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Rediff.com  » Cricket » How Team India fared at T20 World Cup

How Team India fared at T20 World Cup

By HARISH KOTIAN
November 10, 2021 07:28 IST
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IMAGE: India suffered its first World Cup defeat against Pakistan in Dubai on Sunday, October 24, 2021. All Photographs: Francois Nel/Getty Images

It was India's worst showing in recent years as they bowed out of the T20 World Cup in the league stages.

Having lost to Pakistan and New Zealand, India failed to make it to the semi-finals despite winning their last three games as Captain Virat Kohli finished without an ICC trophy in the T20 format.

The batting was a big letdown for India in the World Cup while selection gambles went wrong including all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who was picked despite having not recovered from injury.

This was the first time India had failed to make it to the semi-finals at an ICC event since 2012.

A look at how India's players fared at the T20 World Cup:

 

Virat Kohli (4/10)

Kohli wasn't at his fluent best with the bat in his last series as T20 captain.

In the opening match against Pakistan, Kohli had to play the role of anchor after India lost early wickets.

He played a good innings of 57 from 49 balls but didn't get much support as India finished with a below-par 151/7 before going on to lose by 10 wickets.

In the next match against New Zealand, he struggled to get going and fell to leg-spinner Ish Sodhi for 9 from 17 balls, as India suffered another batting failure, which all but sealed their fate in the World Cup.

Kohli didn't have much to do in the rest of the three games and finished with 68 runs, at a strike rate of 100.

 

Rohit Sharma (5/10)

He bounced back with two quickfire half-centuries against Afghanistan and Namibia, but it was too little too late.

Rohit, who will take over as T20 captain from Kohli, tallied 174 runs, at a strike rate of 151.

 

KL Rahul (5/10)

Rahul was also unable to get going in the first two games, which proved decisive in India's below-par showing.

Rahul, who has always struggled for consistency, scored 3 and 18 against Pakistan and New Zealand respectively.

But he made merry against the lower-ranked teams with three half-centuries in a row against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia.

He was India's top run-getter in the World Cup, with 194 runs, at a strike rate of 152.

 

Rishabh Pant (4/10)

Pant threatened briefly during his 39 from 30 balls against Pakistan, but failed to carry on. As always, he was guilty of throwing his wicket away at the wrong time.

Pant struggled against New Zealand, scoring just 12 from 19 balls without a single boundary.

He hit a quickfire 27 from 13 balls against Afghanistan to tally 78 runs, at a strike rate of 125.

 

Suryakumar Yadav (1/10)

SKY has been rated highly after his exploits in the IPL, but he needs to convert his potential into runs at the international level.

The Pakistan match was his big chance to make his mark, but the Mumbai batter fell for 11.

He missed out on the New Zealand match because of fitness issues before signing off with 25 not out from 19 balls against Namibia.

 

Ishan Kishan (0/10)

Ishan can consider himself unlucky.

After losing to Pakistan, a desperate India banked on the youngster to lift the team's morale with his attacking approach.

In a surprise move, he opened the innings with K L Rahul against New Zealand, with Rohit moved to No 3. Ishan (4) failed with the bat and so did Rohit, prompting many to blame the change in the batting order as the key reason for India's batting flop show against the Kiwis.

Ishan was not considered after that match.

 

Hardik Pandya (1/10)

The selectors must take the blame for Hardik' poor showing.

Half-fit Hardik struggled with the bat and bowled only four overs in the tournament.

He failed to get the big hits going, scoring 8 from 11 balls against Pakistan, while he made a sedate 23 from 24 balls against New Zealand.

He only showed his prowess against Afghanistan, hitting a quickfire 35 from 13 balls.

Many believe Pandya's poor form affected the balance of the team.

 

Ravindra Jadeja (5/10)

Jadeja was India's joint highest wicket-taker in the World Cup with seven wickets, going at under six per over.

But he went wicketless in the big games against Pakistan and New Zealand and only got among the wickets in the last three games against the lower-ranked teams.

He was promoted ahead of Hardik against Pakistan, but he scored just 13, but played a good hand of 26 from 19 balls against New Zealand to help India save the blushes.

 

Ravichandran Ashwin (6/10)

It is a mystery why Ashwin was not picked for the first two games.

Ashwin, playing for the first time in four years, made sure he made most of the opportunity when he was picked for the last three games.

He took two wickets against Afghanistan, one against Scotland and finished with three against Namibia.

India will regret not trying him against either Pakistan or New Zealand.

 

Jasprit Bumrah (7/10)

Bumrah did his reputation no harm despite India's poor showing at the World Cup.

He bowled a good spell against Pakistan, but went wicketless before he gave India hope with a fiery spell against New Zealand as he took 2/19.

He finished with seven wickets at an economy rate of just above five.

 

Mohammed Shami (2/10)

Shami had a forgettable World Cup as he failed in the big games.

In the opening game against Pakistan, he conceded 43 runs. He was used for just one over against New Zealand and went for 11 runs.

He took three wickets each against Afghanistan and Scotland, but was taken for runs by Namibia's batsmen.

 

Varun Chakravarthy (0/10)

Chakravarthy came into the World Cup on the back of a splendid showing with the ball in IPL 2021 for the Kolkata Knight Riders.

But he failed to replicate his success for the national team, despite playing on the same pitches in the UAE.

Chakravarthy, who was preferred for his wicket-taking abilities, failed to strike a single blow against Pakistan and New Zealand.

He could not even manage a wicket against the inexperienced Scotland batting line-up.

His economy rate of 6.45 makes his showing even worse.

 

Rahul Chahar (0/10)

Chahar was preferred ahead of the experienced Yuzvendra Chahal even though the latter leg-spinner had done well in the second leg of IPL 2021 in the UAE.

Chahar had lost his place in the Mumbai Indians team during the UAE leg, but the selectors still persisted with him.

He got a chance only in the last match against Namibia when India were already out of the World Cup.

On a pitch where Jadeja and Ashwin made merry, Chahar went wicketless while conceding 30 runs against Namibia.

 

Shardul Thakur (0/10)

Thakur came into the side -- replacing Axar Patel -- on the back of a good showing for IPL 2021 Champions Chennai Super Kings.

But he struggled to make a mark in the World Cup. He went wicketless against New Zealand and Afghanistan in the only two games he played.

 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (0/10)

Bhuvi was picked in the team despite a below-par showing in IPL 2021.

His bowling proved to be too easy for Pakistan's Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as they smashed him for 25 runs in three overs.

Bhuvi didn't get another chance after that poor showing and this might be his last game in a while in India colours.

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HARISH KOTIAN / Rediff.com

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