India v England, 1st Test: India Player Ratings

Team India walked into the series being tagged as the favourites. Some went on to say that India might well drub England 5-0 and continue their comprehensive run. However, the team found it tough in the first Test at Rajkot. The Virat Kohli-led side leaked runs in the first innings and conceded a giant 537 on the scoreboard. Indian batsmen, Cheteshwar Pujara and Murali Vijay in particular, played exceptionally well. Some late hitting from Ashwin saw India edge close to England’s total. Things turned worse them in the second innings when Indian spinners failed to trouble the English batsmen on a turner. India then made a mockery of their run chase in the 2nd innings. Needing 309 to win, they messed it up big time. They were in for an English scare after having lost 6 wickets. It was a gritty skipper’s knock that saved the day for India. Here are the India player ratings for the match: Murali Vijay – 8/10: Murali Vijay. (Photo Source: BCCI) Murali Vijay had a good match and an impressive start to the series. Vijay looked solid throughout the game. It was the lapse in concentration that saw him edge one to the short leg in both innings. He put on 209 with Cheteshwar Pujara in the first innings as India looked in a commanding position then. Murali Vijay went on to score a well-earned century – 126 off 301 balls. In the second innings too, he looked set at the crease. But, a sudden error saw him nick one to short leg fielder Haseeb Hameed and depart for 31 as a result. However, the kind of intent and form that he showed are good signs for Indian top order. Gautam Gambhir – 2/10: Gautam Gambhir. (Photo Source: BCCI) Opener Gautam Gambhir had a forgettable time in the middle in the Rajkot Test. Gambhir got his opportunity in absence of regular Indian openers. However, the Delhi batsman failed to live up to his name and reputation. On a track where most Indian batsmen got starts, Gambhir could manage only 29 in the first innings. The second innings was an even worse one for him. Gambhir was dismissed for a duck by Chris Woakes and that ended the match for Gambhir. If he wishes to hold on to his opening slot in the team, Gambhir needs to pull up his socks big time to get among the runs and stay afloat in the mix of things. Cheteshwar Pujara – 8/10: Cheteshwar Pujara. (Photo Source: BCCI) The local boy Cheteshwar Pujara continued his merry run at Rajkot. Having scored tons of runs at this venue in domestic cricket, nobody knew the wicket more than he did. The new wall of the Indian team did not disappoint either. He struck a magnificent ton in the first innings to delight the crowds. The key feature of his innings was his intent. Unlike his conventional manner of play, he did not only block the balls but played his shots freely. He outplayed his partner Murali Vijay in having a higher strike rate. Pujara hit 124 off 206 balls with 17 boundaries. For the selfless man that he is, Pujara decided not to review his dismissal in the second innings and departed for 18. Virat Kohli – 8/10: Ravindra Jadjea and Virat Kohli. (Photo Source: BCCI) Virat Kohli made a decent start in India’s first innings. He got out after getting a decent start in a bizarre fashion. Kohli scored 40 before being hit wicket on a delivery by Adil Rashid. Kohli rocked back to hi backfoot in his attempt to pull but got rid of his bail instead. His grit and determination came to the fore in the second innings. India was staring right at defeat with wickets falling at one end. It was Kohli who held the fort until the very end to ensure India escaped the defeat and settled for a draw. Kohli scored an unbeaten 49 to save India from a massive embarrassment. Ajinkya Rahane – 2/10: India’s Ajinkya Rahane. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images) Ajinkya Rahane’s outing was perfectly summed up by commentator Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. He quoted, “two poor shots for Rahane in the Test match”. That is how it went for Rahane. Rahane scored 13 in the first innings before being bowled by Zafar Ansari. Things did not turn much for him in the second innings either. He came into bat in a tricky situation where India needed him to hold the fort along with Virat Kohli. However, it was a poor shot selection on a ball drifting way down the leg side. He could only manage to pad it back to the stumps and depart after scoring only 1. Wriddhiman Saha – 4/10: India cricketer Wriddhiman Saha. (Photo by DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) A lot was spoken about Wriddhiman Saha ahead of the Test series. The Bengal keeper had a disappointing match. Not that he performed poorly, but that he could have done a lot better. His batting did not help India get over the English total. He hit 35 off 82 balls en route a 64 run partnership with Ashwin. Given the start that he got, he should have converted it to a big one as the stage could not have bigger than this. In the second innings too, an opportunity beckoned but Saha could not capitalise. His wicket-keeping was not up to the mark either. He dropped two catches off the bowling of Umesh Yadav in quick succession in the first innings. Saha’s performance in the match was below par. Ravichandran Ashwin – 4/10: Ravichandran Ashwin. (Photo Source: BCCI) Ravichandran Ashwin was expected to be India’s main man in the Test series. It is not that the entire responsibility or pressure has been put on him, but it is under such great pressures that legends thrive on. Ashwin had his opportunity to show why he is the top-ranked bowler in Tests. He largely failed in his attempt to do so. Ashwin started off well as he dismissed Ben Duckett and Haseeb Hameed in the first innings. But those two remained to be his only scalps in the innings conceding 167 runs. His batting was brilliant, though. Carving a clinical 70 while batting with the tail is a great effort. He went wicketless in the 2nd innings until he dismissed Alastair Cook. Ravindra Jadeja – 5.5/10: Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo Source: BCCI) Ravindra Jadeja could have got a few more overs to bowl in the 2nd innings but that does deviate the fact that he had a below par outing. He bagged 3/86 in the first innings to be the pick of the bowlers for India. But later in the game when the opportunity to bat arrived, he failed. Jadeja is an all-rounder after all. Jadeja went wicketless in the second innings despite creating a few odd oohs and aahs for the English batsmen by bowling in the rough outside off. He was only unlucky to have not been among the wickets on a track where spinners should have dominated. Amit Mishra – 5/10: Indian cricketer Amit Mishra delivers the ball during the second day of a two-day tour match. (Photo by JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images) Amit Mishra got a place in the side ahead of Hardik Pandya, whose name was floating in the media. Mishra disappointed big time in the first innings when he bowled a lot of loose deliveries. His line and lengths were wayward too and never did he trouble any English batsman for a long period. He went wicketless until he bagged the last wicket of the England side in the first innings, trapping Zafar Ansari plumb in front of the stumps to show up a wicket to his name. He was also promoted as the night watchman on day 3 but succumbed after just 2 deliveries. Mishra scalped 2/60 in the second innings but his economy was on the higher side. Umesh Yadav – 6/10: (Photo Source: BCCI) Umesh Yadav gets a few extra ratings for bowling his heart out. He was the unluckiest bowler in the match. India dropped a lot of catches off his bowling in the first innings. Yadav created a lot of half chances for India to crawl back into the match. Sadly, though, he could bag only 2 wickets in the first innings and none in the second. Umesh caught and bowled Joe Root after the latter scored a brilliant ton. A controversial take it was but a wicket nonetheless. He then dismissed the other centurion Ben Stokes, too, later in the innings. He gets 6 in the ratings. Mohammed Shami – 5/10: Team India. (Photo Source: BCCI) Pacer Mohammad Shami was the better among the two Indian pacers in the match. He started off well bowling tight lines in the first innings. He managed to get the outside edges but Indian players refused to grab them. The big moment arrived when a brilliant in-swinging delivery rocked the off-stump of centurion Moeen Ali. That is when Shami was at his best in this Test. He later got rid of Jonny Bairstow too to eventually end up of with figures of 2/65 in the first innings. The second innings was a forgettable one for him as he went wicketless despite bowling some really good deliveries. With figures of 0/29, he did not bother the English batsmen much.

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