India v England, 1st Test: India Player Ratings

Ravichandran Ashwin – 4/10:

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.