Report Card: How Team India Fared in ODI Series Against Sri Lanka
Here’s a look at how each of the Indian players performed in the ODI series.
India became the first side to whitewash Sri Lanka in a five-match ODI series in the island nation after winning by six wickets in the fifth ODI in Colombo on Sunday.
After winning the Test series 3-0, India continued to increase misery in the Sri Lankan camp.
From batting to bowling to fielding, the Indians were on top of their game in all three departments.
Here’s a look at how each of the Indian players performed in the ODI series.
Virat Kohli
India’s captain Virat Kohli went through a bit of a slump in the second and third ODIs with scores of 4 and 3, but reminded everyone about his batting prowess with two brilliant centuries.
His scores of 131 and 110* helped India win the fourth fifth ODI by 168 runs and 6 wickets respectively.
Rohit Sharma
The vice-captain Rohit Sharma too played his part to near-perfection. With two centuries in the series, the opening batsman finished as the second highest scorer (302 runs) in the series.
When India were struggling at 61/4 in the third ODI, while chasing Sri Lanka’s target of 218 runs, Rohit Sharma strung a partnership of 157 runs with MS Dhoni to help India win the match by 6 wickets.
MS Dhoni
If there’s one player’s performance the team management was most interested in, it would have to be that of MS Dhoni. The former India captain went through patchy form during the series against West Indies, but showed just how good he is, in this series.
India were in a spot of bother only twice in the ODI series and it was Dhoni who was there to guide India home on both occasions.
In the second ODI, Dhoni strung an unbeaten 100-run partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to help India win the match by 3 wickets and was there again to support Rohit Sharma in the third ODI.
Jasprit Bumrah
Jasprit Bumrah was the best performer for the Indian team in the series. The Man of the Series finished as the highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets. He recorded an astonishing bowling average of 11.26 and an economy rate of 3.90.
Bumrah’s best performance in the series came in the third ODI, when he returned with figures of 5/27. These are also his best bowling figures in ODIs.
Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan started the series with a blistering century in the first ODI, but then slowly lost steam in the remaining ODIs.
The opening batsman scored 49, 5 and 4 in the second, third and fourth ODIs respectively.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal may not have picked up too many wickets in the series, but he ensured that the batsmen don’t score too many runs off his bowling.
Chahal, who took five wickets in the series, bowled at an economy rate of 4.70.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar spearheaded the Indian attack brilliantly throughout the series. He bowled at a tight line and length, making it difficult for batsmen to score runs.
He went wicket-less in the first three ODIs, but he was never going to let us forget about his expertise.
Bhuvneshwar raced back among the wickets in the fifth ODI, by picking up his best ODI figures (5/42) in the fifth ODI.
Kedar Jadhav
Kedar Jadhav slowly moved from having a certain place in the side to being dropped from the team for a long time. After recording scores of 0 and 1 in the second and third ODI, Jadhav was left out of the side for the fourth ODI.
Coming back into the team for the fifth ODI, Jadhav grabbed his opportunity with both hands and scored 63 runs off 73 balls.
Kuldeep Yadav
Kuldeep Yadav was another Indian bowler, who didn’t take too many wickets, but kept the run flow in check.
The chinaman, who picked up 3 wickets in 2 matches, bowled at an excellent economy rate of 3.80.
Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey has been always known for grabbing his opportunities and he didn’t disappoint this time either. Once he was given a chance in the fourth ODI, Pandey cashed in with 50 off 42 balls.
He got off to a start in the fifth ODI, but couldn’t convert it into something special.
Hardik Pandya
After performing exceedingly well in the Test series, Hardik Pandya went a bit off the radar during the ODI series. He recorded scores of 0 and 19 in the second and fourth ODIs and picked up four wickets in the series.
However, Pandya managed to keep his economy rate under 6 runs per over.
Axar Patel
Axar Patel finished as the third highest wicket-taker in the series with 6 wickets. The left-arm off-spinner picked up at least one wicket in each of the four matches that he played.
He started the series with excellent figures of 3/34 in the first ODI.
Shardul Thakur
Shardul Thakur rose to the occasion brilliantly when he was given the responsibility of bowling with the new ball on his ODI debut. He got the first breakthrough for India in the match and bowled at a good line and length throughout the match.
But in the fifth ODI, Thakur felt the heat. He conceded 48 runs in 6 overs, without picking up any wickets.
KL Rahul
If there was one big disappointment for India, it would have to be KL Rahul. The Karnataka batsman found it difficult to adapt to the middle order and recorded scores of 4, 17 and 7 in the second, third and fourth ODIs respectively.
Ajinkya Rahane
The Test star Ajinkya Rahane sat out of the team for most part of an ODI series yet again. When he was finally given a chance in the fifth ODI, Rahane failed to cash in and played out a tough innings of 5 off 17 balls.
(#TalkingStalking: Have you ever been stalked? Share your experience with The Quint and inspire others to shatter the silence surrounding stalking. Send your stories to editor@thequint.com or WhatsApp @ +919999008335.)
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)