Ben Gardner rates India’s players out of 10 after their 2-1 ODI series defeat to Australia.
Rohit Sharma – 3.5
43 runs at 21.50, SR: 134.37, HS: 30
Noticeably more attacking against the new ball, but with only limited effectiveness thus far.
Shubman Gill – 3
57 runs at 19.00, SR: 69.51, HS: 37
Still played the shots to make you swoon, but without the big contributions that have become commonplace in 2023.
Virat Kohli – 5.5
89 runs at 29.66, SR: 76.72, HS: 54
The top-scorer in each of the last two ODIs, but his dismissal was injudicious in the collapse in the second, and became becalmed towards the end of the third as he passed his fifty. Still, he is resuming his place as a consistent performer in the format.
KL Rahul – 8.5
116 runs at 58.00, SR: 75.81, HS: 75*
Fast becoming India’s most reliable batter in ODIs. Rahul was supreme in the first ODI, and chipped in usefully in the third too.
Suryakumar Yadav – 0
0 runs at 0, SR: 0.00, HS: 0
Three innings, three plays and misses, three first-ball zeros. Fittingly, his mark is a zero too.
Hardik Pandya – 6.5
66 runs at 22.00, SR: 89.18, HS: 40
4 wickets at 22.75, ER: 6.50, BBI: 3-44
A decent outing in the first and a very good one in the third, but he couldn’t take India home. He, as India will, will want to quickly forget the second.
Ravindra Jadeja – 7.5
79 runs at 39.50, SR: 56.02, HS: 45*
2 wickets at 40.00, ER: 4.21, BBI: 2-46
Ended Mitchell Marsh’s assault in the first ODI and saw India home, and was miserly in the third. Like the rest, was powerless in the second.
Axar Patel – 3
31 runs at 31, SR: 93.93, HS: 29*
2 wickets at 41, ER: 7.45, BBI: 2-57
Proved expensive with the ball, and a promotion to No.5 in the decider didn’t work as planned, though it was earned with a handy knock in the second.
Kuldeep Yadav – 5
4 wickets at 29.00, ER: 6.10, BBI: 3-56
Three precious middle-overs scalps in the third ODI, including the ball of the series, in a strong field, to Alex Carey.
Mohammed Siraj – 4.5
5 wickets at 20.46, ER: 6.57, BBI: 3-29
Bookended the Australia innings in the first ODI with wickets, and added two more late on in the third, but will want more penetration when it matters.
Mohammed Shami – 5
3 wickets at 27.66, ER: 5.53, BBI: 3-17
Changed the game in the first ODI, but was unusually loose in the third.
Ishan Kishan – 1
3 runs at 3, SR: 8.00, HS: 3
Just three runs in his only innings, though that’s still three more than SKY.
Shardul Thakur – 1
0-12 from two overs
Unneeded apart from two ‘nothing’ overs in the opener, and left out thereafter.