India came back from 0-1, then 1-2, to win the T20I series against England by a 3-2 margin. The series witnessed the long-awaited debut of two men, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav, both of whom announced their arrival in style. Here is a report card for the Indians.
Suryakumar Yadav: 9.5 (M 3, R 89, SR 185, C 5)
Suryakumar did not play the first match, debuted in the second but did not get to bat, and was dropped for the third. When he finally got a chance, he hit a six off the first ball he faced and got a 31-ball 57. He followed this with a 17-ball 32, including two sixes off the first three balls. Bonus marks for holding five catches.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 9.5 (M 5, W 4, Econ 6.38)
This was a high-scoring series, but Bhuvneshwar did not concede over 7.50 in any of the five matches. He returned to the side after a long hiatus, and has immediately claimed a stake for a place in the starting XI in the T20 World Cup.
Hardik Pandya: 9 (M 5, R 86, SR 141, W 3, Econ 6.94)
No big innings for Hardik, but he eventually ended with a strike rate of over 140. However, he impressed more with ball. Barring Bhuvneshwar, he was the only bowling from either side to concede under seven an over. India have probably found their fifth bowler.
Virat Kohli: 8.5 (M 5, R 231, SR 147)
Kohli failed twice, but top-scored for India in the other three innings. However, he probably left the onslaught for too late on a couple of occasions. Led well.
Shreyas Iyer: 8 (M 5, R 121, SR 146)
Iyer was the standout batsman in the lowest-scoring match of the series, the first. He also played a crucial cameo in the fourth match.
Rohit Sharma: 8 (M 3, R 91, SR 144)
Rohit played two cameos before finally coming to his own in the final match. Finished as one of five Indians with a series strike rate in the 140s.
Ishan Kishan: 8 (M 2, R 60, SR 146)
His exhilarating strokeplay earned him the Player of the Match award on debut. Dropped one failure later. A longer runs, perhaps?
Shardul Thakur: 6 (M 5, W 8, Econ 9.69)
That economy rate does not look good, but Thakur took crucial wickets. He has outfoxed batsmen with his change of pace, but may find it difficult to retain a place once Jasprit Bumrah & co. return.
Rishabh Pant: 5 (M 5, R 102, SR 129, C 2, S 1)
Pant found the boundary almost as frequently as anyone else, but played too many dot balls. Did a competent job behind the stumps.
Washington Sundar: 4 (M 5, W 4, Econ 8.90)
From the first three T20Is, Sundar had figures of 10.3-0-73-4. From the last two, 5-0-65-0.
Yuzvendra Chahal: 2 (M 3, W 3, Econ 9.91)
Chahal found the dew difficult to cope with and had a rare bad series. Was dropped after three matches.
Rahul Chahar: 2 (M 2, W 2, Econ 9.71)
Replaced Chahal midway through the series but did little better. The two men had near-identical figures.
T Natarajan: 2 (M 1, W 1, Econ 9.75)
One match for Natarajan, but that was the one that yielded most runs. He is a better bowler than the numbers suggest.
Axar Patel: 2 (M 1, Econ 8)
England had to chase only 125 in the first T20I. Axar bowled three overs without leaving any impact, positive or otherwise.
Shikhar Dhawan: 0.5 (M 1, R 4, SR 33)
One forgettable outing that served little purpose.
KL Rahul: 0.5 (M 4, R 15, SR 48)
Rahul’s horror phase eventually resulted in him getting dropped. Perhaps unfortunate, given his stature, but the competition is too stiff.