Indian players hold their nerves to sweep Sri Lanka in the T20I series: Player Ratings for the Visitors
India, the reigning T20 World Champions under the new leadership of Suryakumar Yadav, dominated the T20I series against Sri Lanka, sweeping the series 3-0 at Pallekele.
The first match saw India setting an imposing target of 213 in their 20 overs and winning by 43 runs. The second T20I, affected by rain, was convincingly won by India as they chased down 78 with nine balls to spare, securing a seven-wicket victory. The third game showcased India’s resilience, tying the match from a losing position and then clinching victory in the super-over.
This series marked the start of a new era for Indian cricket, with Gautam Gambhir stepping in as head coach and Suryakumar Yadav taking over the T20I captaincy from Rohit Sharma. Following their ICC T20 World Cup triumph last month, India successfully embarked on this new journey with a promising start. Let’s now analyse the performance ratings and contributions of each Indian player throughout the series.
Batters
Shubman Gill (8/10): The Indian vice-captain played two games in the series and ended up with 73 runs at an average of 36.50 and a strike rate of 137.73.
Shubman Gill struck a quick-fire 34 runs off 16 deliveries in the opening game to provide India a 74-run start in the powerplay. He was the top run-scorer for the team in the third game, scoring 39 runs off 37 balls after they found themselves in big trouble at 30/4.
Jaiswal was key at the top of the order for India
Yashasvi Jaiswal (7.5/10): Yashasvi Jaiswal was key in India’s first two victories, scoring at an excellent rate at the top of the order. He scored 40 runs off 21 balls in the opening match and followed it up with 30 runs off 15 balls while chasing a target of 78 runs in the second T20I. In the third game, he couldn’t do much, falling for a 9-ball 10 and finished the series with 80 runs at an average of 26.66 and a strike rate of 177.77.
Suryakumar Yadav (9/10): The newly appointed Indian T20I captain topped the run-scoring chart for the team, with 92 runs from three innings at an average of 30.66 while striking at 195.74.
Surya smashed a brilliant 58 runs off 26 deliveries in the series opener to help India post 213 and followed it up with a 12-ball 26 in the second game as they chased down a revised target of 78 in eight overs.
He failed with the bat in the third game, making 8 runs off 9 balls but picked 2 for 5 in the final over, bowling in T20I cricket for the first time. SKY was named the ‘player of the series’ for his all-round performance.
Rishabh Pant (5/10): The left-hand wicket-keeper batter played the first two games, and while he only faced two deliveries in the second game, he had enough time in the middle in the opening fixture.
Pant scored 49 runs off 33 balls in that game, adding 76 runs for the third wicket with Suryakumar but it wasn’t a fluent knock, being stuck at 20 off 23 at one stage.
Rinku Singh (3/10): Rinku Singh came in to bat in the 19th over in the first game and was dismissed for just 1 run. In the third game, he was promoted up the order but again fell for just one run. His part-time bowling came to India’s rescue as he picked 2 for 3 when the hosts needed 9 runs from two overs.
Sanju Samson (1/10): Sanju Samson had a decent series against Zimbabwe with one half-century but his performance in Sri Lanka could prove to be costly for his future. Samson had two opportunities in the series and was dismissed without opening his account in both matches. The Rajasthan Royals skipper kept wickets in the third T20I and took a couple of catches after dropping a couple of chances earlier in the innings.
Shivam Dube (2/10): Shivam Dube came into the playing XI in the dead rubber but couldn’t make the most of the opportunity, falling for a run-a-ball 13. His medium pace bowling wasn’t used in the match as well.
All-rounders
Hardik Pandya (5.5/10): India’s premier all-rounder had a poor first game, where he made 9 runs in 10 deliveries after coming in to bat in the 14th over, and conceded 41 runs in four overs with the ball. He was expensive in the second outing as well but picked two wickets, before playing an unbeaten knock of 22 runs off 9 balls with the bat.
Axar Patel (8/10): The left-arm spin all-rounder batted once in the series and scored 10 not-out in 5 balls. With the ball, he was expensive in the first game but picked two crucial wickets which triggered a Sri Lankan collapse. In the second game, Axar claimed 2 for 30 in his four overs.
Riyan Parag (5.5/10): Riyan Parag had two opportunities to bat in the series, falling for 7 off 6 in the first game but making 26 runs off 18 balls in the third game. He bowled 9.2 overs across three games and had a good economy of 6.64 while picking 3 for 5 in the opening game.
Washington Sundar (7/10): Washington Sundar, who was the ‘player of the series’ against Zimbabwe, featured only once in this series and he delivered a match-winning performance.
The off-spin all-rounder scored 25 off 18 in the third match to help India reach 137 before snaring 2 for 23 in four overs. Sundar also bowled the super-over and claimed 2 for 2 to set up the victory for the team.
Bowlers
Ravi Bishnoi (8/10): The leg-break bowler Ravi Bishnoi topped the chart for the most wickets in the series, picking six scalps at an economy rate of 8.41 and strike rate of 12. He was the ‘player of the match’ in the second game for an excellent spell of 3 for 26 in four overs.
Arshdeep Singh (7.5/10): The left-arm pacer played two games in the T20I series and picked four wickets at an average of 12, and an economy rate of 8. He had identical figures of 3 for 24 in three overs on both occasions.
Siraj picked only one wicket in the three T20Is
Mohammed Siraj (3.5/10): Mohammed Siraj featured in all three games, bowling nine overs but could manage one wicket to his credit at an average of 61. But his economy rate of 6.77 was amongst the best in the series.
Khaleel Ahmed (1/10): Khaleel Ahmed had a forgettable time in his only appearance of the series in the third game, returning figures of 0 for 28 in three overs. Defending 21 in three overs, he bowled five wides in the 18th over and conceded 12 runs.