ICC World T20 2016: India vs Australia - Player Ratings

Virat Kohli inspired India to a dramatic victory over Australia to earn the hosts a spot in the semi-finals of the World T20, where they will take on West Indies. Australia made a blazing start after batting first but was reined in by the Indian bowlers later on before India’s star batsman joined hands with his skipper to lead India to a huge victory.

India chased down Australia’s 161 with five balls to spare and six wickets in hand but the victory was far from comfortable with Australia in the driving up until the 18th over of the Indian innings before Kohli turned the match on its head scoring 19 runs off a James Faulkner over followed by a 16-run over in the next leaving India on the brink of victory.

Dhoni finished off the match in trademark style with a boundary much to the delight of the Indian crowd. Here are the player ratings from today's encounter at Mohali:

India

Shikhar Dhawan – 5/10

Dhawan looked like being the more aggressive Indian opener as they set out to chase Australia’s 161 as he smashed a four off his very first ball. Good bowling by the opposition though kept the left-hander in check and the plan worked as Dhawan was done by the extra pace from Courter-Nile and hurried his pull shot to catch the leading edge and end up in the hands of the short fine leg fielder.

Rohit Sharma – 5/10

Sharma has been off-colour throughout the tournament and today was no different as the Indian opener seemed to be caught up in two minds as to whether play aggressively or as an anchorman. In the end, he did neither as he perished for 12 runs after facing 17 deliveries.

Virat Kohli – 10/10

Yet another failure from the Indian openers meant that the responsibility of the run-chase fell on Kohli’s shoulders again. He understood his importance pretty well and was cautious not to gift his wicket to the opposition. He took his time and once MS Dhoni came to the crease, stepped up the run-rate with boundaries as well as smart running between the wickets.

Stayed till the very end as he enhances his reputation as a brilliant chaser with every passing opportunity. He was unstoppable towards the end and completed the challenge of overcoming the Australians and silencing a certain Mitchell Johnson with utmost success.

Suresh Raina - 3/10

Australia are known to work on the opposition’s weaknesses and Watson executed the plan against Raina to perfection as he followed a couple of length deliveries with a short one that the left-hander could only glove into the wicketkeeper’s gloves.

Yuvraj Singh – 6/10

The man with the golden arm provided the breakthrough with his very first ball of the tournament as he had Steven Smith caught behind for 2. Twisting his ankle early on while batting certainly caused him much discomfort especially with regards to running between the wickets. Never really got going and was dismissed for 21 but his role was crucial in getting India closer to the Australian total.

MS Dhoni – 8/10

The Indian skipper walked in with the required run rate well over 10 but the tag of being a brilliant finisher is one which he has earned. Today was yet another prime example as he played the perfect partner to Virat Kohli running hard between the wickets and chipping in with useful strikes and, of course, finishing off the match with a boundary.

Hardik Pandya – 6/10

Picked up the wicket of the dangerous Aaron Finch but was guilty of bowling way too many loose deliveries as the Australians found it easy navigating his medium pace. Conceded ten runs of his final two balls and one feels that he could have been perhaps a little more smarter with his length.

Ravindra Jadeja – 7/10

Stepped up superbly with Ashwin getting hammered, even bowling one over in the powerplay overs. He bowled economically up until Glenn Maxwell hammered him for a four and six, the latter with a reverse sweep. Dhoni opted not to hand the ball over to Jadeja after that.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 2/10

India’s most dangerous bowling option heading into the tournament, Ravichandran Ashwin has been having a horrendous time off late but today was by far the worst. The off-spinner conceded 31 runs in two overs with Aaron Finch smashing him for two sixes while he also gifted a few runs in the form of extras.

Ashish Nehra – 9/10

Made a terrific comeback after being smashed for a boundary off his first ball as he bamboozled Usman Khawaja with his nagging outswingers outside the off stump. Despite going for a few in his next over, Dhoni persisted with Nehra and he repaid the faith with Khawaja’s wicket in his third over. Bowled brilliantly at the death as well conceding only 4 runs in the 18th over. By far, India’s best bowler on the night.

Jasprit Bumrah – 7/10

Was taken to the cleaners by Khawaja as the Australian opener smashed four boundaries in his opening over. Conceded the same amount of runs in his remaining three overs which is an indication that he came back well. Picked up the key wicket of Glenn Maxwell as well.

Australia

Usman Khawaja – 7/10

Australia had a solid plan in mind and Usman Khawaja executed it to perfection by getting his team off to a quick start. He was dealing in boundaries throughout as he smashed six hits to the fence in his total of 26. He played fearlessly and ultimately that proved to be his downfall as he perished to a pitched-up delivery.

Aaron Finch – 8/10

The former skipper played second fiddle while Khawaja was at the crease and following his opening partner’s dismissal, stepped up the run-rate to continue the good start for Australia. He top scored with 43, which included two sixes off Ravichandran Ashwin, which forced India’s most dangerous bowler off the radar.

David Warner – 3/10

Came in at No 3 tonight with Australia hoping to keep the momentum going after the fall of Khawaja, but unfortunately, the hard-hitting batsman couldn’t produce much damage as he headed back to the pavilion after scoring only six runs, out stumped by Dhoni off Ashwin’s bowling.

Steven Smith – 3/10

The Australian skipper was given caught behind but the 26-year-old was visibly upset by the decision. Replays also proved inconclusive but there was no turning back as Smith failed to have a big impact on the match, at least with the bat.

Glenn Maxwell – 7/10

Maxwell gave the impression that he was trying to hit the ball way too hard. Despite this, he did manage a few of his trademark shots like the reverse sweep six. He scored 31 runs before being deceived by a slower one from Bumrah that yet again, he attempted to smash out of the ground.

Shane Watson – 9/10

The Australian all-rounder couldn’t reproduce the big hits he managed against Pakistan the other day as he had to resort to singles to keep the scoreboard ticking. He shined with the ball however as he dismissed Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina cheaply to leave a huge dent in India’s run chase.

James Faulkner – 6/10

Couldn’t provide much with the bat but seemed to do his bit with the ball early as he picked up the wicket of Yuvraj Singh without conceding too many of his first two overs. However, his third over went for 19 runs and it changed the complexion of the match. From a position of strength, Kohli wrestled the advantage in India's favor and never turned back.

Peter Nevill – 7/10

Faced only two deliveries but made a huge impact as he smashed a six and a boundary to take Australia past the 160-run mark. Did what was expected of him behind the stumps as well.

Adam Zampa – 7/10

Gifted a sixer to Yuvraj with a high full toss but bowled well overall and was perhaps unlucky not to have bowled at least one more over as he had conceded only 11 runs in his two overs.

Nathan Courter-Nile – 7/10

Bowled well within his limitations and used his pace to good effect getting rid off Shikhar Dhawan with a delivery that seemed to surprise the Indian opener. Used the shorter deliveries well to keep the run scoring in check. But just like Faulkner, came under Kohli’s attack late on and was unable to check the flow of runs thus costing Australia the match.

Josh Hazelwood – 6/10

One of the few Australian bowlers who failed to ball to the field and ended up conceding runs at more than 9 runs an over and failed to pick a wicket as well. Was bowled out by Smith well before the death overs.