After being denied a shot at victory in the second T20 against Australia due to rain, India registered a six-wicket win in the deciding match of the series at Sydney. The visitors restored parity in the three-match series as they romped to a six-wicket over Aaron Finch’s men with two balls to spare in the end.
At the end of an intriguing series battle, we rate the performances of the two teams.
AUSTRALIA
Aaron Finch – 6
The Australia skipper was dismissed for a golden duck in the second T20 but he will be disappointed not to kick on in the other two matches despite getting off to good starts.
D’Arcy Short – 6
The Aussie opener had a disappointing time with the bat in the first two matches with scores of seven and 14 but helped his side get off to a great start in the decider with a 33-run knock.
Glenn Maxwell – 7
The all-rounder was the hero of Australia’s win in the series opener where he changed the complexion of the game with a whirlwind 46. Was excellent with the ball in the third game.
Maxwell’ salvo won Australia the first T20.
Ben McDermott – 6
The young Australia batsman showed some promise with a fighting 32 in the washed out second T20. However, he was dismissed for a duck in Sydney.
Alex Carey – 6
The Aussie wicketkeeper-batsman put up a fighting 27 with the bat at the SCG and was generally a safe pair of hands behind the stumps.
Chris Lynn – 6
The hard-hitting batsman showed his explosive side with a well-made 37 in the series opener but was unable to create an impact with the bat in the two games to follow.
Marcus Stoinis – 8
The Aussie all-rounder showed his abilities with both bat and ball in the hosts’ win in the first T20 with a quick-fire 33 along with two wickets to his name. He provided Australia with a strong finish with the bat in the final T20 too.
Adam Zampa – 8
The Australian leg-spinner was excellent in his side’s win in the series opener with figures of 2-22 and carried on that form to the third T20 where his 1-22 put the brakes on India’s electric start with the bat.
Zampa was consistent throughout the series.
Jason Behrendorff – 4
The left-arm seamer had troubled India last year on his international debut but he was taken for 43 runs in the opening T20 before being dropped.
Andrew Tye – 6
The T20 specialist pacer was taken for as many as 47 runs in Brisbane although he did manage to create some pressure on India’s batting in Sydney.
Billy Stanlake – 7
The express pace bowler looked excellent in the series opener at Brisbane with figures of 1-27 before an injury ruled him out.
Nathan Coulter-Nile – 5
The tall pacer was not picked in the playing XI for Brisbane with rain denying him a chance to bowl in the second T20. He was carted for 40 runs from his four overs in the final match in a lacklustre display.
Mitchell Starc – 7
Making a return to the T20I squad after a gap of two years, Starc showed he means business with a fiery spell of fast bowling on Sunday that accounted for the wicket of the well-set Shikhar Dhawan.
INDIA
Shikhar Dhawan – 9
The left-handed opener showed his limited-overs prowess with a man-of-the-series display that included a terrific 76 in Brisbane and a 22-ball 41 in a winning cause.
Rohit Sharma – 6
The India deputy skipper was dismissed for just seven runs at the Gabba before he scored a quick-fire 26 in Sydney to get India off to an explosive start in the third game.
KL Rahul – 4
The stylish batsman continues to throw away the chances extended to him with another poor series with the bat. He looked completely out of sorts in his 20-ball 14 in the decider and looks short of confidence.
Rahul looks bereft of any confidence.
Virat Kohli – 8
The India skipper looked rusty in his short innings at Brisbane but then showed his finishing prowess to guide the visitors to victory in a tricky chase on Sunday.
Rishabh Pant – 5
Not the best of series for Rishabh Pant who was given the wicketkeeping duties in the absence of MS Dhoni. He failed to create an impact with the bat and was dismissed for a duck while playing a loose stroke in the third match. His glovework left plenty to be desired too.
Dinesh Karthik – 8
Karthik showed he can be an excellent finisher for India in the limited-overs format after nearly pulling off victory for the visitors in Brisbane before providing the perfect foil to Kohli in the Sydney chase.
Karthik is developing into an excellent finisher.
Krunal Pandya – 7
The spinning all-rounder was taken to the cleaners at the Gabba with figures of 0-55 but he bounced back with two excellent showings with the ball including a man-of-the-match display in Sydney.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 7
The senior India pacer was terrific with the ball in the first two matches, especially in the washed out T20 at Melbourne. Was a level below his best in the decider.
Kuldeep Yadav – 8
The wrist-spinner continues to establish himself as one of the leading white-ball bowlers in the world with three consistent outings with the ball. Picked up four wickets.
Another strong series from Kuldeep Yadav.
Jasprit Bumrah – 7
Like Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah looked in excellent rhythm in Brisbane and Melbourne but was off-colour in Sydney where he was taken for 38 runs from his four overs.
Khaleel Ahmed – 6
A mixed-bag from the young left-armed pacer who leaked runs in all three of his outings. However, he did look menacing with the new-ball in the washed out second T20.
