India v England 5th Test – England Player Ratings

The inability of the English batsmen to tackle quality spinners was evident yet again on the final day of the 5th and the final Test of the series in Chennai as Ravindra Jadeja ripped apart the England batting order with career-best figures of 7/48. The victory was unexpected, especially after openers Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings defied the Indian bowlers during the morning session of the final day.

England scored 477 in their first innings courtesy a brilliant century from Moeen Ali and valuable lower order half centuries from debutant Liam Dawson and Adil Rashid. Yet again India replied strongly and ended up scoring their highest ever Test score. While opener KL Rahul missed out on his maiden double century by a solitary run, another Karnataka youngster Karun Nair went on to convert his maiden Test century into a triple century. It was a special effort from Nair who was playing in only his 3rd Test. India declared their 2nd innings on 759/8 with a huge 282 runs lead.

England openers Alastair Cook and Keaton Jennings defied the Indian bowlers in the opening session of the final day but in the post lunch session, Ravindra Jadeja ripped apart the English top order to derail their progress. Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav also chipped in with a wicket each as England was eventually dismissed for 207 in their 2nd essay, handing India a massive win by an innings and 75 runs.

Here are the England player ratings for the match

Alastair Cook – 5/10

England captain Alastair Cook’s horrifying times continued as the southpaw fell to Jadeja yet again on both the occasions. In the first innings, he was pretty ordinary and again poked at an outside the off stump delivery from Jadeja only to edge it to Virat Kohli in the first slip. In the 2nd innings, he survived a bit longer and went on to score a half-century in the company of Keaton Jennings as both the batsmen defied the Indian bowlers in the morning session of the final day.

In the post lunch session, Cook had a lapse in concentration and guided a leg side ball of the face of the bat to KL Rahul stationed in the leg slip. It was a terrific tactic employed by Kohli and it paid off.

Keaton Jennings- 5/10

Jennings who scored a century on his Test debut didn’t have a memorable outing in Chennai as he was dismissed cheaply in the first innings. Comeback man Ishant Sharma bowled a full pitched delivery outside the off stump which deviated just a bit and took the outside edge of the flashing blade of Jennings.

Jennings played well in the 2nd essay scoring a half century but gave away his wicket when it mattered the most. It was a freakish type of a dismissal as the ball lobbed up straight in the air after hitting his bat and was caught by the bowler Jadeja with utmost comfort. Considering the context of the game it was a pretty important wicket at a crucial juncture of the game.

Joe Root- 6/10

The mainstay of the English batting order Joe Root played yet another solid innings in their 1st essay. After Cook and Jennings were dismissed early, Root and Moeen Ali stitched together a crucial 146 runs partnership for the 4th wicket. Root played in his own free-flowing style and struck 10 fours during his innings before he was dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja.

As Root went for a slog sweep the ball apparently took the under edge and was taken well by Parthiv Patel behind the stumps. Though the onfield umpire ruled in favour of the batsman, replays suggested that there was a clear spike on the bat when the ball passed it and it was conclusive enough for the 3rd umpire to overturn the original decision. Root was furious as he was not convinced that he had hit that.

Even in the 2nd essay, Root was dismissed by Jadeja and for yet another time the onfield umpire ruled in favour of Root. Again he went for a sweep and the ball hit him adjacent to the stumps. Naked eye perhaps gave a feeling that the ball would have missed the leg stump but the replays showed the ball would have gone on to crash the middle and leg stump.

Moeen Ali- 8/10

The southpaw played a magnificent knock in the 1st innings and courtesy his century, England managed to post a mammoth 477 in their 1st innings. Ali played the drives and cuts to perfection but he was still troubled by the short-pitched stuff from Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma. Despite his technical deficiencies Ali put his foot down and scored a brilliant century. He was eventually dismissed by Umesh Yadav as he again failed to control a short delivery and gave an easy catch to the square leg fielder.

Ali went for plenty in the bowling department and finished with figures of 1/190 in 41 overs.

He was troubled quite a bit by Ashwin and Jadeja in the 2nd essay before falling for 44 to Jadeja while attempting a wild slog. The ball took the inside part of the bat and was safely pouched by Ashwin fielding in mid-on.

Jonny Bairstow- 4/10

Wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow who have had a tremendous year with the bat in the longest format of the game played well in the 1st innings for his 49. He played some delightful strokes and struck Ashwin for 3 monstrous sixes. He eventually fell to Jadeja while attempting an uppish cover drive which was accepted gleefully by Rahul standing in the covers.

Bairstow fell pretty cheaply in the 2nd innings to Ishant Sharma while attempting an uppish flick. The ball took the edge of the bat and was brilliantly caught by Jadeja fielding at short square leg. It was an outstanding running catch from Jaddu and it reminded the viewers of the famous catch taken by Kapil Dev of Vivian Richards in the 1983 World Cup Final.

Ben Stokes- 3/10

Stokes who was the most impressive player from England coming into the final Test won’t like to remember this match for a long time, both from his personal and the team’s perspective. In the 1st innings, Stokes was dismissed by Ravi Ashwin for yet another time in the series. He bowled a beautifully flighted delivery outside the off stump which Stokes poked at. The ball took the outside edge and was safely pouched by Parthiv Patel standing behind the stumps.

He bowled well in patches and the only reward he got in the match was the wicket of Cheteshwar Pujara. It was a short of length delivery which pitched outside the off stump and Pujara played a nothing shot. He played a half-hearted cut which took the edge of the bat and was easily grabbed by Alastair Cook in the slip cordon.

Again in the 2nd essay he struggled against the spinners during his short stay and was eventually dismissed by Ravindra Jadeja for 23.

Jos Buttler- 2/10

Jos Buttler who returned quite recently in the Test outfit had a horrendous outing in the final Test of the series. In the first innings, he failed to put the bat on a full-length delivery from Ishant Sharma which thudded onto his pads and struck him plumb in front. It was not an extraordinary delivery under any stress of imagination but the ball deviated just a bit to create a doubt in the batsman’s mind. In the 2nd innings, he played as many as 50 deliveries for his unbeaten 6 as he witnessed wickets falling consistently at the other end. England was eventually bowled out for 207 handing India a huge victory by an innings and 75 runs.

Liam Dawson- 5/10

Liam Dawson made an impressive debut and struck an impressive half century in his very first Test innings. Though he is primarily a left-arm spinner but his batting skills did impress one and all. Along with Adil Rashid, the pair put on a crucial 100 run partnership for the 8th wicket to take England past the 450 mark in their 1st essay.

Dawson was perhaps the best of the three spinners. He bowled reasonably well and had two wickets to show for his efforts. First, he dismissed Murali Vijay on the 4th day morning by trapping him right in front of the stumps and then dismissed Jadeja in the later part of the innings when India had already posted a total beyond 700.

He was dismissed for a duck in the 2nd essay as he failed to read a googly from Amit Mishra. Despite England’s pathetic performance, Dawson would be pretty happy with his effort in his debut Test.

Adil Rashid- 4/10

Rashid had an impressive start to the match by scoring a fluent half-century in England’s 1st innings. Along with debutant Liam Dawson, Rashid played a good hand and shared a 108 runs partnership with Dawson for the 8th wicket. He was eventually dismissed by Umesh Yadav while he attempted a wild slash outside the off stump. The ball took the outside edge and was safely caught by Parthiv Patel behind the stumps.

He had a forgettable outing with the ball in hand. He came in for some serious treatment especially against triple centurion Karun Nair and looked out of ideas to counter him. It was a hard toil for all the English spinners as India went on to score their highest ever Test score in the history of the game. Rashid eventually finished with unimpressive figures of 1/153 in 29 overs.

Stuart Broad- 5/10

Stuart Broad who made a comeback in the Test after missing the last two Tests due to an injury bowled pretty well in their 1st innings. On a day when the Indian batsmen went hammers and tongs, Broad was pretty impressive with his line and length and pitched the ball in the right areas. Despite the pitch not assisting the pacers, he bowled his heart out and had two wickets to show for his efforts.

First, he had the dangerman Virat Kohli and followed it up with Ashwin’s wicket on the next day morning. Kohli who is having a purple patch in his international career attempted to play a drive away from his body and gave a simple catch to Jennings fielding in the covers. It needed a spectacular catch from Jos Buttler in the slip to send back Ravi Ashwin to the pavilion.

Jake Ball- 2/10

Despite bowling with pace, Jake Ball was pretty ordinary throughout the match and went wicketless. He didn’t get enough movement, either from the pitch nor from the air and hardly used the cutters like Broad did. Ball finished with figures of 0/93 and was dismissed for 12 and naught in the two innings.