Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
A bittersweet day for an Australians like myself.
With Australia losing the final of the T20 Tri-Series in Zimbabwe to Pakistan, the next best result was England losing. They did. I can at least break into half a smile.
On a ground fit for an U-13 cricket match, England failed to reach 200, when 210 was par. 198 was never going to be enough. Then, Rohit Sharma his hit doubters for six, proving that it is no fluke that he is second only to Virat Kohli in limited overs cricket for India over the past few years.
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| Still has bigger boundaries than Bristol |
England will finally meet a top class side with a lot at stake in the Football World Cup. In the cricket, it wasn’t too dissimilar, with England meeting a top class side in India, after hammering Australia 6-0 recently. Of course, gauging whether this is a successful tour for India depends mainly on the ODIs and Tests, but the Indians have fired a big warning shot with their eighth straight success in T20I series comprising of three matches.
In this cricket opinion article, I will go through my player ratings for the 3rd T20I. As always, it is an attempt by me to induce a few smiles and laughs. Feel free to leave a comment!
England
Jason Roy: Avoided getting out to Umesh Yadav for the third straight game, and struck the ball beautifully to all parts. His dismissal actually changed the momentum of the game. 9
Jos Buttler: Got bowled by a ball that should have been deposited into the stands. Looked dangerous, but would have liked to kick on. 7
Alex Hales: Shall I create a new nickname for Alex? I’ll call him “vacuum”, as he sucked momentum out of the innings. Scored 30, but helped India get a grip of things after a manic start.
6
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| Banter game strong |
Eoin Morgan: MS Dhoni’s made more of an impact taking the catch (running into the stumps) than Eoin did in the whole series. 2
Ben Stokes: 14 off 10 and two economical overs with the ball on his return from injury. Reminiscent of his IPL 2018 campaign. 5
Jonny Bairstow: Played some glorious shots towards the end but needed to be there till the end to get England well over 200. 6
David Willey: Should buy Shikhar Dhawan dinner after the India opener clipped a legside half volley into the hands of short fine leg. Expensive outing. 3
Chris Jordan: An absolute freak in the field. Two amazing, but contrasting catches. Would have liked to be a little more economic with the ball, though. 5
Liam Plunkett: Tough day. More expensive than a regular RCB bowling performance at the Chinnaswamy. 1
Adil Rashid: Again, can’t complain with his economy rate. He has been bowling pretty well. Can he chip in with wickets in the ODIs? 7
Jake Ball: Went for 13 an over in three but still wasn’t the most expensive bowler in his team. 2
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India
Shikhar Dhawan: Deserves a nice dinner on David Willey. See above. 2
Rohit Sharma: The man of the match, easily. Superb striking, and showed us that he simply has to be picked for any India limited overs team. 10
KL Rahul: Victim of an unbelievable catch, but still looks in terrific touch. 6
Virat Kohli: Those wrists… Some extraordinary shots from Kohli as he gears up for a huge ODI and Test series. 8
Hardik Pandya: Could argue he is more overrated than the Kardashians, but he bounced back brilliantly after conceding 24 in his 1st over. Finished with 4/38 and 33 not out off 14 balls. 9
MS Dhoni: I don’t often tweet in celebration of cricketers’ birthdays, but I had to for MS. What a cricketer and genius behind the stumps. Superb. 7
Suresh Raina: Not required with either bat or ball. 5
Deepak Chahar: I bet he would have much rathered made his T20I debut in Harare rather than in Bristol. Tough conditions for bowlers but didn’t stop trying. 3
Umesh Yadav: Just doesn’t like bowling at the death. Expensive outing. 2
Siddarth Kaul: Good exponent of the yorker, but should use it more. Should thank Jos Buttler for not hitting his length ball out of Bristol. Still, 2/35 is a good return. 6
Yuzvendra Chahal: Chosen as the wristspinner in this match with Kuldeep left out, Chahal was under pressure to perform. He helped slow down the run rate in the middle overs with quality, accurate bowling. Four overs for 30 is gold.
7.5
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| It all worked out well for the RCB boys! |
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So, the stage is set for an awesome ODI series! As always, feel free to leave a comment and have a discussion.
PS enjoy the cricket today with discounted food below!
