England vs India T20I series: Report Card of Indian Cricketers

Marching ahead with its dream run in the shorter formats, the Indian cricket team has registered yet another emphatic series win after defeating England 2-1 in the recently concluded T20 series.

Thanks to a squad that boasted a seemingly equal balance of youth and experience, the men in blue outplayed the three lions in the best of the three games and registered some memorable performances.

However, while most of the players put forth decent performances, a few had some forgettable outings thereby raising a concern or two in the Indian camp. Here, we take a look at how the Indian cricketers fared in this series.

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#1 Rohit Sharma (Mat: 3 Runs: 137)- 9/10

Rohit Sharma was in scintillating touch in the third T20I

Rohit Sharma emerged to be India's superhero in the series decider played at Bristol on Sunday. The 'Hitman', as he's popularly known, went on to score his 3rd T20I hundred and played a crucial role in helping India chase down a challenging target of 198. Sharma also lent a helping hand to KL Rahul in the first game when the latter was busy blowing away the England bowlers. With 137 runs in 3 games, at an impressive strike rate of 144.21, the Mumbaikar stood as India's top run-getter in the series and was, justifyingly, adjourned the Man of the Series.

#2 Shikhar Dhawan (Mat: 3 Runs: 19)- 2.5/10

Shikhar Dhawan had a dismal series with the bat

Contrary to the expectations, Shikhar Dhawan failed to impress with the bat in the series. With a good run of form in England in the past, much was expected of the southpaw at the top of the order.

However, Dhawan found the going tough and fell early prey to the English bowlers in all the three games. The man from Delhi will be looking forward to forgetting his form in the T20 series and make an impression in the upcoming ODI games.

#3 KL Rahul (Inn: 3 Runs: 126)- 9/10

KL Rahul left the spectators spellbound with his innings in the first T20I

Creaming the ball to all parts of the ground at will, KL Rahul dispatched the English bowlers in the opening game of the series.

Coming at No. 3 while chasing eight runs in over, Rahul took off right from the word go as he put the bowling attack under the pump.

With an exquisite strokeplay, which proved the batsman's worth at the top of the order, he registered his second T20I hundred as India cruised home to victory.

Rahul, however, couldn't quite repeat his heroics in the succeeding two matches of the series.

#4 Virat Kohli (Inn: 3 Runs: 110)- 8/10

Virat Kohli made vital contributions to the team's score in the final two games of the series

Having been restricted to play an anchor's role towards the finishing stages of the first game, Virat Kohli was entrusted to play much bigger roles in the other two games.

While the Indian skipper stood as the top scorer in a rather paltry total in the second game, he complemented Rohit perfectly in the final match and weaved together a match-winning partnership.

Leaving apart a few "tactical" blemishes spotted by the critics in the second game, Kohli was also hailed for his captaincy, especially for sending in Rahul ahead of himself in the batting order.

Suresh Raina (Inn: 1 Runs: 27)- 6.5/10

Suresh Raina got just one opportunity to bat in the entire series

A jam-packed top order meant that Suresh Raina had to be slotted in the middle order of the batting line-up in the series. Also, with the top order batsmen doing the majority of the scoring, Raina was presented with only one opportunity to bat.

Coming in at a precarious 22-3 in the second game, the southpaw joined Kohli to steady a sinking Indian ship and lay a platform for putting a respectable total together.

Scoring 27 off 20 balls, Raina got off to a decent start but failed to kick on and play a match-winning knock for the team.

#6 MS Dhoni (Inn: 1 Runs: 32 | Mat: 3 Ct: 5 St: 2)- 8/10

MS Dhoni too didn't get too many opportunities with the bat in the series

MS Dhoni got a chance to bat only once in the entire series. Pummeling a few lusty blows towards the end of the innings, Dhoni ended up making a handy contribution of 32 runs in a low-scoring second game.

However, it was his brilliant glove work behind the stumps that made a more telling contribution to India's cause in the series.

While Dhoni's lightning quick stumpings left the English batsmen clueless, his safe catching helped him register a record five catches in a single innings.

#7 Hardik Pandya (Inn: 2 Runs: 45 | Mat: 3 Wkt: 6)- 8.5/10

Hardik Pandya broke the back of England's batting lineup in the third T20I

Not having to do much of a job with the bat, Hardik Pandya shone brightly with the ball in hand. Delivering his full quota of four overs in all the three games, the younger Pandya proved to be more than a handful for India's captain Kohli.

While the first two games saw him chip in with one wicket in each game, the third encounter witnessed the lanky all-rounder register his career-best figures of 4-38, which helped put brakes on England's barrage.

To add further to the glory, Pandya also scored a blistering 33 off 14 balls towards the end to help India score a comfortable victory.

#8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar (Mat: 2 Wkt:1)- 4/10

Bhuvneshwar Kumar wasn't quite at his best in the two games he played

With the series played in seam-friendly conditions of England, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was expected to make the ball talk with his skillful swing bowling.

However, with conditions turning out to be batsmen-friendly, Kumar had tough outings in both the games he played.

While he was pummeled for 45 runs off his four overs in the first game, he accounted for better figures in the second match in a losing cause.

The man from Uttar Pradesh was ruled out of the third game with a stiff back and will be itching to get back into form in the ODI series.

#9 Umesh Yadav (Mat: 3 Wkt: 5)- 7.5/10

Umesh Yadav caused a problem or two to the English batsmen with his raw pace

Making a comeback into the Indian team after a long gap, Umesh Yadav ended up with satisfactory returns in the T20 series.

Barring the last game, where he was handed over a beating by the opposition's batsmen, Yadav chipped in with timely wickets and impressed one and all with his raw pace.

Coming into the team in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the paceman's performance has certainly done him no harm going into the ODI series.

#10 Yuzvendra Chahal (Mat: 3 Wkt: 1)- 6.5/10

Yuzvendra Chahal failed to make inroads into England's middle order

With just one wicket in three games, Yuzvendra Chahal had to conclude the T20 series on a disappointing note.

Coming into the series as one of the major threats, given the English batsmen's vulnerability to wrist spin, Chahal couldn't quite manage to replicate his heroics from the South African tour.

However, the leggie didn't give away too many runs either in any of the games and kept the run flow in check when the batsmen were going hammer and tongs.

#11 Kuldeep Yadav (Mat: 2 Wkt: 5)- 8.5/10

Kuldeep Yadav proved to be India's X-factor in the first game

Bamboozling the English batsmen left, right, and centre, Kuldeep Yadav made the opposition look like a bunch of inexpert cricketers who had no clue of how to play left-arm wrist spin.

Coming into bowl at a stage when England was cruising ahead, Yadav blew away the batsmen with his wily spin bowling and accounted for match-winning figures of 5-24.

The youngster, however, couldn't quite weave his magic in the second game as England managed to keep him at bay.

#12 Siddarth Kaul (Mat: 1 Wkt: 2)- 8/10

Siddarth Kaul showed what promise he holds for Indian cricket

After an impressive debut against Ireland, Siddarth Kaul faced his first major test against England's strong batting lineup on a belter of a wicket in the third game of the series.

With Bhuvi and Kuldeep not present in the bowling unit, Kaul was expected to carry forth his IPL heroics in the series decider.

In spite of going for a few runs in his quota of four overs, the man from Punjab accounted for two wickets, including the prized scalp of Jos Buttler. The fast bowler was also good at the death with his yorkers and pace variations.

#13 Deepak Chahar (Mat: 1 Wkt: 1)- 5/10

Deepak Chahar ended up with figures of 1-43 in his first outing for team India

Replacing the injured Jasprit Bumrah in the squad, Deepak Chahar had big shoes to fill in when he took the field in the third T20I.

Debuting in a series decider against a strong batting unit, the right-arm pacer had his task cut out right from the first over.

With small boundaries and lack of swing making his life worse, Chahar could not quite deliver a debut performance that he would have wanted.

However, the young pacer took the big wicket of Jason Roy who was going all guns blazing and threatened India of a massive score.

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Do you agree with the ratings we have given for the Indian squad? Sound off in the comments section below!