Harish Kotian/Rediff.com's report card on India's three-ODI series in Bangladesh.
India scored a consolation 77-run victory over Bangladesh in the third and final One-Day International on Wednesday to avoid the humiliation of a clean sweep in the three-match series in Mirpur.
The big dip in standards of the Indian team, which recently made it to the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup, was apparent.
The batsmen struggled for runs on the flat pitches against the guile of 19-year-old debutant left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman, while the bowlers were unable to contain Bangladesh’s attacking approach.
Star players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Mahendra Singh Dhoni were the biggest disappointments as India were beaten in an ODI series by Bangladesh for the first time.
A look at how India's players fared in the 1-2 series defeat.
Rohit Sharma (5/10)
Rohit Sharma made a good start to the series, scoring a fluent half-century, but failed to carry on with his good form.
In the first ODI, his dismissal for 63, proved the turning point in India’s run-chase and resulted in the team's downfall.
The right-hander finished the series with 92 runs from three innings, at an average of 30.66. He was dismissed by the same bowler -- Bangladesh’s new star Mustafizur Rahman -- in all the three matches.
Shikhar Dhawan (7/10)
He fared better than Rohit, his opening partner, scoring two fifties in the three matches.
He was out for 30 in the first ODI, but did well to shoulder responsibility after Rohit’s dismissal in the next two with scores of 53 and 75.
He was India’s highest scorer in the series with 158 runs, at an average of 52.
Virat Kohli (4/10)
This was a rare occasion when Virat Kohli failed to make an impact with the bat at the international level.
His poor tally of 49 runs from three matches was one big reason why India finished on the losing side.
He faced 66 balls in the series, scoring just four boundaries on wickets that were regarded as good batting tracks.
It certainly ranks as one of Kohli’s worst performances in his career.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni (5/10)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni's batting and captaincy came under scrutiny.
India was beaten by Bangladesh in an ODI series for the first time and it was he who had to bear the brunt, with many even suggesting that he stand down as the team's skipper. The normally 'Captain Cool' also had a go at the media after he was asked whether he would step down as captain.
Promoting himself to No 4 in the last two ODIs, he scored 121 runs, at an average of 40. His only saving grace was the knock of 69 from 77 balls in the third match.
In the second match, he scored 47 from 75 balls while his wicketkeeping was also below-par.
Some of his decisions as captain, including dropping Ajinkya Rahane after just one failure as also his outburst on giving up captaincy after losing the second ODI, attracted a lot of debate.
Suresh Raina (6/10)
Following Dhoni’s promotion, he was pushed down the order. While he did not do much with the bat, he did prove his utility with some good performances with the ball.
Raina, whose only innings of note was the quickfire 38 from 21 balls in the third ODI, aggregated 112 runs from three matches, at a strike rate of 96.55.
With the ball, he bowled an economical spell in the first match and claimed three wickets in the third.
Ajinkya Rahane (2/10)
Ajinkya Rahane struggled in the only innings he played in the series. It was a painstaking knock of 9 from 25 balls before he was replaced by Ambati Rayudu.
Captain Dhoni said he is not suited to slow pitches and, hence, was left out.
Being dropped after just one failure was certainly unfair on India’s best batsman across all formats in the last year or so.
Ambati Rayudu (5/10)
Ambati Rayudu, who came in for Rahane, did not fare any better either.
In the second ODI he was dismissed for a duck. He hit a steady 44 in the next match but was guilty of not carrying on after getting off to a good start.
Ravindra Jadeja (2/10)
Dhoni finally lost patience with the Ravindra Jadeja and dropped him after poor performances in the first two games.
Jadeja failed to live up to the all-rounder's tag as he scored 51 runs in two innings while claiming just one wicket.
Ravichandran Ashwin (8/10)
Ravichandran Ashwin was India’s best player of the ODI series by a long way.
The only Indian bowler to cause the Bangladesh batsmen some problems, he finished as India’s highest wicket-taker with six from the three games, and an impressive economy rate of 3.93.
Despite getting no support from other end, he came up with good spells in each of three matches, conceding just 118 runs in the 30 overs he bowled in the series.
Axar Patel (5/10)
Left-arm spinner Axar Patel failed to make most of opportunity.
He bagged only two wickets in the two games and struggled to keep the runs down in the middle overs, even when the field was spread.
He went for 92 runs in the 16 overs he bowled in the series, for an economy rate of 5.75.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (4/10)
Pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar struggled to make an impact with the ball and was dropped after lacklustre performances in the first two games.
He took two for 37 in seven overs in the first match but went wicketless in five expensive overs in the next.
Umesh Yadav (4/10)
Umesh Yadav’s flop show with the ball left even captain Dhoni in a quandary.
'We need to make a decision if we want quick bowlers or if we want good bowlers even if they are not quick. We have been backing too many quick bowlers who haven't been bowling well,' Dhoni remarked after the match.
The comments were in apparent reference to Yadav’s showing. Two wickets in the two games, at a very high economy rate of 7.58, was all he had to show for his efforts.
Dhawal Kulkarni (7/10)
For long, Dhawal Kulkarni was forced to watch the proceedings from the bench, but when opportunity did arise the pacer made it count.
Kulkarni is not your express fast bowler, but he has the ability to bowl a good line and length and build pressure on batsmen.
His performance in the third ODI was noteworthy: two wickets for 34 runs in eight overs, including the wickets of Bangladesh openers Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar. It played a huge part in India’s face-saving victory.
Mohit Sharma (2/10)
Mohit Sharma had a forgettable showing with the ball in the first ODI, his only game in the series.
His bowling was totally flat and he looked completely bereft of ideas when the Bangladesh batsmen went after him.
He was blasted for 53 runs in 4.4 overs and not considered for the next two matches.
Stuart Binny (5/10)
He must be the unluckiest cricketer in recent times. He struggles to break into the team even when others are not faring well and has to wait for ages to get a game.
He finally got a game, included in the side as an all-rounder for the third ODI, in place of Jadeja.
Batting at No. 7, he scored 17 from 11 balls.
He opened the bowling and registered expensive figures of one for 41 in six overs.
Like many of his team mates, Binny must be hoping that he also gets a long run to prove his worth at the international level.
