India vs England Test Series Marks Out of 10

[mancalledsting]

Basis of ratings:
 

how players played throughout the series

if players are allrounders/WK- then bad performance in either discipline, will reduce their score

 

Lokesh Rahul- needs to perform consistently at the top of the order, has a slightly loose technique outside of off stump which he would need to tighten before Eng, SA and NZ tours

 

6.5/10- some of poor showings on return from injury but big scoring attacking innings in final test was key in India's Chennai victory

 

Murali Vijay- ageing, inconsistent but often gets one huge century per big series, needs to learn to play for milestones- an opener who plays for milestones can seldom be a bad thing. Should try and play some county cricket, given he doesnt play LOIs.

 

6.5/10- two big scores in the series, but rest of the time went missing (partially due to his casual approach)

 

Pappu Patel- serious issues with his WK, however has shown potential as a backup pure opening batsmen, especially given his like for pace bowling and the hard new ball. If batting lower down the order- I have my doubts that he will be as equally effective with his batting, hence as a permanent batsmen/WK he's a definite no for me (as it is not possible to keep and then open the innings effectively and make big runs). Should also try and play some county cricket, given he doesnt play LOIs.

 

8/10- apart from single innings in Mumbai. almost faultless with the bat given he carried the burden of gloves too. Horrible with the gloves though. Flexibility in batting order ensured India didn't feel the burden of their injuries.

 

Gautam Gambhir- indeterminate return, given his age and propensity for poking, indian fans wanted to see some serious returns from him before he won their hearts back. His test career is most probably over.

 

2/10- didn't cash in on a flat patta in Rajkot, his golden chance to revive his test career

 

Chepu Pujara- from Mohali onwards, seems to have developed a habit of throwing his wicket away cheaply and not gone on to make the big runs that he can make 3/5 times on indian wickets. Lets hope his stint in county cricket helps him on the overseas tours. Should try for further stints in county cricket.

 

7/10- solid performance throughout the series- average of 50, but these were batting tracks and he plays at the top of the order. Threw his wicket away too often, putting the team in trouble 1st, 3rd and 4th test.

 

Virat Kohli - has been a breathe of fresh air for reviving test cricket in India (and hence around the world). Performance wise- nothing needs to be said.

 

9.5/10- inspirational captaincy, turned in a batting performance in nearly every innings he played

 

Ajinkya Rahane- very atypical Indian batsmen- prefers fast bowling and fast wickets to turning wickets. Very odd considering he's from Mumbai and would have had chance to learn about both. Needs to seriously work on his spin bowling if he wants to own his spot in the batting line up for indian tests. Overseas, arguably our best test batsmen. Failed LOI experiment needs to be brought abruptly to an end so he can hone his spin skills in Ranji and hopefully play some county.

 

2/10- not a single valuable contribution with bat during the series, the worst of his career so far, no doubt

 

Karun Nair- needs to keep his hunger going after that one big innings, will no doubt benefit from further A tour exposure and county cricket experience, hence indian selectors need to think very carefully before selecting him for LOIs.

 

8.5/10- only had three innings, his low score in Mohali was because of Kohli running him out, but arguably one of the best triple centuries of all time in Chennai

 

W Saha- poor with the gloves and poor with the bat this series. Unless his keeping his exceptional, kind of looks like a passenger in our batting lineup.

 

2/10- minimal contribution with the bat, poor with the gloves

 

Ashwin- every thing good except.......FITNESS. I felt at certain points in this series- his bowling lost bite due to fatigue (eg end of day 4 mumbai) and hence was not able to keep up his devastating performance throughout. Averaged over 30 with ball by the end of the series- didnt do justice to his performance. Given he wants to be an allrounder and plays LOIs, seriously needs to lose at least 7kgs in weight and improve cardiovascular fitness.

 

8/10- match winning performances with the ball, valuable contributions with the bat- interspersed with some average showings with the ball

 

Jadeja- really showed that he's taking his batting more seriously now- I think performances of Jayant and Ashwin have given him the kick up the backside he dearly needed.

 

8/10- progressively got better as the series progressed (credit to his fitness and endurance), played some crucial knocks in Rajkot and Mohali and once in a lifetime bowling/fielding performance in Chennai

 

Shami- for the first time since Zak- i felt like we had a dangerous fast bowler in indian conditions...only question is now, will his knee hold up

 

8.5/10- given the wickets, given the dropped catches- Shami was seriously impressive.... at times devastating, wickets of Cook, Woakes case in point

 

Umesh Yadav- unlucky to have so many catches dropped off his bowling, intimidated english batsmen at times and got crucial breakthroughs. Definite improvement.

 

6/10- bowled better than figures suggested, pace up throughout the series, mainly played the enforcer role, improved with bat also

 

Ishant- initial signs under Kohli are good as he was bowling fuller and his pace was up- clearly has all the tools, just needs to be consistent and nurtured properly- maybe playing five bowlers will give him freedom to express himself and go all out and give more per bowling spell

 

7/10- impressive, economical display given bowling on completely dead wicket

 

Bhuvi- remains to be seen whether he can play a role on indian wickets- will always have a role in swing bowling conditions

 

4/10

 

Jayant yadav- showed excellent potential with the bat but has been picked as a spin bowler and his returns with the ball were solid. Maybe playing as third spinner is blunting his wicket taking potential a bit.

 

7/10- solid in all games played

 

Mishra Ji- excellent googly to get rid of Jake Ball when the team desperately needed it. Should enjoy this as his finest hour in test cricket along with debut fifer in mohali. As a 34 year old- his test career is most likely over.

 

3/10- played on the two flattest tracks of the series- but good and experienced leggies should be above that kinda stuff

 

Slip Fielding: Pakistani esque fielding display. Absolutely horrible. Apart from Ajinkya Rahane- nobody in the side is test quality slip fielder. Even virat kohli has an atrocious technique for fielding in slips- Matthew Hayden tried to help him in 2013 with this but clearly he hasn't listened and it appears to have rubbed off on the rest of the team by example. The team as a whole needs to decide on a fixed slip cordon and that selected cordon needs to do some serious work with dravid, VVS, or whoever. If this aspect of our game doesnt improve- forget about winning overseas.

Edited December 21, 2016 by mancalledsting
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[BlueBee]

I'll give Umesh a bit more considering he bowled really well throughout the series. 7/10 sounds better, others are okay.

[Mosher]

Very good OP.  

Ashwin and Jaddu were phenomenal this whole series. I feel they should get 9 each.

Regarding Ishant, I dont think he has fully recovered after Chikangunya. His pace has been up and down. He normally bowls at a decent pace and sustains that throughout the game.

[Tibarn]

Good ratings.

 

I have only 3 differences with your ratings.

 

I would drop Kohli to 8.5 because of all his drops

 

I would give Saha a 1/10 because I think his drops in Rajkot may have cost us a victory and a sweet 5-0 whitewash. 

 

I would be more lenient with Jayant, probably an 8/10 as he seems to be a real find with the bat and he did well for a third spinner.  

[mancalledsting]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/india-v-england-2016-17/content/story/1073681.html

[MCcricket]

Mishra to me is the worst at 1/10

Saha did not do that bad see the contrast with Pappu spilling like 8 to 10 catches n stumpings, so Pappu get 2/10

BK maybe 2/10