India v Australia, 1st Test - India Player Ratings

Pushed against the wall for the first time, Virat Kohli & Co. were found wanting for the first time in 19 Tests. They were thrashed and humiliated, by the Australian team, who started their tour as underdogs, for a change. Team India didn’t manage to match captain Steven Smith’s score of 109 that he scored on a wearing pitch in Pune. The innings would go down in the history as one of the most skillful by a visiting player and one among the best by a visiting captain.

A flurry of records was registered against the Australian team’s name, in a match where the Indian lineup, ‘bettered’ their previous lowest combined score for a Test match, by scoring a mere 212 in both innings combined, their previous lowest score was 272 against Australia, back in 1956-57 at the Eden Gardens. 13 single digit score in either innings would be an indicator of how poorly Indian batting fared against the Aussies.

Murali Vijay – 2.5/10

Vijay has been the more consistent batsman, among Indian openers who have been tested since Gautam Gambhir & Virender Sehwag parted ways. He had a forgettable match here. He got a peach of a delivery from Josh Hazelwood in the first innings and he poked at it. He should have known what the spinners brought to the table, having played so much domestic cricket. He fell for Steve O’Keefe, the giant of the match in the next.

It would be premature to jump into conclusion against Vijay’s failure. He has been quite a calming presence in the middle, despite having different partners to open every other match. It’s imperative for India that Vijay work his way out to see off the new-ball threat in the coming games.