A series that promised so much eventually ended up in a comprehensive 1-4 defeat for the Indian side in England. Even though Indian side showed plenty of promise and competed at various times, they failed to land the final blow, allowing the England side to get away in most of the Test matches. So how did the players do individually and who may find that this is the end of the road, we rate their performances out of 10.
Murali Vijay: 2/10
A forgettable series for the man who was the leading opener for India heading into the series but may well be staring at the end of his Test career now. 26 runs at an average of 6.5 including a pair at Lord’s meant he was left out of the side for the last 3 Tests. A far cry from the 2014 tour when he scored over 400 runs in England.
Shikhar Dhawan: 4/10
Many people doubted Dhawan’s ability to play the moving ball outside Asia and he failed to prove any of them wrong during this series. His slip catching also let the team down with the crucial drop of Sam Curran proving to be a game changing moment. After being dropped for the 2nd Test, he did come back with a lot more focus and application for the 3rd Test but by the end of the series, it was a familiar story once again. With 162 runs at an average of 20, and Mayank Agarwal and Prithvi Shaw knocking on the door, he will be lucky to make the side for the next overseas tour.
KL Rahul: 5/10
Started the tour at Number 3 ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara before moving up to open the innings during the next 4 Tests. A very ordinary series before the last Test in which he looked good in both innings before getting gems from Curran and Rashid respectively. The scintillating hundred in the last innings and his slip catching may just have secured him another chance unlike Vijay and Dhawan.
Cheteshwar Pujara: 6/10
Started the series on the bench before being immediately recalled for the 2nd Test. Played a very useful hand at Nottingham before scoring a fine hundred at Southampton, pushing India to a lead after his colleagues collapsed against Moeen Ali.
Virat Kohli: 8/10
The standout batsman of the series, scoring 593 runs at an average of 59.3. To show how far ahead of everyone else he was, the 2nd highest scorer in the series was nearly 250 runs behind him, Jos Buttler with an aggregate of 349. Kohli firmly answered the questions about his ability to play in England. However, his captaincy and team selections left much to be desired. Playing an extra spinner at Lord’s and an extra fast bowler at Southampton when the conditions asked for the reverse. Looked a bit clueless and bereft of plans at times when the England tail got going, which happened almost every Test match.
Ajinkya Rahane: 5/10
Had absolutely forgettable first 2 Tests where he looked completely out of sorts lacking any confidence whatsoever. Came back into some form at Nottingham where he and Kohli laid the foundation of victory with a superb partnership. Fought hard at Southampton for his half century in the chase but there was little support after Kohli from the other end.
Hardik Pandya: 5/10
Man Of The Match performance at Nottingham where he blew away the English side in one session but found himself on the bench within 2 Test matches after that. Tried his best to hang in there while batting but his technique was badly exposed by the England bowlers. Kohli has a lot of faith in him and he will be back but Number 6 may be a touch too high a position for him.
Rishabh Pant: 6/10
Got everyone excited on his debut by scoring his first runs by smashing Moeen Ali down the ground for a 6, however, things quickly went downhill from there before he got England worried with an explosive hundred on the last day of the series. His wicketkeeping needs a bit of work as he conceded over 50 byes in his first 3 Tests, though the Indian fast bowlers spraying the ball miles down leg side contributed a lot to that total. Saha should be back in the XI when fit but with his maiden 100, Pant has made a very good case for himself for future.
Dinesh Karthik: 2/10
Saha’s injury gave a great chance to Dinesh Karthik to cement his place in the side but unfortunately, he failed to grab it. Didn’t particularly impress behind the stumps and had a torrid time of it with the bat. 21 runs in 4 innings with 20 of them coming in 2nd innings at Edgbaston where India fell short by 31 runs.
R. Ashwin: 5/10
Started well at Edgbaston where he picked 7 wickets but then slowly tapered off. Injury limited him at Southampton where he got the most helpful track but he couldn’t take advantage while England’s off spinner Moeen Ali ended up with 9 wickets there. Jadeja’s performance at the Oval may well mean that India go with Jadeja the next time they decide to play just 1 spinner away from home.
Ishant Sharma: 8/10
Bowled with a lot of heart and pace right through the series. Troubled England top order continuously and didn’t allow them to settle. With 18 wickets at 24, he was the most successful Indian bowler and deserved all those wickets. Picked up an injury during the final Test, which is hopefully not too serious.
Mohammed Shami: 7/10
Bowled his heart out during the series but was desperately unlucky not to get more wickets. His bowling average of over 38 doesn’t truly reflect how well bowled with his balls missing the edge countless number of times. Only Anderson bowled more overs than him as he kept charging in whenever Captain asked him to. However, even as a tailender, needs to work on his batting a little as he continuously tried to slog even with a set batsman at the other end who could have done with some support.
Jasprit Bumrah: 7/10
Missed the first 2 Tests due to an injury but returned to show why he is going to be a regular part of the XI for the foreseeable future. Picked 14 wickets at 25.92 and kept troubling the England batsmen whenever he bowled. Needs to work on that No Ball though as he lost another wicket to overstepping in the series.
Ravindra Jadeja: 7/10
Got his opportunity only after the series was lost but battled hard with the bat to get India close to England’s first innings total in addition to picking 7 wickets. Played exceptionally well with Bumrah to get as many runs as he did. Toiled manfully with the ball as well bowling a marathon spell as India were reduced to 3 bowlers after Ishant’s injury.
Hanuma Vihari: 6/10
Showed a bit of nerves at the start before settling down to score a fine half century in the first innings at Lord’s. Will face a lot of short-pitched bowling going forward as he looked a bit vulnerable against it but a fine prospect for the future. With no other top order batsman being able to bowl a few overs, his off spin can come in quite useful as well.
Umesh Yadav: 4/10
Played only the first Test before being dropped for an additional spinner at Lord’s and then for Bumrah after his return. Remains a good back-up option for India behind Bhuvi, Bumrah, Ishant and Shami.
Kuldeep Yadav: 1/10
Had the most forgettable Test match at Lord’s in conditions totally unsuitable to him. Got only 9 overs when England batted and couldn’t manage to open his account in either innings with the bat.
