After a nervous start, Team India completed an almost perfect whitewash of Zimbabwe in the three match One Day International (ODI) series. This series was a great opportunity for many young cricketers to leave a mark and push the selectors ahead of the bus season. But having said this, it wasn’t a complete team performance. The Cricket Lounge’s Somya Sharma lists top 6 performers for India vs Zimbabwe 2015 ODI series.
1) Ambati Rayudu
The no. 5 spot is still up for the grabs in the ODIs and after a good show in Zimbabwe, Rayudu has emerged as a front-runner. Rayudu scored 165 runs with one century when India was in dire straits. Despite playing only two matches he emerged as India’s leading run-scorer in and was named Man of the Series.
2) Stuart Binny
Ambati Rayudu might have got the Man of the Series award, but Stuart Binny emerged as India’s star performer in the three-match series. Binny shined with both bat and ball; he scored 120 runs —including a match-winning 77 in a close win — at an average of 60 and a strike rate of 120. Binny was also the joint-highest wicket-taker with 6 wickets to his name.
3) Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn’t play even the single match in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 and many thought his career might be cut-short like his Uttar Pradesh teammate Praveen Kumar. But, Bhuvneshwar came back very strongly and he was by far the best Indian pace bowler on display in the series, taking five wickets at just 16 and an economy of 3.07 runs per over — the best in the series. It was his brilliant final over in the first match that allowed India to take the lead and set the momentum right from the first game.
4) Harbhajan Singh
After being ignored by the selectors for more than one year, Harbhajan had a good comeback series, taking four wickets in three games at 27.50 and an excellent economy rate of 3.66. It might be tough for him to retain his place in the ODI team once Ashwin returns, but ‘Bhajji’ has certainly sent a strong message to the selectors that he still has a lot of cricket left in him.
5) Kedar Jadhav
Jadhav scored only 21 runs in the first two matches of the series but came very strongly in the last match and scored a match-winning hundred. He scored a wonderful 105 not out to rescue India from 82 for 4 to 276 for 5. He was a bit lucky though, getting dropped on 41.
6) Manish Pandey
Manish Pandey didn’t play in the first two matches of the series and made his debut in the third ODI. Pandey came in to bat at a tough time but he grabbed the opportunity with both hands and batted very maturely with Robin Uthappa and Kedar Jadhav. Pandey scored 71 off 86 on ODI debut, combining with Jadhav to add 144 for the fifth wicket.
