Australia vs India 2018-19: Report card for the Indian team
Test series is done and dusted and this Indian team has done something that no previous Indian team had done so far, ie., winning a Test series against Australia on the Australian soil. Now it's time for the report card of the Test series for the Indian team.
1- KL Rahul
Innings- 5
Runs- 57
Rating- 2/10
This man is struggling a lot with his batting and the team needs to take a call on his spot in the side because there are lots of good players waiting for the opportunity. The two points that he gets is just for his 44 runs in the second innings of the Adelaide Test. Apart from that, he hasn't contributed anything in the series win.
2- Murali Vijay
innings- 4
Runs- 49
Rating- 1/10
Vijay was called back in the side after getting dropped in England. But, he failed to deliver and was left out of the side after the second Test.
3- Mayank Agarwal
Innings- 3
Runs- 195
Rating- 9/10
He was the biggest positive take away of this series. He was called into the side after the second Test match and after that, there was no looking back he scored two half-centuries in three innings and an important 42 in the second innings of the Melbourne Test.
The only disappointment is that he missed a chance to score a century not once but twice in two Test matches, so in my opinion, he gets 9 points.
4- Cheteshwar Pujara
Innings- 7
Runs- 521
Rating- 10/10
This man deserves more than 10. He is the main hero of this series and has led this batting lineup which could have struggled without Pujara. He has outscored everyone in this series and there is absolutely no one near to him. The way he applied himself and made every Aussie bowler to toil on the field was brilliant to see.
5- Virat Kohli
Innings- 7
Runs- 282
Rating(batsman)- 7.5/10
Rating(captain)- 8/10
Virat Kohli, the batsman, gets 7 on 10. He scored a century, half-century and a crucial 37 runs. But, we were expecting a lot more from him as a batsman as he had an outstanding tour in 2014-15 where he scored four hundreds and given that this was his thi3rd tour Down Under.
But, Virat Kohli, the skipper, gets 8 on 10 as he was very proactive and tactically very strong this time compared to that of England tour and he was always ahead of the game.
6- Ajinkya Rahane
Innings- 7
Runs- 217
Rating- 5/10
He gets 5 on 10. He scored two half-centuries once again same as England he is just giving the trailers of good form but is unable to convert them into a big one. He needs to be slightly more consistent with his performance.
7- Hanuma Vihari
Innings- 5
Runs- 111
Rating- 6/10
He gets 6 on 10. He was good in this series he bowled a bit and got a couple of wickets as well. He even opened in the third Test and survived a crucial spell which was very important for the team, he didn't score many runs but the time that he spent out there was very crucial. So he gets 6 on 10.
8- Rishabh Pant
Innings- 7
Runs- 350
Rating- 8/10
He was absolutely brilliant in this series. He caught a lot of catches, second highest run-scorer of the series. The way he put the Aussie attack under pressure was brilliant and he gets a couple of points for his brilliant sledging as well. He dropped a couple of catches as well but he is one for the future.
9- Ravindra Jadeja
Innings- 3
Wickets- 7
Rating- 7
He just played just two Test matches but he performed really well both with bat and ball. He has made his presence felt and he can become the first choice spinner outside sub-continent for the team ahead of Ashwin.
10- Mohammad Shami
Innings- 8
Wickets- 16
Rating- 9/10
He was outstanding with his bowling. He is the second highest wicket-taker of this series. The way he came in and broke some crucial partnerships was brilliant to see. He gets 9 on 10 for his brilliant performance in the series.
11- Ishant Sharma
Innings- 6
Wickets- 11
Rating- 8.5/10
Once again, he was brilliant with his performance. He didn't really get many wickets but he kept the pressure on the opposition and chipped in with few wickets at times. His role in this bowling lineup was very crucial because he was the most experienced pace bowler in the side and knew these conditions really well. So he gets 8.5/10
12- Jasprit Bumrah
Innings- 8
Wickets- 21
Rating- 10/10
There are absolutely no adjectives to describe his performance in this series. He was sensational in all the four games. The way he bowled, it seemed that he was going to get a wicket on every delivery. He is the highest wicket-taker alongside Nathan Lyon with 21 wickets.
There was also Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Umesh Yadav who didn't play enough games and so they were not considered here.