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| Edited By: Pranav Joshi |Source: DNA webdesk |Updated: Sep 29, 2017, 06:37 PM IST
India lost a hard-fought Test match against Australia by 48 runs on Saturday. The Indians though actually threatened to win at one point, and could easily have drawn had they not attempted to win.
This might indicate that the Indians played good cricket over five days of the Adelaide Test. But the reality is starkly different. The reality is that Australia dominated most sessions, and it was only on the last day that India looked like the better team for about 65 overs. Let us break down India's performance player-wise through a marking system.
1) Shikhar Dhawan: The opener's travails outside home continued from his horror tour of England. Dhawan got a good start in the first innings, but got carried away far too soon - and this has been his problem for a long time now. Moreover, Dhawan has problems with not just bounce but also using a straight bat at times, the kind which got him out in the first innings. In the second, Dhawan was unfortunate. He was adjudged caught behind off a short delivery but the ball had grazed his shoulder. Took two good catches at slip in the first innings. 3/10.
2) Murali Vijay: Murali Vijay batted well in the first innings and batted better in the second. He showed patience, determination and an ability to tackle both pace and spin. Neither of Vijay's innings were too fluent, with edges missing the bat on several occasions. But he gets good marks for perseverance and even more importantly, for a critical 99 in the second innings. Dropped David Warner on 89 in the second innings, but he only added 13 more runs. 7.5/10.
3) Cheteshwar Pujara: The rub of the green went Pujara's way in the first innings, as the wicket was quite placid. On both occasions he was Nathan Lyon's wicket, and he struggled to negotiate Ryan Harris' swing and Mitchell Johnson's bounce in the first innings in spite of the wicket. Pujara never fully looked in control. He still gets some credit for a gritty 73 the first time round. 5/10.
4) Virat Kohli: Virat Kohli was the stand-in captain for MS Dhoni. He decided to force a victory when a draw would have been seen as a positive outcome on Day 5. As a batsman, Kohli absolutely followed up his plans and led from the front. The wicket was relatively benign in the first innings when Kohli made 115, but his innings was devoid of the struggles of Pujara or Vijay. It was as fluent as any innings from a world class batsman on foreign soil. Then, on a Day 5 wicket with the danger of Nathan Lyon looming, Kohli batted very positively, compiling a near-flawless 141 and leading the charge. He only has to take slight blame for the miscue that brought about his dismissal and extenuated India's collapse to defeat. 9.5/10.
5) Ajinkya Rahane: Rahane played a solid hand in the first innings, looking reasonably assured at the crease though not as confident as Kohli. He was finally done in by a near-unplayable delivery from Nathan Lyon. Then he fell victim to poor umpiring in the second innings just like Shikhar Dhawan, with the ball nowhere near his bat. However, it must be conceded that Rahane was fooled by Nathan Lyon again. 6/10.
6) Rohit Sharma: The man who broke the ODI record for the highest individual score a few weeks ago had little clue about line and length in both innings. In the first innings he scored 43, but struggled to find rhythm. On the fourth morning, when India needed to add crucial runs to get close to the Australian first innings score of 517, Rohit was second best to wicket-keeper batsman Wriddhiman Saha. On a relatively playable Adelaide wicket he kept playing and missing outside off. He finally fell tamely to (who else but) Nathan Lyon - perhaps the easiest of Lyon's top order dismissals. 2/10.
7) Wriddhiman Saha: As a batsman, Saha was another victim of poor umpiring, but in the first innings. This happened after he had scored a resolute 25. In the second innings Saha decided to go for the jugular, hitting a six and a boundary as India's chase unravelled over the last 87 runs. But he played one shot too many and that too a reckless one, getting nowhere near the line of a Nathan Lyon delivery which spun after pitching. As a keeper, Saha was not required to take any spectacular catches, but managed two simple ones. Missed an easy stumping off Karn Sharma and Steve Smith went on to make an unbeaten 162. 5.5/10.
8) Karn Sharma: Karn Sharma on debut did nothing much to convince the selectors or fans about his capability or incapability. One could argue that given R Ashwin's record abroad, the experienced spinner would have done just as badly. Having said that, Karn Sharma did cause occasional strife for the Australian batsmen in the first innings, and was unfortunate to have Saha mess up a stumping chance. It could also be said that he ran into David Warner in the form of his life. However, both his wickets came with the batsmen looking to hit the ball out of the park. In the second innings he dismissed Warner (again) and Chris Rogers, but like the first time, both batsmen were looking to attack. Failed with the bat in both innings. 5/10.
9) Mohammad Shami: Coming into the side on the back of Bhuvneshwar Kumar's injury, Shami failed to significantly impress in both innings with his bowling. He was the victim of an early onslaught by Warner in the first innings, along with Varun Aaron. He improved towards the end of Day 1, getting Lyon and Haddin out, the latter in the last over. He used reverse swing to dismiss Shane Watson in the second innings and was slightly less expensive. Added a crucial 34 runs in India's first innings towards the end. 5/10.
10) Ishant Sharma: Ishant Sharma actually bowled quite well on Day 1. He was easily the pick of the Indian bowlers, beating edges on various occasions and also maintaining a healthy economy rate, taking a wicket in the process. Come Day 2 and Ishant joined the rest of the bowling attack in its mediocrity. Did nothing of note in the second innings. His performance was quite poor for the 'spearhead' of the Indian attack. Ishant also failed with the bat in both innings. 3/10.
11) Varun Aaron: Aaron is another one of those Indian pacers who has been hailed for his immense promise. Like Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron tends to concede runs at a fast clip. Unlike Umesh Yadav in England, Aaron did not compensate for it by getting wickets in Adelaide. Aaron was hit all over the Adelaide Oval by the rampaging Warner in the first innings, and never really recovered his line or length. Used extra bounce to get Mitchell Marsh out in the first innings, but apart from that his two wickets in the Test were more the batsmen's mistakes than his own skill. Conceded 136 off 23 overs at nearly 6 an over in the first innings and then 43 off 10 overs in the second. A very disappointing performance. 1/10.
In conclusion, it may be said that Virat Kohli was the standout performer for India. Apart from Kohli, Murali Vijay managed to get the measure of the Australians in both innings. The rest of the batting was shaky and might only have performed in the first innings because of better batting conditions. The bowling effort, collectively speaking was pedestrian and took just 12 wickets in two innings. India's spectacular Day 5 chase was an exception to their mediocre (though not abysmal) performance for the first four days. India were competitive for four days only because most of their batsmen did reasonably well in the first innings. The team will have to really pull up its socks, especially in the bowling department to entertain thoughts of a win at Brisbane.
