India’s Report Card: Dhoni, Virat Shine; Rohit, Dhawan Disappoint

Here’s team India’s scorecard from the 2016 World T20.

Virat Kohli: 10/10

Sublime.

That’s how one can best describe Virat Kohli’s batting in this World T20. While there was nothing new that one learnt about Virat’s batting in the last month, it was his ability to soak in the pressure and perform when the stakes were high that impressed.

Also impressive was the manner in which he scored the 273 runs; not once did he have to improvise or pull out the cheeky strokes. Instead, he scored almost all his runs playing copybook strokes. Another standout thing about Virat in the tournament was his ability to stay to the end – be it is unbeaten half-century against Pakistan that saw India home, his match-winning unbeaten 82 against Australia or his unbeaten 89 in the semi-final against West Indies.

MS Dhoni: 9.5/10

Ageing warrior, that’s what MS Dhoni was called before the start of the tournament. But in the two weeks since, Dhoni has proven that he is anything but.

The Indian skipper was impressive on all fronts– be it his captaincy and decision-making, batting at the death, running between the wickets or wicket-keeping. Of the five times he batted in the competition, he remained undefeated on four occasions, he ran like a hare between the wickets, could still hit the big strokes (finished off run-chases with a boundary and a six on two occasions in trademark style), and he was extremely good behind the stumps (sharp catches, stumpings timed just brilliantly and match-winning run-outs).

Ashish Nehra 9/10

Another ageing warrior. Nehraji justified the Selectors decision to recall him to the Indian team specifically for the ICC World T20 2016. The left-arm quick picked up a wicket in each of the five matches he played and kept the runs down too.

Ravindra Jadeja 7/10

Ravindra Jadeja was a quiet contributor to India’s fortunes in the ICC World T20 2016. He picked up four wickets in the competition, and was very good in four of India’s five matches. The only instance he struggled was against the West Indies in the semi-final, and that was courtesy the slippery ball.

Hardik Pandya 6.5/10

Hardik Pandya finished the ICC World T20 2016 as India’s joint-highest wicket-taker; he picked up 5 wickets, just as many as Ashish Nehra did. His scalps included those of Shahid Afridi, Aaron Finch and James Faulkner, and the two crucial wickets of Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah.

While he is certainly a very capable bowler, he tends to overdo the short-pitch-bowling stuff, and hence is taken for runs (off the 87 balls he bowled in the competition, 47 of them were either back of a length or an attempted bouncer!).

Jasprit Bumrah 6/10

Jasprit Bumrah was expected to do a lot more damage than he did in the ICC WT20 2016. He saw the highs and lows – all in one match against Bangladesh; his misfield off the first ball, a catch put down, leaking 16 runs in an over and bowling an exceptional 19th over that kept the match alive.

Among other positives, his 4 wickets included the scalps of dangerous batsmen like Corey Anderson, Ahmed Shehzad, Glenn Maxwell and Chris Gayle.

Ravichandran Ashwin 5/10

Ravichandran Ashwin was the top-ranked bowler on view at the ICC World T20 when the tournament started. He was rightly expected to be India’s key weapon and MS Dhoni’s go-to-bowler.

However, Ashwin’s tournament began on a poor note when Martin Guptill hit him for a first-ball six, and the off-spinner never really recovered from that blow. He picked up four wickets in five matches and bowled a miserly spell in the match against Pakistan.

Rohit Sharma 5/10

Despite having the opportunity to bat at the top of the innings, Rohit Sharma will agree he had a disappointing WT20 2016. 88 runs in five innings at just over a run-a-ball doesn’t do justice to someone who is as gifted as Rohit. His highest score in the competition – 43 – came in the semi-final of the competition, but that does not cover up for his failures earlier in the tournament.

Suresh Raina 5/10

There is no denying that Suresh Raina had a disappointing tournament with the bat; an aggregate of 41 runs from four innings, with a best of 30, and only 33 deliveries in the tournament doesn’t do justice to someone who is considered prolific in the T20 format.

Yet, he made important contributions to the team – be it the three wickets he took, the runs he saved in the field, the run out of Corey Anderson or the catch he took in the slip to dismiss Shakib-al-Hasan.

Shikhar Dhawan 3/10

A very disappointing tournament for Shikhar Dhawan – 43 runs from four innings – which eventually resulted in him being dropped from the team for the semi-final. The left-hander was terribly out of form. His strike rate in the tournament was 82.69 and more than 50% of the balls that he faced were dot deliveries.

Yuvraj Singh 3/10

It feels cruel in saying Yuvraj Singh in the ICC WT2016 was a shade of the past. The left-hander scored 52 runs at a run-a-ball; he battled hard even if he was struggling to middle the ball but like some of his other teammates did not throw his wicket away. He made two handy contributions – 24 against Pakistan and 21 against Australia, before an ankle injury cut short his tournament.