Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Rated 1/10 For 2nd T20I: 'I Don't Like Giving Zeroes'

Ravichandran Ashwin gave Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a rating of 1 out of 10 in his assessment of India’s players after their second T20I against New Zealand on Saturday. Sooryavanshi, who batted at No. 3, received the lowest score from the former India spinner, while captain Shreyas Iyer was rated 2 out of 10.

It was indeed Sooryavanshi’s most difficult game since his debut. Asked to bat a spot below his usual position because of Ishan Kishan’s injury, he managed only four runs off eight balls in the 181-run chase. His timing and rhythm looked atypically out of sorts, even though he began batting in the powerplay.

Ashwin rated openers Abhishek Sharma (27 off 21) and Sanju Samson (14 off 17) higher than Sooryavanshi.

“Abhishek Sharma, I’ll give him a 9

for that intent. Sanju Samson, I’ll give him a 3. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a 1. I don’t like giving zeroes,” Ashwin said during a post-match show on Sony Sports Network.

Shreyas was one of three batters, alongside Sooryavanshi and Samson, who couldn’t score at a strike rate better than 100, with only seven runs off 11 balls.

“Shreyas Iyer is a 2. Not sure, but yeah, 2,” he added.

Ashwin was far more impressed with India’s middle-order contributions, awarding perfect scores to Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy, who put up a record-breaking 69-run partnership to win India the match.

“Tilak Varma is a 10 for me, that was one hell of a performance. Nitish Kumar Reddy, and again, a 10. 19th over, bowled pretty well, so that’s a 10 for me,” he said.

Naman Dhir received 8 out of 10 for his all-round contribution, although Ashwin pointed to a missed opportunity to close out the game and a scratchy catch.

“Axar Patel is a 2 on today’s performance. Bhuvneshwar Kumar is a 2 again,” Ashwin said, giving both players low marks.

Bhuvneshwar was expensive with the ball, conceding 50 runs at 12.50 runs/over. Axar was economical with the ball but managed only 11 of 9 with the bat.

The former spinner rated Arshdeep Singh and Prince Yadav 9 out of 10 each for their performances with the ball, with the pacers combining for three wickets.