It definitely wasn’t the ideal end to the Champions Trophy for the Men in Blue, as they came up against a resurgent Pakistan who defied all the odds throughout the tournament, but especially in the final, trouncing their arch-rivals by a whopping 180 runs to lift their first ever Champions Trophy.
Having said that, though, there definitely were a few positives for Team India to take away, and undoubtedly a few concerns to address going forward. Here, an attempt is made to rate each player’s performance on a scale of 1 to 10.
Virat Kohli
Matches: 5
Runs: 258
Batting average: 129.00
50s: 3
100s :0
Marks: 8/10
Kohli started off shakily in the opening game against Pakistan, but made the most of a dropped chance to finish the Indian innings strongly and set up a comprehensive win. He came back from a duck against Sri Lanka to guide successful chases against South Africa and Bangladesh, but was undone by brilliant bowling in the crunch final against Pakistan.
However, he definitely looked better as the tournament wore on, and will hopefully carry this confidence through to the tour of England next year and silence his critics.
Captaincy wise, Kohli benefited a lot from having Dhoni around him, although he was found wanting on occasion, especially against Sri Lanka. He will need to learn quickly but will benefit from having the experience of a major tournament under his belt.
Rohit Sharma
Matches: 5
Runs: 304
Batting average: 76.00
50s: 2
100s: 1
Marks: 8/10
Rohit was at his fluent best in the semifinal chase against Bangladesh and was instrumental in getting the team off to good starts in the first two games against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
While he was accused of being slow in the first game, he had just returned to international cricket after a long layoff and could be excused for taking time to get back into his groove. Like most of the batting lineup, he fell cheaply in the final, but it was a good comeback tournament overall.
He will be wondering why he was left out of the tour to West Indies, but will hopefully be a mainstay for the rest of the season.
Shikhar Dhawan
Matches: 5
Runs: 338
Batting average: 67.60
50s: 2
100s: 1
Marks: 8/10
India’s trump card at ICC tournaments once again came good, getting the team off to good starts in nearly all the games, answering those who had questioned his selection prior to the tournament.
Dhawan did not look out of place in any of the matches, although he was blamed for slow down his pace in pursuit of a century against Sri Lanka, costing the team the game. He will also need to be more consistent, and display this form not just in ICC tournaments but in bilateral series as well if he is to feature in India’s plans leading up to the 2019 World Cup.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Matches: 5
Runs: 1
Batting average: -
50s : 0
100s: 0
Wickets: 7
Bowling average: 28.14
Marks: 8/10
Bhuvi was India’s stand-out bowler throughout the tournament, picking up the most wickets and going for under 5 an over which is a boon in today’s era. While he did not get the conditions he wanted in most of the games, he was still disciplined.
Bhuvneshwar was the pick of the bowlers in the final as well; his death bowling along with Bumrah ensured that Pakistan did not get 20-30 runs extra at the death, not that it mattered in the end.
Hardik Pandya
Matches: 5
Runs: 105
Batting average: 52.50
50s: 1
100s: 0
Wickets: 4
Bowling average: 58.25
Marks: 7.5/10
The Mumbai Indians star is slowly developing his skills and working his way to becoming India’s long sought-after all-rounder, and seems to enjoy the confidence his captain has put in him.
Pandya chipped in with the bat and ball in almost every game, finishing India’s innings strongly in the first game against Pakistan, and was the only batsman to show some fight in the final against the same opposition.
A word on his attitude too, his reaction to being needlessly run out in the final when most thought it was a lost cause shows his attitude towards the game, and he needs to be nurtured carefully to realise his full potential.
MS Dhoni
Matches: 5
Runs: 67
Batting average: 33.50
50s: 1
100s: 0
Marks: 7/10
MSD didn’t have to do much with the bat in the tournament due to the strong performances of the top 3, but gave India a strong finish to the innings against Sri Lanka. Dhoni was sharp behind the stumps as usual, but like Yuvraj, will need to assess his future ahead of the 2019 World Cup, with strong young talent breathing down his neck.
Kedar Jadhav
Matches: 5
Runs: 34
Batting average: 34.00
50s: 0
100s: 0
Wickets: 3
Bowling average: 22.33
Marks: 7/10
Like Dhoni, Jadhav did not have much to do with the bat other than the match against Sri Lanka and has done enough in the past six months to ensure a slightly extended run in the team.
He proved to be a useful bowler, especially in the match against Bangladesh, where his two wickets during the middle overs restrained the Tigers when it looked like they were set for a huge total. One area to work on is his fielding which was suspect throughout the tournament.
Jasprit Bumrah
Matches: 5
Runs: 1
Batting average: 1.00
50s: 0
100s: 0
Wickets: 4
Bowling average: 52.50
Marks: 7/10
Bumrah bowled well throughout the tournament, especially at the death in the final against Pakistan, but needs to work on his discipline as his no-ball problem cost India dearly again. Who knows how differently the match could have turned out had he not overstepped and Zaman had been dismissed early, but that will forever remain a what-if, just like the WT20 semi-final against West Indies last year.
Yuvraj Singh
Matches: 5
Runs: 105
Batting average: 35.00
50s: 1
100s: 0
Marks: 6/10
A disappointing tournament for Yuvraj, who was brought back into the team last year to provide some experience in the middle-order but will now be contemplating his future after a rather disappointing tournament.
He did look good in the first game as he made the most of being dropped, but didn’t do much else through the tournament, struggling against Sri Lanka and then Pakistan in the final. His all-round skills won India the 2011 World Cup, but he was not looked at as a bowling option by Kohli, and could well have played his last match in an ICC tournament.
Umesh Yadav
Matches: 2
Runs: -
Batting average: -
50s: 0
100s: 0
Wickets: 3
Bowling average: 32.33
Marks: 6/10
Yadav will consider himself unlucky to have been benched after just two games in favour of Ashwin. He started off with a strong performance, picking up three wickets against Pakistan in the first game, however, he had a terrible outing in the second game against Sri Lanka.
Ravindra Jadeja
Matches: 5
Runs: 15
Batting average: 15.00
50s: 0
100s: 0
Wickets: 4
Bowling average: 62.25
Marks: 5/10
Jadeja featured in every game but had a disappointing tournament after coming off a fantastic home Test season. He will remember the tournament for a fantastic fielding effort to run out Shoaib Malik in the first game just when it looked like Pakistan were coming back into the game, but looked strangely out of sorts in the final, culminating in him running out a well-set Pandya, ending whatever little hope India had of staging a fightback.
Ravichandran Ashwin
Matches: 3
Runs: 1
Batting average: 1.00
50s: 0
100s: 0
Wickets: 1
Bowling average: 167.00
Marks: 2/10
It was an extremely disappointing tournament for Ashwin after stellar performances throughout the home Test season. He was coming back from injury and lacked match practice having missed the IPL. Ashwin looked out of place in the ODI set up and was not considered for the first two games.
He did not look threatening in any of the games he played, and could not contain the batsmen in the final, with Fakhar Zaman going after him in the middle overs to cement Pakistan’s advantage. He might feature less and less in LOI cricket going forward, with younger, more athletic spinners waiting in the wings.
DNP: Ajinkya Rahane, Mohammed Shami, Dinesh Karthik
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