England vs India Test Series: Report Card of Indian Players
In yet another story of what could have been on an overseas tour, India has lost to England by a margin of 1-4 in the recently concluded 5 match Test series. While the margin of defeat might indicate that the series as a one-sided affair and worry many Indian fans, the reality was something totally in contrast to it.
Excepting the second Test at Lord's where England outplayed India completely, the other four games saw some highly intense and competitive battles take place between two of the world's best cricketing sides. However, what hurt India most was the team's inability to cash in on crunch situations and drive home the advantage from commanding positions. The Kohli-led team allowed England to get a foot in the door in tight situations, which cost them dearly.
Coming to the performances of the players, it was a case of two different sagas. While a few players rose to the occasion and stamped their authority over the game, others fared poorly and might be even ousted from the side for the coming tours.
Here's a report card of the 17 Indian players who played in the 5-match Test series.
#1 Murali Vijay-2/10
Mat: 2 Runs: 26
Having done decently well in England in the past, Murali Vijay was expected to provide solid starts to the team at the top of the order. However, that was not the case to be as the man from Tamil Nadu had utterly disappointing outings in the two Tests that he played in the series.
With just 26 runs in 4 innings, Vijay accounted for an embarrassing average of 6.50 runs per innings. He looked completely out of sorts at the crease and found it difficult to play against the moving ball. The 34-year-old also recorded an unwanted pair in the second Test at Lord's, and as a result, was left out of the squad for the last three games of the series.
#2 Shikhar Dhawan-4/10
Mat: 4 Runs: 162 50s: 0 100s: 0
Shikhar Dhawan played 4 out of the 5 games of the series without much to boast about. The left-handed opener failed in providing a strong impetus to the innings at the top and has once again raised doubts over his abilities to tackle a moving ball in seaming conditions.
Despite getting starts in a few innings, Dhawan failed to capitalise and make a big score. Barring a solid 44 in the second innings of the third Test, the man from Delhi found it hard to get going on the English pitches and kept falling prey to the opposition's pace battery.
#3 KL Rahul-6.5/10
Mat: 5 Runs: 299 50s: 0 100s: 1
Despite not being able to stamp his authority in any of the first four games, KL Rahul was given an extended run in the final Test of the series. While the first four games saw Rahul depart after playing a few classy strokes, the 4th innings of the fifth Test showcased why the Karnataka batsman is rated so highly.
Chasing a daunting score of 464 for victory, India were staring down the barrel after losing Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, and Virat Kohli in quick succession. However, it was KL Rahul who held his ground firm at the other end and joined hands with Ajinkya Rahane and Rishabh Pant to power India to a respectable total in the 4th innings. The 26-year-old looked in ravishing touch as he took the bowlers to the cleaners and seemed to have redeemed his old self. His 149 might have come a bit too late in the series, but, would certainly do a world of good to his morale.