Last Updated on 6 years by Charbel Coorey
New Zealand vs India T20I Series Player Ratings. NZ vs IND T20I Player Ratings
Some joy for New Zealand. A defeat for India after a golden summer. It just had to happen, didn’t it?
New Zealand, ‘4-1’, would have loved to forget the ODI series massacre that surprised many. A T20I series win is a nice way to end India’s visit, where Kane Williamson had his hands full a lot more often than the series against Sri Lanka. This T20I series began with a bang, but ended in nervy fashion, with some questionable death bowling threatening to hand India another series win. But, the Black Caps held on, to the relief of Williamson, who might have had a few grey hairs appear these last couple of weeks.
For India, if any fan rubbishes their team, they possibly need to be deposited into the stands as much as the ball was in the Hamilton T20I. This defeat takes no shine off what’s been an excellent summer, which started back in November in Brisbane. There are a few things to look at, such as their bowling, but they nearly pulled off series wins in both formats in what is a tough away tour to New Zealand.
In this article, I will rate each player in the series out of ten. If you laugh, do let me know about it. If you don’t, be kind.
Also read: MRF “Chase Master” or DSC? Which takes the #1 cricket bat title in 2019?
New Zealand
Tim Seifert: Brilliant series. It is no coincidence that New Zealand won both games he fired in. The man of the series had Rohit Sharma shaking his head more than Rohit fans, who see India have lost a series under his leadership. 8.5
Colin Munro: Forget ‘The Notebook’, ‘Titanic’ or ‘A Walk to Remember’, Colin Munro and T20 cricket is the ultimate love story. Fired in the final T20I, picking up the man of the match award. Like Seifert, it was crucial to New Zealand that Munro fired. 8
Kane Williamson: Threatened to do more in each T20I, but finished with scores of 34, 20 and 27. Not bad, but could have been more. It was like a kid walking into a huge candy store and only taking a little. 6.5
Daryl Mitchell: Victim of a DRS howler so bad in Auckland that the on-field umpires were wondering whether they could overturn the third umpire. Perhaps they could have showed Shaun Haig on-screen, tell him “you’re on-screen now, reverse your non-reversal”. Nonetheless, it was a promising series for Mitchell, finishing the innings well in the third T20I and picking up four wickets in the series. 5
Ross Taylor: Spent so much of the tour putting out fires, which was on show in the second T20I. Got New Zealand to some sort of respectability in Auckland, but it wasn’t to be enough. All in all, a steady series. 6.5
Colin de Grandhomme: This man can hit a cricket ball. Got New Zealand out of a huge hole in Auckland, and then struck the ball nicely again in the final T20I. As de Grandhomme has played for RCB, Kane Williamson was wary of using him with the ball. 7
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Mitchell Santner: Really miserly with the ball, going for just eight an over in three matches. Series figures of 4/72 in nine overs, on grounds that a 10-year old could hit boundaries on, is a fine return. 7
Scott Kuggeleijn: Men, women, children in the crowd, get out of the road. New Zealand gave Kuggeleijn three games, and conceded 103 in 9.5 overs with a solitary wicket. His highlight was a fine cameo of 20* off seven balls to get New Zealand over the 200 mark in the first T20I. 2
Tim Southee: A tough end to what was a fine series, but held his nerve to see New Zealand home in the decider. 7
Blair Tickner: Solid in his debut game in a decider. Picked up the prize wicket of Rishabh Pant when he was firing. A rating of six for his only game. 6
Ish Sodhi: Loves a wicket with a half-tracker, does Ish. Picked up three wickets for the series, but there is no doubt that Sodhi has not developed into the level of cricketer we thought he could be. 5
Lockie Ferguson: Proper wheels. 3/53 in eight overs, before he was rested for the third game. His dismissal of Shikhar Dhawan in the second T20I was the stuff of dreams for fast bowlers. 7.5
India
Rohit Sharma: Rohit as captain over Kohli won’t automatically mean big success, as some corners of Twitter will make you believe. Sharma would have been frustrated to get out to two pull shots, and even more so as he got two starts he was threatening to go on with. He struggled in the final T20I. Just couldn’t get going. 6.5
Shikhar Dhawan: We all remember Rahul Dravid leaving a message on Ajinkya Rahane’s bat. He also left one for Shikhar Dhawan. 5
Vijay Shankar: A promising series from Shankar. If someone told me that Shankar would bat at three and bat well, I might have asked if they were drinking heavily. A solid series. 7
Also read: MRF “Chase Master” or DSC? Which takes the #1 cricket bat title in 2019?
Rishabh Pant: Strike rate huge, and threatened to go massive in the third T20I. Deflating feeling for all fans when Pant was out to a filthy full toss in the third T20I. 7
Hardik Pandya: Sydney property prices are expensive. However, if it gets as expensive as Hardik Pandya this series, we are in trouble. 12 overs for 119 runs, with 25 runs with the bat. Always promising, but still hasn’t cracked the T20I format. 4
MS Dhoni: Whatever Dhoni does, you know you’re in for some entertainment on Twitter. Some corners of Twitter were harsh on him in the third T20I, but his series overall was steady. Absolutely superb behind the stumps. 6
Dinesh Karthik: All optometrists, you may have a new client in waiting. Karthik had reportedly mistaken Krunal Pandya for Jasprit Bumrah, hence denying a single in the final over of India’s huge chase in the third T20I. Jokes aside, he threatened to finish brilliantly for India again, showing some excellent hitting towards the end. He will not let the selectors forget about him. 5
Krunal Pandya: All India fans can be impressed with Krunal, despite a couple of tough outings with the ball. As was the case in Australia recently, he started the series shakily, but then improved. He nearly helped India get home with the bat. 6
Bhuvneshwar Kumar: Uncharacteristically expensive. He should be careful, otherwise RCB will come calling for future IPL editions. Was excellent in the second T20I. 5
Khaleel Ahmed: RCB will certainly be coming for Khaleel for future IPL editions. Excellent in the second T20I, but mighty expensive in the first and third games. 5
Yuzvendra Chahal: Left out of the third T20I after being expensive in his two outings. Not easy with grounds so short, but he made his point clear in the ODIs. 3
Kuldeep Yadav: Came in for the last T20I, and was superb. 2/26 off his four in a game where 200+ was scored is like Eden Hazard shining in a struggling Chelsea side at the moment. He gets an eight for his third match performance. 8
Also read: Aspiring to be a fast bowler? My five tips!
So, despite a series loss, it has been an excellent few months for India. Australia is up next at home in a five match ODI series.
For New Zealand, they will look to bounce back in ODIs as they host Bangladesh on Wednesday (13th).
Thanks for reading!
New Zealand vs India T20I Series Player Ratings. NZ vs IND T20I Player Ratings
