No plus points here

The series lost 1-4, Ayaz Memon evaluates the Indian performances and finds little to applaud

5/10 Rahul Dravid Struck a superb hundred in the opening game, but thereafter his form faded out badly, in step with his team’s decline. Kept up a brave front throughout, but in hindsight will see some flaws in his team selections and batting order changes.

6.5/10 Virender Sehwag Actually played two of the best innings in the series. Had he converted either his 96 or 95 into a little more than a century, India could have won both games. When he got a decent bowl, did a superb job, but fielding was below par.

5.5/10 Yuvraj Singh His dismissal for 98 with two runs needed to win was in many ways the turning point of the series. Looked India’s most accomplished batsmen, even on the slow tracks, but did not get big scores consistently. Was surprisingly sluggish in the field.

5.5/10 Mohammad Kaif Three half centuries was a fine turnaround after the string of failures preceding this tour. Now, he must aim to move a notch higher and play match-winner instead of the perennial good foil. Was his usual brilliant self in the field.

4/10 MS Dhoni A couple of gallant innings in the first and fourth matches could not hide his struggle to come to terms with slow tracks of inconsistent bounce. Batting failures also seemed to affect his wicket-keeping, which was quite shoddy.

3.5/10 Suresh Raina Looked promising in a couple of innings, but ultimately failed to make any sizeable contribution with the bat. Got out on a couple of occasions to zero-percentage shots, which set the team back badly enough to lose. Superb in the field, though.

4/10 Irfan Pathan Had a modest series with the ball, and a nondescript one with bat. His pace held little threat, and his length was awry, which allowed the batsmen to take him on without compunction. As batsman, could not adapt to the tracks at all.

8/10 Ajit Agarkar Easily India’s best bowler in the series. Opening the bowling or coming on first change, got quick breakthroughs. Kept all batsmen in check with his three-quarter length and ability to seam the ball at a nippy pace. Very good in the outfield too.

7.5/10 Harbhajan Singh Bowled with guile and accuracy. Quick to adapt, he got the ball to turn and grip on all tracks. Did not get too many wickets, but was treated with utmost respect by all batsmen. Has shown better ability with the bat in the past.

6.5/10 Ramesh Powar Rated highly by Lara and Sarwan, looked to be the best spinner in the series which won him a place in the Test side, till poor totals compelled him to cut down on flight. Wasn’t as effective thereafter. Disappointed with bat.

5.5/10 S Sreesanth Bowled aggressively and showed a big heart, though he should have been quicker to adapt his length to the slow tracks. Nevertheless, would have finished with more impressive figures had all the catches off his bowling been taken.

3/10 Munaf Patel Had a forgettable series, inconsistent length providing batsmen easy pickings. The high speed and deadly yorkers which made him the find of the series against England were nowhere in evidence. Looked out of sorts in the field too.

2/10 RP Singh Had little role to play after the first game, in which he had made a decent enough start till he lapsed in line and length and the batsmen tore into him. That performance prevented the tour selection committee from risking him again.

2/10 Venugopal Rao Failed to exploit the opportunity which came his way after a longish wait. Looked overwhelmed even with his side in a comfortable position in the second game, and was senselessly run-out adding to India’s panic and subsequent defeat.

1/10 Robin Uthappa Was luckless in the sense that he had to wait till the series was lost to get an opportunity to play, but muffed it up with a first-over duck on a relatively good pitch. Was pretty ordinary while fielding, including dropping a crucial catch.