India vs Australia, 2020, ODI Series: Australia Players’ Performance Ratings

Australia suffered a series loss to India in Bangalore, having lost the third and final ODI by seven wickets. Australian skipper Aaron Finch chose to bat first on a sunny day in Bangalore; however, couldn’t put a compelling score to defend despite Steve Smith’s calculated and sparkling knock of 131. Hosts India chased down the total with ease with seven wickets to spare.

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The men in blue were under real pressure after losing the first ODI in Mumbai by three wickets. They bounced back in style in Rajkot in the second ODI by securing a narrow victory by 36 runs. With the series locked at 1-1, a confident Indian side excelled in all the departments to hand the visitors a convincing loss. Even after posting 286, which is a fairly respectable score, the Australian bowlers couldn’t contain the Indian batsmen.

We take a look at the ratings each Australia player received:

Aaron Finch – 7/10

The Australian skipper started the series in a thundering manner by cracking a century (110 not out) to complete a perfect run-chase in Mumbai. But in the next two innings, Aaron Finch exited just when he was starting to build a match-winning partnership along with Steven Smith. Despite that, his captaincy skills were spot on for the most part of the series. He receives a rating of 7/10.

David Warner – 6/10

Similar to Aaron Finch, David Warner thrashed a century (128 not out) to script a hammering at the Wankhede Stadium. However, in the next two affairs, the little dynamite came up well short compared to the opening match. The New South Wales opening batsman receives a rating of 6/10

Steven Smith – 9.5/10

The former Australian captain couldn’t have done any better. During a lofty chase of 340 in the second match, Steven Smith overcame a jittery start to keep Australia in contention within the final ten overs. In Bangalore, the tourists rode on his century to amass a score to work with on a flat surface.

Nevertheless, he found very little support from the other batsmen that would have put Australia over the finish line in both the games. In the final two ODIs, the 30-year old held innings together for Australia. For finishing with 229 runs from two innings, he receives a rating of 9.5.

Marnus Labuschagne – 8/10

Australia lacked a finisher in both the games; however, they have found a perfect consolidator in Marnus Labuschagne. In his debut series in the One-day international format, the South African-born scored 100 runs and helped to build two crucial partnerships along with his idol, Steven Smith. But it could’ve been an icing on the cake had Labuschagne batted further deep to take the tourists over the finish line. Nevertheless, potential shown by the 26-year old would make him the mainstay of Australia’s middle-order for the coming years to come.

Ashton Turner – 3/10

Ashton Turner was trusted to be Australia’s finisher in this series due to the dismal form of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis. The Western Australian played one of the best finishing knocks last year to stun India and the selectors trusted him to do the same this time. Contrary to that, Turner turned out as an epic disappointment, scoring only 17 runs in two innings. He is unlikely to get a nod for sometime in the future and gets a rating of 3/10.

Alex Carey – 7/10

Prior to the series, Alex Carey’s aspired to be Australia’s finisher and desired to provide a flourishing finish to their innings. The Aussie gloveman played two cameos; however, in both the innings, he failed to stay there till the end to take the game deep. The 28-year old still has plenty of work to do in that aspect and thus gets a rating of 7/10.

Ashton Agar – 5/10

Ashton Agar had a mixed tournament with the ball. The left-arm spinner picked two crucial wickets in the series of KL Rahul twice in Mumbai and Bangalore. In Rajkot, he went for 63 in eight overs. But as the second frontline spin-bowler, he came up short of providing apt support to Adam Zampa. Despite his underwhelming contribution throughout the series, Agar gets a rating of 5/10.

Pat Cummins – 4/10

Part of one of the best bowling attack, Pat Cummins began the series plucking two wickets, but continue his fantastic form. He was relatively economical in the second match in Rajkot without picking up any wicket, but was lacklustre in the third game in Bangalore. The 26-year old went expensive to start with and went wicketless. The number one Test bowler gets a rating of 4/10.

Mitchell Starc -4/10

The left-arm speedster suffered a disappointing three-match series after starting it desirably in Mumbai, snapping three wickets. In the next two games, Mitchell Starc entirely lost his discipline, line, and length and ended up on the receiving end of some expensive spells apart from going wicketless. For picking up three wickets in the three-match sequence, he receives a rating of 4/10.

Josh Hazlewood – 7/10

Australia would rue the chance of not playing Josh Hazlewood in the first two matches. He featured in the game in the series finale for Kane Richardson. Post some leaky spells of bowling from Cummins and Starc; the New South Wales seamer bowled some miserly spells to keep Australia in contention. However, the lack of pressure from the other end meant that the Indian batsmen found it easy to score even off Hazlewood. He picked up the wicket of Virat Kohli, but by that time, the match went out of their hands. The 28-year old receives a rating of 7/10.

Kane Richardson – 4/10

Perhaps the Australian selectors might have confused themselves between Kane Richardson and Jhye Richardson. The latter managed to trouble the Indian batsmen the previous tour. On the other hand, the former couldn’t pose enough threat to their counterparts. Kane Richardson snared four wickets in two matches, but wasn’t close to being a promising prospect. He gets a rating of 4/10.

Adam Zampa – 8/10

The 27-year old made a resounding comeback in the three-match series after a dismal World Cup campaign. Adam Zampa managed to threaten almost all the Indian batsmen in the line-up, especially the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Sadly, he couldn’t get the much-needed support from his peer, Ashton Agar. The leggie picked up five wickets in three games and receives a rating of 8/10.

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