WTC Final: Aakash Chopra rates the performances of Indian players against New Zealand
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Indian team in the WTC final
New Zealand defeated India comfortably by eight wickets in the inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final. The Indian team did a pretty decent job with the ball but performed horribly with the bat which cost them the WTC final. Now, commentator Aakash Chopra has rated the performances of Indian players in the WTC final on a scale of ten.
Through his YouTube channel, Chopra shares his insights on how the Indian players fared at the mega event and has rated them accordingly. He goes on to start with the batters followed by the all-rounders and in the end, concludes by rating the Indian pace trio.
Aakash Chopra’s rating for the Indian batsmen in WTC Final
Aakash Chopra started with rating the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill who performed considerably well in the English conditions.
Chopra gave a 6/10 rating to Rohit Sharma who did the primary job of seeing off the new ball and got starts in both innings. Although Rohit was unable to convert his starts into a big score, he made sure to lay the foundation for the other batters to follow in his first England tour as an opener.
“I will give Rohit 6/10. He got starts in both innings. I will say the glass is half full because Rohit saw off the new ball in both innings, the most difficult thing in SENA countries. He was opening for the first time in Test cricket in England, do not ever underestimate what Rohit Sharma has done.”
Playing his first match in the English conditions, Gill gave a hand to Rohit in the first innings and tackled the new ball brilliantly. He failed to deliver in the second inning but took a great catch of Ross Taylor and thus was given a 4/10 rating by Chopra.
“Shubman Gill helped Rohit Sharma in the first innings but got out early in the second innings. Just 4/10, I was thinking 3 or 3.5 but four because he took a good catch of Ross Taylor diving to his right.”
Cheteshwar Pujara had a forgettable and disappointing as he failed to perform in both innings as well as dropped a sitter of Taylor who went on score the winning runs for the Kiwis. He was rated the lowest i.e only 2/10 by the cricketer-turned commentator.
“Cheteshwar Pujara, one he dropped a catch in the slips, not that it would have made a difference to the match. His batting in both innings, you expect more runs from Cheteshwar. In this game, I am going 2/10.”
Indian Skipper, Virat Kohli was looking good in the first innings but got out cheaply in the next one at a very crucial stage from where India saw a collapse. He was given 50% marks by Chopra only because of his batting in the first innings.
“Virat Kohli 5/10 for the simple reason that the first innings was good but more was expected from him in the second innings. You will compare Kohli with Kane, and Kane did the job in both innings.”
Ajinkya Rahane too got a 5/10 rating for his great performance in the first innings followed by a dismal one in the second.
“Ajinkya Rahane did score 49 runs in the first innings. He got out playing a bad shot. You can say that he was unfortunate in the second innings but he never looked comfortable. I have given him 5/10.”
Pant scored valuable 41 runs in the second innings to bring India back in the game but got dismissed playing a false shot which was unnecessary at that moment.
“Pant is also 5/10. He scored 41 runs in the 2nd innings but the most promising student is also going to get scolded. The way he got out, the careless and carefree debate will always be there. I was expecting more from Pant.”
Ratings for All-rounders
Ravindra Jadeja is the No.1 ranked Test all-rounder but delivered below the expectations in the WTC final and was rated only 3/10 by Chopra.
“Jadeja 3/10. You are batting at No.7. There was more expectation from your batting in both innings, more so in the 2nd innings. You took one wicket while bowling, there was more expectation of wickets as well in the second innings.”
Ashwin took four wickets in the match and also scored valuable runs in the first innings which earned him 60% marks by Aakash Chopra.
“Ravichandran Ashwin 6/10. He did okay with the ball. He broke the opening partnership in the first innings, took two wickets in the second innings, the two wickets we got. He scored 21 runs in the 1st innings but played a bad shot in the 2nd innings.”
Aakash Chopra’s rating for the Indian pace trio
Mohammed Shami and Ishant Sharma were the picks of the bowlers for India as they bowled brilliantly in the first innings to help India make a comeback in the game.
“Shami gets 7/10. Shami bowled well, he was the one to bring you back in the match. He took four wickets and in a good fashion. Ishant Sharma gets 6/10. I expected more from him in the 2nd innings, I thought he was phenomenal in the first innings.”
Bumrah’s performance was way below average as he wicketless throughout the match and also dropped a catch of Williamson in the second inning.
“Bumrah is just 3/10. There was a catch dropped off his bowling in the 2nd innings but nothing like that happened in the first innings. Jasprit Bumrah going wicketless in a Test match, it doesn’t happen very often but it happened in this match.”
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Mohamed Azhar
(370 Articles Published)