India comes from behind to win the T20I series against New Zealand: Player Ratings for the hosts

Under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, India continued their impressive run of form in home T20Is, as they handed New Zealand a 2-1 series defeat. After starting the series with a defeat, the men in blue displayed character and unity to overcome the odds and lay their hands on the silverware.

Let us check out the report card of the Indian players:

Batters

Shubman Gill (9/10): After showing his class in Tests and ODIs, SHubman Gill is now proving his worth in the shortest format of the game as well. He was India’s best batter in this series, scoring 144 runs in three matches at an average of 72 and a strike rate of 184.61.

He could score only 18 runs in the first two matches, but it was in the third match that he sprung to life. The youngster scored unbeaten 126 runs in 62 matches at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which included 12 fours and 7 sixes as well.

Ishan Kishan (3/10): Ishan Kishan had a series to forget, as he got three opportunities but could not prove his worth in any of those three matches. The left-handed wicket-keeper batter scored 24 runs at an average of only 8 and a strike rate of 60.00.

After scoring 4 runs in the first match, in the second match was when he managed to show some kind of composure. The pocket dynamo scored 19 runs from 32 deliveries, which on a turning track in Lucknow was a fairly decent score. However, he was again dismissed for only 1 in the last match.

Rahul Tripathi (5/10): Rahul Tripathi could not really light up the occasion in what was his second T20I expedition with the Indian team, though he did manage to show promise for the future. He scored 57 runs in three matches at an average of 19 and a strike rate of 123.91.

After being dismissed for a duck in the first match, he scored 13 runs in the second match. Tripathi’s best knock came in the third match in Ahmedabad, where he struck a 22-ball 44, hitting 4 fours and also 3 sixes in the process.

Suryakumar Yadav (8/10): Suryakumar Yadav, India’s best T20I batter from 2022, has had a good start to 2023. He scored 97 runs from three matches at an average of 48.50 and a strike rate of 124.35 – which made him the second-highest run-scorer from his team.

His best performance came in the first match in Ranchi, where he struck 47 runs from 34 matches. His knock involved 6 fours and 2 sixes as well. In the second match, he played a match-winning 26-run knock, before scoring a quickfire 24 in the last match.

All-rounders

Hardik Pandya (9.5/10): The Indian skipper, Hardik Pandya led from the front and also won the player of the match award for his contributions with the bat and the ball. He struck 66 runs at an average of 33 and a strike rate of 115.78, while with the ball, he picked up 5 wickets at an economy rate of 6.72 runs per over.

He scored 21 runs in the first match in Ranchi, but could not open his wickets column. In the second match, not only did Pandya remain unbeaten on 15 in a successful chase, but he also picked up a wicket. The best performance came in the third match, where he scored 30 runs and also picked up four wickets.

Deepak Hooda (4/10): Deepak Hooda returned with unimpressive numbers from this series, but to be fair to the all-rounder, he also was devoid of many chances to prove his worth. Hooda scored 12 runs at a strike rate of 100, while also picking up 1 wicket at an economy rate of 5.16 runs per over.

He scored 10 runs in the first match, and while he did not get a chance to bat in the second game, Hooda did manage to pick up the crucial wicket of Glenn Phillips. In the last match, he remained unbeaten on 2 runs and was not handed the ball. 

Washington Sundar (8/10): Washington Sundar also had a good campaign, as he could contribute to his team’s cause in every department. He scored 60 runs at a strike rate of 162.16, while with the ball, the off-spinner picked up 3 wickets at an economy rate of only 5.57 runs per over.

Sundar struck a delightful half-century in the first match in Ranchi, and he also picked up two wickets in the same fixture. Though he could score only 10 runs in the second match, he added another wicket to his tally. In the third match, however, he could neither get a chance to bat nor to bowl.

Bowlers

Shivam Mavi (5/10): Shivam Mavi was one of the few Indian bowlers who could not really live up to his potential in this series. In the three matches, the young pacer picked up as many wickets, while his economy rate of 8.40 is the highest among Indian bowlers.

The 24-year-old picked up one wicket in the first match, but could not add to his tally in the second match. However, he did come good in the third match by picking up two wickets, dismissing Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi in the process.

Umran Malik (6/10): Like his compatriot Mavi, Umran Malik also was not among the ones who set the stage on fire for India. The express speedster picked up two wickets in as many matches while conceding 7.89 runs per over.

After failing to pick up any wickets in Ranchi, he was dropped from the playing XI for the match in Lucknow. However, he did redeem himself in Ahmedabad by picking up the crucial wickets of Daryl Mitchell and Michael Bracewell.

Arshdeep Singh (8/10): Among the likes of Mavi and Malik who are known for their pace, the cunning pace variations and slower ones from Arshdeep Singh worked out best for India. The left-arm pacer jointly topped the wicket-taking charts for his team with five scalps at an economy rate of 8.22 runs per over.

He was not impressive in the first match, where he conceded 51 runs by picking up only 1 wicket. However, Arshdeep was superb in the next two matches, where he picked up a total of four wickets by conceding only 23 runs combined.

Kuldeep Yadav (4/10): Kuldeep Yadav could not really utilize the chances he was provided with during this series. Though he managed to maintain a healthy economy rate of only 5.44 runs per over, only two wickets in three matches are surely not what the national selectors will expect from him.

The 28-year-old picked up one wicket each in the first and the second match. In the third match in Ahmedabad, though, he could not add to his wickets tally. Kuldeep conceded a total of 49 runs across the three games.

Yuzvendra Chahal (7/10): Yuzvendra Chahal was given only one opportunity, which was on the spin-friendly track in Lucknow’s Ekana Stadium. The leg-spinner did fairly well in that match by returning with figures of 2-1-4-1. He took the wicket of the Kiwis’ young opening batter, Finn Allen but surprisingly wasn’t given the ball after the powerplay overs ended.