a misunderstanding between India’s opening pair, Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma, the skipper got run out for a duck in the first match. Nevertheless, after getting settled in the first T20I, Gill lost his wicket against Mujeeb Ur Rahman after scoring only 23 runs. He didn’t play the other matches as Yashasvi Jaiswal returned to full fitness for the last two games.
Yashasvi Jaiswal (6/10): Yashasvi Jaiswal scored a spectacular half-century to give India a kickstart in the chase in the second T20I. He scored 68 runs off 34 balls with a strike rate of 200. Jaiswal was dismissed on a score of 4 runs in 6 balls by Fareed Ahmed in the third T20I.
Tilak Varma (3/10): In Virat Kohli’s absence, Tilak Varma played in the third spot for the Men in Blue in the first match but he was constantly facing problems against Afghanistan’s bowling line-up and eventually lost his wicket against Azmatullah Omarzai, scoring 26 runs off 22 deliveries.
Virat Kohli (4/10): Virat Kohli missed the first match due to personal reasons delaying his return to the T20I setup. In the second T20I, he scored 29 runs off 16 deliveries, with the help of five fours before being dismissed by Naveen-ul-Haq. Nevertheless, in the last match, Kohli went back to the pavilion on a golden duck and was dismissed by Fareed Ahmad.
Middle Order
Jitesh Sharma (5/10): Jitesh Sharma played an important 31-run innings off 20 deliveries in the first match. However, the Punjab Kings wicketkeeper’s campaign ended on a sore note as he was dismissed for a duck in the second match by Karim Janat.
Sanju Samson (1/10): Sanju Samson was called into the playing XI for the third T20I against Afghanistan in the place of Jitesh Sharma but the Rajasthan Royals captain gave a massively underwhelming performance.
He was dismissed for a golden duck by Fareed as India lost four wickets at the minimal score of 22 runs. Moreover, he also failed to score a single run in the super over.
Shivam Dube (8/10): Shivam Dube emerged as India’s finding of the series. In the first game, the all-rounder dismissed Afghanistan’s captain, Ibrahim Zadran and then scored 60 runs off 40 deliveries.
In the next game, Shivam Dube took the wicket of Azmatullah Omarzai and then played an unbeaten knock of 63 runs off only 32 deliveries. In the last match, Dube had a tough time as he failed to take a wicket and scored only a single run.
Rinku Singh has been filling up the shoes of a finisher for the Men in Blue
Rinku Singh (8/10): Since Rinku Singh made his debut for the Men in Blue, he has been giving stellar performances consistently. In the first game against Afghanistan, he played the role of a finisher, scoring 16 runs off 9 balls before scoring nine runs off nine balls in the second T20I.
The Kolkata Knight Riders star built a brilliant 190-run partnership with Indian skipper Rohit Sharma in the last match. He played an unbeaten 69-run innings off 39 deliveries smashing a couple of boundaries and 6 sixes.
All-rounders
Axar Patel (9/10): Axar Patel bowled a brilliant spell in the first match, taking the wickets of Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Rahmat Shah by conceding only 23 runs in four overs. Patel again gave a laudable performance in the second match by taking two wickets and leaking only 17 runs securing the Player of the Match award before being rested for the third match.
Washington Sundar (5/10): Washington Sundar didn’t get the opportunity to bat in the series. Nevertheless, after two wicketless spells in the initial two matches, he finally picked up a wicket in the final game. Sundar took three wickets in the last match of the series, conceding 18 runs in three overs.
Bowlers
Ravi Bishnoi (5/10): Ravi Bishnoi conceded 35 runs in three overs in the first match without taking any wickets. Bishnoi also had an expensive spell in the second match as he leaked 39 runs in four overs but he also dismissed Rahmatullah Gurbaz and Mohammad Nabi.
Bishnoi helped India win the third match in the super over by taking two wickets in three balls
Bishnoi didn’t take any wickets in the third match and bowled four overs with an economy rate of 9.50. However, he bowled an exceptional super over by taking two wickets and helping India win by 10 runs.
Arshdeep Singh (6/10): Arshdeep Singh bowled a wicketless spell against Afghanistan in the first match, conceding 28 runs. However, the Punjab Kings bowler made his comeback by picking up three wickets in four overs with an economy rate of 8. Singh was rested for the third match.
Mukesh Kumar (3/10): Mukesh Kumar took two wickets in the first match, leaking 33 runs in four overs. Kumar bowled only two overs in the second match as he was bowling with an economy rate of almost 11. Likewise the second match, Kumar failed to pick up any wickets in the third game conceding 44 runs. He also bowled the first super over for India, where he conceded 16 runs.
Avesh Khan (1/10): Avesh Khan got the opportunity to play in the series in the dead-rubber encounter in the place of Arshdeep Singh. Khan dismissed Najibullah Zadran but he also conceded 55 runs in four overs with an economy rate of 13.75, which was a concerning factor.
Kuldeep Yadav (2/10): Kuldeep Yadav played only in the third T20I. The wrist-spinner dismissed Rahmatullah Gurbaz but also conceded 31 runs in three overs.
