England vs India, T20 series- Rating the performance of Indian Players

Keeping the winning streak intact in style.
Keeping the winning streak intact in style.

Gentlemen, take out the record books right now because it's time to rewrite the history. With a mammoth 7 wicket win against England in Bristol, India registered their first-ever T20I series win over England in their own backyard.

Chasing the target convincingly, thanks to a memorable century by none other than Rohit Sharma and tremendous all-round performance by Hardik Pandya, India's victory propelled them to #2 on ICC T20 Team Rankings just behind Pakistan, whom they also joined as the only second team to win 6 consecutive IT20 series.

It was a tremendous overall performance by the team and will give them a lot of confidence as they now move forward to present a challenge to England in the two longer formats in the upcoming weeks. Here are the ratings for each Indian player, who was part of the Playing XI, based on their performance in this historic series win.


Top Order

India's top order has been in sublime form for a long time now.
These two were the leading run scorers of this series

Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan has a love affair with English playing conditions, and we are all aware of his phenomenal record in England, and this is exactly why it was shocking to see him struggle in the first three matches of this tour.

With scores of 4, 10 and 5 in the three matches, giving him a cumulative total of 19 runs in 3 matches, Dhawan's performance was the only down from the impeccable Indian batting order from this series.

Falling to Willey in two matches and getting himself run out another, this is probably the worst Shikhar could have performed in England. Hope he regains his form in the upcoming matches, but for now, his form in T20 series was a big thumbs down

Rating :- 3/10


Rohit Sharma

All Hail The Hitman! Talk about a game-changing performance that changed a challenging chase into one of the easiest one in recent times. With a century in the final T20, Rohit joined Colin Munro as the only two batsmen with 3 IT20 hundreds.

While his knock of 100 runs in 56 balls played the anchor role in the series decider in Bristol, his performance in the remaining two matches was not below par by any methods. He held one end of the wicket during the 1st match with his knock of 32 runs but failed to get going in the second fixture.

Rohit has been in sublime form as he finished the series as the highest run scorer. If his performance in this series is a sign, then we can surely expect him to perform big time in the ODI series as well.

Rating:- 9/10


KL Rahul

Wow, Who would have thought before the start of the series that Virat Kohli, India's longtime #3 batsman, would not play at that position in any match? I'll tell you, no one. And guess what, his replacement at that spot, KL Rahul, did a splendid job at that position.

While his class and talent was never in doubt, his impressive performance in IPL skyrocketed his stock, and he made full use of the opportunity given to him. A century in the first match made him the 2nd Indian after Rohit Sharma to score two T20I hundreds.

Thanks to that splendid knock of 101 runs in the opening match and a useful 19 in the final fixture, Rahul ended the series with 126 runs - the second highest in the series. Rahul will be hoping to carry onto this form in the ODI and Test series.

Rating:- 8.5/10

Middle Order

The two stars from the final IT20
The two stars from the final IT20

Virat Kohli

Kudos to Virat Kohli for leading India to their first ever T20 series win in England. His decision to play KL Rahul in the 3rd spot instead of himself and giving an opportunity to Deepak Chahar in the final fixture were masterstrokes.

With the bat in hand, Kohli was not that far behind as a performer. Batting at the unusual #4, thanks to Rahul playing at #3, Kohli contributed to the team's scoreboard in every match with scores of 20, 47 and 43 in the three fixtures giving him a grand total of 110 runs.

In fact, it was his knock of 47 runs, and his partnership with MS Dhoni in second T20I, that propelled India to a respectable total. While definitely not on the level at which he played in South Africa, Kohli still had a pretty good series.

Rating:- 7.5/10


Suresh Raina

This was supposed to be the comeback series for Suresh Raina, the series where he would announce his return at the International stage, but, as it turned out, it wasn't supposed to be since the matches usually finished before he could come out to bat.

In fact, Raina didn't even get a chance to bat in the first and the final fixtures as Indian won both of them convincingly. In the only match that he batted in, Raina scored a calm and composed 27 from 20 balls and assisted Kohli by building a solid partnership with Kohli.

Even in that short period, Raina looked quite comfortable and, more importantly, confident while facing the English fast bowlers. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the upcoming ODI series.

Rating:- 6/10


MS Dhoni

Just like his Chennai Super Kings teammate, the former Indian skipper didn't get enough opportunities to bat in this series and came out to bat only once, and that also in the only match that India lost in the series.

MS Dhoni, however, looked in sublime form in that knock of 32 runs from just 24 balls. It was, however, his work behind the stumps that will earn him a couple of extra points.

Dhoni affected 8 dismissals from behind the stumps, which included 5 catches and a run out in the final match and 2 stumpings in the opening match. Dhoni will be looking to play some big innings in the longer format over the next weeks.

Rating:- 7/10


Hardik Pandya

Believe it or not, but there is a very good chance that this tour might turn out to be career changing one for Hardik Pandya. Always regarded as the weakest bowler in the team, Pandya emerged as the highest wicket-taker for the team in this series.

While he continued playing a strong role as a helpful lower order batsman with a knock of 12 runs and a swashbuckling 33 from 14 balls in the final IT20, his disciplined bowling throughout the series earned him 6 wickets, which included a game-changing 4 wickets in Bristol.

Pandya seems to be improving with the ball day by day, and, if his performance in this series is a sign, he will be a vital cog for the team for the remaining tour.

Rating:- 8/10

Lower Order

It was a mixed bag for the Indian spin twins
It was a mixed bag for the Indian spin twins

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Just like Shikhar Dhawan with the bat, this tour to England didn't start on a high note for Bhuvneshwar Kumar, India's premier fast bowler, with the ball. While he had his moments in between, overall it was a big down from his previous performance in England.

While everyone was expecting him to take advantage of the conditions that benefit his bowling style, he struggled big time in the opening match as he was smashed for 45 runs in his 4 over. He made a stunning comeback in the second match, giving just 7 runs in 3 over, but floundered in the last one as he gave away 12 runs in 4 balls.

Struggling with a niggle in the back, Bhuvi missed the third match. Let's see if he regains his form and rhythm when he returns to the squad for the ODI and Test series.

Rating:- 4.5/10


Umesh Yadav

It was a series that Umesh Yadav will remember for a long, long time as he finally got a chance to make his mark for the Indian team in IT20 format. There is a very good chance that, had Bumrah not been injured, Umesh would have warmed the benches in all fixtures.

With Bhuvi getting smashed for plenty in the opening contest, Umesh took control and returned excellent figures of 2/21. Although he was smashed for a little more in the other two contests, he did take 3 wickets in those two matches.

With Bumrah out of the ODI series as well and Bhuvi struggling at this point of time, Umesh's performance will play a very big role in the future matches for the team as well.

Ratings:- 6.5/10


Kuldeep Yadav

The wrist spinners were getting a lot of buzz around them before the start of series, thanks to their phenomenal performance in South Africa earlier this year, and Kuldeep Yadav stayed true to that buzz with his impeccable performance in the first match.

The English batting order, easily one of the best in the world right now, didn't have any answer to the left-armer as he just rolled over the mighty English batting order in the first match, returning phenomenal figures of 5/24 in his 4 overs.

Surprisingly dropped from the 3rd match after returning figures of 0/34 in 4 overs, Yadav will be looking to return back strongly during the ODI series. Till then, it was a successful series for the chinaman bowler.

Rating:- 7/10


Yuzvendra Chahal

This was certainly not what the fans and the Indian team were expecting from their premier limited-overs spinner. Chahal was expected to act as the trump card for the team, yet he failed to capitalize on the circumstances like his fellow partner.

While Kuldeep took 5 wickets of the English batsmen in the opening match, Chahal failed to even get one wicket. In fact, he only dismissed one batsman in three matches, that also in the only match that India lost in the series.

India still have an ODI series to play against England, and if they want to win that also, Chahal has to play his part by taking wickets in the middle overs.

Rating:- 4/10


Siddarth Kaul

Thanks to an ill-timed injury to India's lead pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul got the chance to represent the Indian team for the second time in the final ODI, and he made sure he contributed to the team in some way.

Dismissing the dangerous Jos Buttler in his first spell and then removing Liam Plunkett in his second spell, Kaul returned good figures of 2/35 in his 4 overs, which were the best among India's three frontline fast bowlers in that match.

Rating:- 6/10


Deepak Chahar

Drafted into the squad after an injury to Jasprit Bumrah brought a premature end to his tour, Deepak Chahar finally got a chance to represent the Indian team in the last IT20, and, while it wasn't the debut he was expecting to have, he at least got the chance to open his international wicket account.

Despite getting bashed for 43 runs in his full quota of 4 overs, Chahar took the all-important wicket of Jason Roy just when he was beginning to look dangerous. The future might be bright for Chahar, but he definitely failed to make a big impact in his debut match.

Rating:- 3/10

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Edited by Amar Anand