India vs Ireland, Report Card: Rating the Indian players from the T20I series

The Indian cricket team decimated the Irish, defeating them 2-0 in the recently concluded two-match T20I series held in Ireland.

The Men in Blue posted a 200 plus score in both matches and the bowlers were up to the task as they restricted Ireland to a below-par score on both occasions. They won the 2nd T20I by 143 runs, which is their biggest win-margin in T20I history.

It was a disappointing performance by the Irish, who recently achieved their Test status as well.

In this article, we rate the Indian players on a scale of 1-10.

Batsmen:

Rohit Sharma: 5/10

The 'Hitman' made an impact in the first T20I as he scored a scintillating knock of 97 in just 61 deliveries. However, he was dismissed for a duck in the 2nd match as he was dropped down to no. 4 on the batting line-up.

Shikhar Dhawan: 8/10

Dhawan played just one match in the series and got India off to a perfect start as he scored yet another half-century. He failed to convert it to a century but his knock was enough to propel his side to a big score.

KL Rahul: 7.5/10

KL Rahul was surprisingly left out of the playing XI for the first match but he opened the batting in the second match and took advantage of the opportunity as he gave India the perfect start. He was the highest scorer for India with 70 runs to his name

Virat Kohli: 2/10

Surprisingly, Virat Kohli failed in both the matches, including a duck in the first match when he came to bat lower down the order. He opened the innings in the 2nd match and failed to get going as he scored just 9 runs. However, his captaincy was on point as he led India to a 2-0 victory.

Suresh Raina: 6/10

Raina was included in the squad after a successful season with the Chennai Super Kings. He failed to get going in the first match but made up for it as he scored a half-century in the 2nd T20I, which helped India cross the 200 run mark.

Manish Pandey: 4/10

Pandey did not get a chance to make an impact in the first T20I. He had quite a lot of time to do something in the 2nd match but despite scoring 21, he did not look convincing, scoring at a low strike-rate.

Hardik Pandya: 6/10

The enigmatic all-rounder had the best strike-rate amongst all the Indian players in the series. He scored 6 off just 1 delivery in the first match and blasted his way to 32 in just 9 deliveries in the second match. He contributed with the ball as well, picking up one wicket.

MS Dhoni: NA

Dhoni played just 5 deliveries in the first match and was rested for the second match, thus, we cannot give any rating to him.

Bowlers:

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 4/10

Bhuvi was extremely economical in the first T20I as he gave away just 16 runs in the four overs he bowled, however, he did not pick up any wickets. He was replaced by Siddharth Kaul for the second match.

Umesh Yadav: 6/10

Umesh continued from where he left off in the IPL and gave India the perfect start in the 2nd T20I, picking up two quick wickets. He did not play in the first match.

Jasprit Bumrah: 6/10

Bumrah, who has been India's most consistent T20I bowler over the past couple of years, continued his good run of form as he picked up two wickets in the first T20I before being rested for the second match.

Kuldeep Yadav: 9/10

The Chinaman bowler was India's best performer in the T20I series, picking up 7 wickets and conceding just a handful of runs. The opposition failed to read his bowling and he took full advantage of that.

Yuzvendra Chahal: 8.5/10

Chahal formed a formidable partnership with Kuldeep as he picked up six wickets in the two matches he played.

Siddharth Kaul: NA

Playing in his first T20I, Kaul was impressive as he picked up one wicket and conceded just 4 runs in the two overs he bowled. He will hope to make an impact in the future as well, playing for the Men in Blue.