India has made a strong start to the T20 World Cup, winning both warm-up games against England and Australia. The finest part about India’s two games was that they were able to try out different combinations of players and ideas that may be beneficial in the tournament. India’s campaign begins on Sunday, but the men in blue have put on a strong performance thus far.
Here is a report card of India vs Australia, warm-up game (players who batted and bowled):
Rohit Sharma (10/10): Rohit Sharma led from the front in the match, opening the innings and then and smashing 60 runs in 41 balls to set up the 154-run chase for his team. He also rotated his bowlers brilliantly as captain.
KL Rahul (9/10): KL Rahul has cemented his position as an opener and he contributed with 39 runs in 31 balls, once again giving a solid start to India in the chase.
Suryakumar Yadav (8/10): Suryakumar Yadav returned to form, batting at no. 3 as he smashed 38* runs in 27 balls, and finished off the chase for his team.
Hardik Pandya (7/10): Rohit Sharma went back to the hut to give time to Hardik Pandya to bat and get back to form, and the allrounder did well to score 14* in 8 balls, and won the match with a six for India.
Ravindra Jadeja (5/10)): Ravindra Jadeja did not get to bat, but he bowled and picked an important wicket. But he conceded 35 runs in his four overs.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (6/10): Bhuvneshwar Kumar was a lot better against Australia, picking the big wicket of Steve Smith, but he still is not at his best.
Shardul Thakur (4/10): If Bhuvneshwar Kumar struggled in the series, Shardul Thakur is likely to replace him. But the pacer needs to do a lot better, as against Australia, he gave away 30 runs in 3 overs and picked no wickets.
Rahul Chahar (6/10): Rahul Chahar managed to slow down the run rate in middle overs, and also picked a wicket after a piece of brilliant advice from the skipper. But he needs to do a lot more to warrant being picked over Ashwin and Jadeja.
R Ashwin (9/10): R Ashwin was the master of the bowling attack for India, starting with the new ball and picking two wickets in two overs, giving away just 8 runs. He might bowl with the new ball in the World Cup as well.
Varun Chakravarthy (3/10): Varun Chakravarthy struggled as well, giving away 23 runs in 2 overs.
Virat Kohli (2/10): Virat Kohli may be used as India’s sixth bowling option if Pandya is not up to the task. He did decent with the ball, giving just 12 runs in his 2 overs.
