India vs England: Hardik Pandya, Rohit Sharma excel in T20I series decider; hosts' seamers disappoint

Without their best T20 bowlers on show, India managed to clinch the T20I series against England in a captivating series decider at Bristol with their batsmen, led by Rohit Sharma, putting on a ruthless display. Put in to bat first, England raced to a pulsating start but lost momentum and wickets in the middle to finish below 200. With their seamers not hitting the right channels and the short boundaries not helping, India gunned down the target with an over to spare. Here we put together the player report cards from the third and final T20 in descending order of ratings. [caption id=“attachment_4694741” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Hardik Pandya collected career-best figures of 4/38, before smacking a 14-ball 33. Reuters[/caption] 10/10 Hardik Pandya With England threatening to breach the 250-run mark at one stage, Pandya, clobbered for 22 in his opening over, returned to bowl an uncelebrated length in T20s — short — to pick up a maiden four-wicket haul. He frequently dented England’s surge and gave just 16 away in his final three overs. As though that weren’t enough to get him a 10-pointer, Pandya walked in with India needing 48 in less than five overs and smashed a 14-ball 33 to take the visitors home. Rohit Sharma Unlike his normal T20 graph that goes from Null Island to the moon in one smooth diagonal line, Rohit seemed stuck to the y-axis at Bristol as he started off with a bang, plundering 39 in 20 balls in the powerplays. The uncharacteristic knock became even more so when he decided to play his natural game, yet adhere to the situation in hand. It resulted in a beautifully-orchestrated hundred, his third in T20Is, that helped India seal the series. 9/10 Jason Roy With the threat of Kuldeep Yadav absent and some short boundaries welcoming him, Jason Roy watched as Jos Buttler plundered five boundaries in the first three overs. Roy took the baton from then on, looting four fours and as many sixes in the next three overs. It seemed like England were heading to a record score with Roy at the crease, but his queer dismissal against the run of play helped India slow things down. Virat Kohli With Dhawan and Rahul back in the hut, Kohli combined with Rohit in a partnership that firmly tilted the balance in India’s favour. The duo stuck around for close to 10 overs, making 89 runs as the skipper happily took charge in the middle overs. Kohli’s 48 came off 29 balls and he would have sealed the run chase if not for Chris Jordan’s extraordinary return catch. 8/10 Jos Buttler Resoundingly good in the powerplays, Buttler once again ticked the right boxes when he took on Deepak Chahar in the first over to give England an early advantage. The wicket-keeper batsman smashed four fours off Chahar and two off Umesh in the powerplays and gave Roy the freedom to take charge from then on. However, transferring the mantle of primary aggressor perhaps affected him, for he seemed all at sea against the Siddarth Kaul delivery that cleaned him up later on. MS Dhoni The Indian wicket-keeper did not even come out to bat but managed to ace the report card after plucking five catches from behind the stumps, the first to do so in this format of the game. Dhoni was terrific behind the stumps as always, exemplified by his sensational catch to dismiss Eoin Morgan and his brilliant throw to catch Jordan short off the final ball. Alex Hales Continuing in the same rhythm as his brilliant knock in the previous game, Hales ensured England wouldn’t let India take charge after the opening stand was broken. He smashed a six the same over the second opener fell to make his intentions clear. His uber aggressive approach to Yuzvendra Chahal also paid dividends as he took the leggie on for three fours in two overs. Hales, however, edged Pandya to the keeper just when England needed him to carry on. 7/10 Jonny Bairstow The wicket-keeper batsman seems to be batting way below where he actually should but in a jam-packed batting line-up, he has little choice. His 14-ball 25 gave England a firm push towards the end, but even he would know that he needs to carry on from his starts in the middle-order much like he does while opening in ODIs. Siddarth Kaul Known for his ability to bowl game-changing spells, Kaul did his part to halt England’s charge when he had Buttler bowled to break the 94-run opening stand. He bowled two impressive final overs, adding one more wicket to his tally, to finish with respectable figures of 2/35. Kaul will want to cut down on his loose deliveries though if he wants to remain in contention once the strike bowlers return. 6/10 Adil Rashid Unusually wicketless in his four-over spell, Rashid did a good job to tighten things a touch even as Rohit, Kohli and Pandya took the game away from England. His last two overs cost just 13 as he showed the seamers that discipline in line and length still has value in this format. Yuzvendra Chahal Chahal bowled two exceptional overs in the middle of England’s rampant hitting in the first 10 overs, but couldn’t buy himself a wicket. His economy remained on the impressive side until Hales decided to give it a U-turn, cracking him for three fours in his final two overs. Chahal will need to work on being the solo spinner in the Indian side as he seemed a touch lost without his partner in crime. 5/10 Chris Jordan The England seamer made a contest out of nothing when he plucked out two brilliant catches to make up for his poor economy with the ball. He had KL Rahul caught brilliantly at mid-on to give England an early break. With Kohli taking the game away yet again, Jordan plucked an insane return catch in a three-run over to give the hosts some hope. He, however, gave away 11 in four balls off his final over that saw India chase down the target. 4/10 Ben Stokes Returning to the XI in place of Joe Root, Stokes couldn’t quite get going with the bat with England needing some late momentum. A sloppish pull shot off Pandya ended his stay at the crease but to his credit, Stokes returned to bowl two tight overs and was the most economical England bowler on display. 3/10 Deepak Chahar Making his debut, Chahar couldn’t find early swing, something which made him a force in the Indian Premier League (IPL). He was bludgeoned for 13 in his first over, but returned to bowl with better discipline in his next over. A maiden wicket, the vital one of Roy, ought to have pumped him up, but he remained on the expensive side in his last two overs. KL Rahul With Dhawan enduring another failure, Rahul had yet another opportunity to exploit the powerplay overs and began with aplomb, racing to 19 in no time, a cameo that included two pleasing sixes in the space of three balls. Rahul, however,departed to a terrific piece of catching from Jordan before he could make a bigger impact. 2/10 David Willey Willey appeared way less threatening with early swing absent, but managed to get his name in the wickets column when Jake Ball took a good catch to send Dhawan back. It was the second time in the series that Willey had dismissed Dhawan. England, though, will want to groom Willey to bowl tighter spells, especially in the powerplays. 1/10 Shikhar Dhawan In his third failure of the series, the Sunrisers Hyderabad opener flicked Willey carelessly to fine leg on a belter of a surface. He began with a spectacular drive through the off side off Willey, but fell to the same bowler next over. Dhawan will know that he can barely afford another failure with Rahul breathing down his neck. Jake Ball While banging in on the surface worked wonders for Pandya, Ball failed to generate the same kind of effect off a similar length. The England seamer was quite expensive in his three-over spell that cost 39. While he managed to snare a wicket courtesy Jordan, Ball will know that he needs to work on containing the scoring rate. Liam Plunkett With short boundaries and in-form batsmen at the other end, fast bowlers had a nightmare at Bristol and Plunkett was no different. He landed the ball too often in the batsman’s hitting zone and paid the price. Leaking 42 in his spell, Plunkett wasn’t used by Morgan for his full quota of overs. Eoin Morgan Known for his attacking style of batsmanship, Morgan failed to take responsibility in the final few overs as the England innings derailed. He was given a reprieve by Chahal when the spinner dropped a catch, but the England skipper gifted one more — with Dhoni pouching it safely this time — off a similar shot next ball and gave his wicket away. Umesh Yadav With Roy and Buttler in no mood to waste any balls, Umesh had his task cut out in the powerplays, the period in which he usually revels. The Indian seamer gave away 48 in his four overs, conceding 24 apiece during and after the powerplay overs. Umesh will need to work hard on controlling his tendency to go for boundaries while maintaining his wicket-taking skills. *Suresh Raina wasn’t rated due to his minimal role in the match Rating chart: 10-9: Excellent, 8-7: Good, 6-5: Average, 4-3: Poor, 2-1: Very poor