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Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the Most Valuable T20 Players in the India-South Africa three-match T20I series.
While we faithfully identify the most valuable players after every bilateral series, we do sometimes wonder: where's the real top value?
Here are some uncomfortable hypotheses. The real value was a. that India and South Africa could spar before the big World Cup, or b. by playing in India, South Africa made sure that India would return the visit; which would be tremendously profitable for their cricket board or c. that players could put in performances that might enhance their price in the next IPL auction (whisper this softly).
Thankfully, data always offers useful pointers: a. We aren't far away from the day when the best batters will boast of strike rates of 200. b. SpecialiSation is going to get even more important; we now want Dinesh Karthik to only finish; no big runs from him, only very fast runs. c. At least one opener must go berserk in the Powerplay.
David Miller is the most valuable player (MVPI: 194) because he scored a lot of runs at a blazing pace. Quinton de Kock is second (MVPI: 164); he scored a few more runs than Miller, but at a relatively more leisurely pace.
The most valuable bowler was Keshav Maharaj. More than his four wickets, his low economy rate gave his performance more lustre. This sort of bowler is useful; one expects Ravichandran Ashwin to play that role for India.
Recall that MVPI is the highest for batsmen who score a lot of runs very quickly, and bowlers who get a lot of wickets at low economy rates.
Most Valuable Players: India-South Africa T20 Series
| Rank | Player | Team | Top Score | Runs | 4s | 6s | Strike Rate | Wickets | Economy Rate | Match | MVPI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Miller | SA | 106 | 125 | 8 | 10 | 236 | 0 | - | 3 | 194 |
| 2 | Quinton De Kock | SA | 69 | 138 | 9 | 8 | 145 | 0 | - | 3 | 164 |
| 3 | Suryakumar Yadav | IND | 61 | 119 | 10 | 9 | 195 | 0 | - | 3 | 162 |
| 4 | Rille Rossouw | SA | 100 | 100 | 7 | 8 | 196 | 0 | - | 3 | 132 |
| 5 | Keshav Maharaj | SA | 41 | 41 | 5 | 2 | 117 | 4 | 7.1 | 3 | 109 |
| 6 | KL Rahul | IND | 57 | 108 | 7 | 8 | 129 | 0 | - | 2 | 104 |
| 7 | Dinesh Karthik | IND | 46 | 63 | 5 | 6 | 225 | 0 | - | 3 | 94 |
| 8 | Deepak Chahar | IND | 31 | 31 | 2 | 3 | 182 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 87 |
| 9 | Virat Kohli | IND | 49 | 52 | 7 | 1 | 141 | 0 | - | 2 | 60 |
| 10 | Aiden Makram | SA | 33 | 58 | 7 | 2 | 135 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 58 |
| 11 | Arshdeep Singh | IND | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 5 | 11.8 | 2 | 55 |
| 12 | Dwaine Pretorius | SA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 3 | 7.4 | 1 | 50 |
| 13 | Rishabh Pant | IND | 27 | 27 | 3 | 2 | 193 | 0 | - | 3 | 48 |
| 14 | Rohit Sharma | IND | 43 | 43 | 7 | 1 | 105 | 0 | - | 3 | 36 |
| 15 | Tristan Stubbs | SA | 23 | 23 | 2 | 1 | 121 | 0 | - | 3 | 36 |
| 16 | Kagiso Rabada | SA | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 63.6 | 2 | 8.1 | 3 | 35 |
| 17 | Axar Patel | IND | 9 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 2 | 9.1 | 3 | 29 |
| 18 | Harshal Patel | IND | 17 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 142 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 26 |
| 19 | Umesh Yadav | IND | 20 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 118 | 1 | 11.3 | 1 | 23 |
| 20 | Ravichandran Ashwin | IND | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 50 | 0 | 6.7 | 3 | 20 |
| 21 | Wayne Parnell | SA | 24 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 64.9 | 2 | 9.1 | 3 | 18 |
| 22 | Shreyas Iyer | IND | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 0 | - | 1 | 5 |
| 23 | Anrich Nortje | SA | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100 | 1 | 12.2 | 2 | 0 |
| 24 | Tabraiz Shamshi | SA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 0 | 10.1 | 1 | -6 |
| 25 | Mohammad Siraj | IND | 5 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 71.4 | 0 | 11 | 1 | -11 |
| 26 | Temba Bavuma | SA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 15.8 | 0 | - | 3 | -11 |
| 27 | Lungi Ngidi | SA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | 2 | 14.3 | 2 | -12 |
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com