A 4-1 scoreline doesn’t reflect greatly on India, but for significant passages across the five-match series, the visitors more than held their own. The standout batsman, across both teams, was the Indian captain Virat Kohli, while the visiting fast bowlers often out-paced the home side’s.
Yet, India failed to clinch the big moments, repeatedly, across the five matches, and it is ultimately what rendered all their promise irrelevant. It is a failure that is reflected in our ratings of each member of the Indian side that took the field over five Tests.
Murali Vijay: 1
The opener was among India’s most impressive players in 2014, but this time around, he seemed to betray his principles – no longer was he watchful outside off. Instead, he went fishing. That’s not a great way to open an innings in England – Vijay managed scores of 20, 6, 0 and 0 in his four outings, before being dropped from the XI and then the squad.
G Hanuma Vihari: 6
The 24-year-old has been knocking on the Test doors for a while now, and at The Oval, with little to lose, the management handed him a debut. He didn’t disappoint. A gritty half-century in the first innings, a knock in which he grew in confidence, was a good way to begin his Test career. He was out for a duck in the second innings, though, but despite that, he could be one for the future. Not to forget, he ended Alastair Cook’s career by having him caught behind.
Ravindra Jadeja: 6
He waited over a month to get a go, and with the series conceded, he finally got an outing. He put in a performance that perhaps had the management wondering why they hadn’t used him sooner. Jadeja picked seven wickets in the match, and scored a solid 86* in the first innings. The standard he brings to the field merits special mention too. If one had to nit-pick, you could say he should have done better on the final day of the series, and fought for a draw.
