After the disappointment of the 2021 T20 World Cup, the Indian men’s cricket team began their preparations for the next edition of the tournament, in 2022, with a clean sweep at home against New Zealand, defeating them 3-0.
India not only saw a change in captain but also the head coach as Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid took over from Virat Kohli and Ravi Shastri. The squad against New Zealand wore a new look with a some new faces brought in as India looked to test out the talent and give some seniors like Ravindra Jadeja and Jasprit Bumrah some much needed rest.
India won all three games quite comprehensively with different players stepping at various times to take the team over the line. And while the focus moves to the Test matches, the Rohit Sharma led side will be delighted to have started of a new era in an emphatic manner.
Here’s a look at India’s top performers in the three-match series.
Rohit Sharma
India’s new captain led from the front, opening the innings, and taking the attack to the New Zealand bowlers from the get-go, ensuring a good start and making good use of the powerplay.
Rohit, who had to give his side an attacking start with KL Rahul, scored two half-centuries in the three games and finished with 159 runs from three outings. His strike rate too was above 150 in the series.
It was important for Rohit to start well in his first series as T20 captain as the middle order wasn’t the most experienced and pressure could have caused the situation and the results to be quite different otherwise.
R Ashwin
Back in the mix in the shortest format for India after 4 years when he played at the World Cup, the experienced spinner kept the NZ batters on a leash and gave his side a potent attacking option with the ball as well.
Ashwin played only two games and finished with three wickets but had the best economy rate of 5.25, after Venkatesh Iyer, who bowled in only the final game of the series. Ashwin looked dangerous and along with Axar Patel helped keep the Kiwis from getting away to a big score in the first two games.
There is no doubting his abilities but the recent run of form on comeback will not only give him great confidence but also benefit the team a fair amount. The captain himself made it clear in Kolkata that Ashwin is an asset, especially in the middle phase, one of the toughest in T20 cricket.
Harshal Patel
Back in the limelight and how thanks to his fine performance in IPL 2021, Harshal repaid the faith the team management put in him with four wickets in two games. While he was a little on the expensive side overall, Harshal’s variations in Indian conditions worked well and had the Kiwi batters in a spot of bother in the death overs.
Harshal, who is an ace death overs bowler, gave the team some solid overs in that phase, not conceding too many and picking wickets at regular intervals to derail the visitors. The RCB man has taken his chance in the India colours and will definitely be one of the players to lookout for going ahead in the build-up to the next World Cup.
Axar Patel
Left out of the World Cup squad at the eleventh hour, Axar had a point to make to the selection committee against NZ. And boy did he respond!
Along with Ashwin, left-arm spinner Axar had the NZ batters in quite a bit of trouble with their probing lines and lengths and variations in pace. Axar’s ‘you miss I hit’ policy as a bowler worked wonders as under pressure Kiwi batters looked to improvise and were deceived by his guile.
Axar finished with 4 wickets in three games with a best of 3/9 and an economy rate of 6, making his case for a longer run in the team in a strong manner.
In Australia, where the pitches aren’t likely to turn as much at the next World Cup, Axar’s variations and probing ways could be off great benefit for the Indian team.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)