England playing XI's report card for the 2nd Test vs India
Joe Root's England fell to a whopping 317-run defeat at the hands of India in the 2nd Test at Chepauk.
Virat Kohli's men were propelled by a brilliant first-innings daddy hundred from Rohit Sharma and a stellar all-round show from hometown boy Ravichandran Ashwin. Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant put in noteworthy performances as well.
Most of the English batsmen struggled, and although his bowlers toiled hard and performed reasonably, Root wouldn't be too keen on looking back at this performance.
Here are the player ratings for England from the 2nd Test vs India.
IND v ENG 2021, 2nd Test: England Playing XI's Report Card
Rory Burns: 2/10
Burns bagged a duck in the second innings of the 1st Test, and followed it up with two unconvincing innings in this game. The southpaw was trapped in front by Ishant Sharma for another blob, and although he played a few shots in the run-chase, he managed only 25 before being dismissed by Ashwin. He has a few too many techincal shortcomings, and it remains to be seen if England opt to open with Zak Crawley like they did in Sri Lanka.
Dom Sibley: 2/10
Sibley played a gritty knock in the first innings of the 1st Test, but recorded scores of 16 and 3 in the 2nd. The opener was dismissed by spin in both innings, and both were avoidable dismissals. England don't have any better options on the bench, so he might just be given a long rope.
Dan Lawrence: 3/10
After a superb fifty on Test debut, Lawrence has struggled to put up sizeable scores. The No. 3 tried hard during his time at the crease, dancing down the pitch and steadfastly blocking, but aggregated only 35 runs over the course of this Test. The second innings dismissal in particular was disappointing, as he charged down well in advance to be stumped. We might see him make way for Crawley or Bairstow in the 3rd Test.
Joe Root: 4.5/10
Captain Root was in the form of his life coming into this game, but he had few answers to the guile of the Indian spinners. He top-edged a sweep in the first innings before getting a ball that bounced extra to take the glove in the second. Root picked up a wicket with the ball, but this wasn't one of his better performances.
Ben Stokes: 2/10
Stokes bowled only two overs before a suspected injury brought his involvement in that department to a close. With the bat, he was dismissed by Ashwin in both innings, one with a sharp turner and one with an arm ball. The left-hander should've attempted to be more proactive against the Indian spinners, as his defensive approach was bound to fail at some point. He even dropped a sharp catch at first slip.
Ollie Pope: 3.5/10
Playing as a specialist batsman at No. 6, Pope was one of England's better batsmen in the first innings, but threw his wicket away by being strangled down the leg-side off Mohammed Siraj. He managed only 12 runs in the second as well, and his place in the team is certainly under question. Pope put his body on the line while fielding, though.
Ben Foakes: 7/10
Foakes dropped a catch while standing up to Stuart Broad and missed a couple of stumpings, but it can still be said that his wicket-keeping was extraordinary. The English gloveman put in an assured performance with the bat in the first innings, making an unbeaten 42 and ensuring that Jos Buttler's absence wasn't felt dearly. In the second essay, however, he played an ill-advised sweep to give Kuldeep Yadav his first Test wicket in over two years.
Moeen Ali: 7.5/10
This was a mixed performance from Moeen Ali, who is definitely one of English cricket's greatest enigmas. The all-rounder picked up 4 wickets in each innings, but bowled a few too many loose balls over the course of the Test. He had some fun with the bat in the closing stages of the game, making 43 off 18 balls and reminding everyone that he should be batting far higher than No. 8. Ali will be missed for the remainder of this series.
Jack Leach: 7.5/10
Leach was arguably the pick of the England bowlers in this Test. Although he scalped only 6 wickets, the left-arm spinner was unerringly accurate and built up pressure from one end to allow Ali to capitalise.
Olly Stone: 6.5/10
Stone bowled his heart out on Day 1 and 2, and ended up with 3 wickets in the first innings after cleaning up the Indian tail. His extra pace and aggression served England well in this game, and he did well given the conditions at his disposal.
Stuart Broad: 3/10
A couple of chances went down off Broad's bowling, but it was still disappointing to see England's second-highest wicket-taker in Test cricket finish the game with zero scalps to his name. The speedster was sparingly used by captain Joe Root, and might be replaced by either Jofra Archer or Jimmy Anderson for the next game. If he is kept in the team for his pink-ball prowess, he will need to put in a much-improved display.