India v New Zealand Test Series – India Player Ratings

India completed an emphatic win over New Zealand by whitewashing the visitors 3-0 in the series. The series has been an outstanding one for the hosts. This was only the fourth occasion when India whitewashed an opposition in Test cricket. Most of the players stood out for the team when needed. The stat that stands out among the rest is that the victory margins never reduced. India emerged as the top ranked side with the series win. Among the batsmen it was Cheteshwar Pujara who emerged as the leading run-getter for India. The bowling department saw Ravichandran Ashwin torment the opposition with his off-spin bowling.

The first Test at Kanpur marked the 500^th Test for India in the history of Test cricket. Half-centuries from Murali Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara set the tone for India. Ravindra Jadeja struck form with both bat and ball to inch India closer to a 1-0 lead. A 10-wicket haul in the match by Ashwin was enough for the hosts to win the match by 197 runs. The action moved to Kolkata for the 2^nd Test. Wriddhiman Saha was the man of the moment with twin fifties in the match.

A buzzling 5/48 by Bhuvneshwar Kumar rocked the hosts hard and they could never recover. India won handsomely by 178 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead. The third and the final Test saw Ashwin dominate yet again with a miraculous 10-wicket win. A double ton from Virat Kohli and a brilliant 188 from Ajinkya Rahane bolstered India’s chances of a whitewash.

Here are the India player ratings for the series:

Murali Vijay – 5/10

Opener Murali Vijay was the only Indian opener who went unscathed throughout the series. He featured in all 3 matches and scored 186 runs in 3 matches at an average of 31. Vijay’s form dipped as the series progressed. He started off exceedingly well with scores of 65 and 76 in the Kanpur Test. He couldn’t get into the double digits in the Kolkata Test.

The final Test was yet another opportunity where he could have cashed in on a batting beauty. However, a horrid runout and a lazy run cost his wicket dearly. He had failed in the first innings too. A dipping form sees him get only 5 in the ratings. With Gautam Gambhir and KL Rahul striking form, Vijay would surely like to up his game an inch more.