DNA rates Team India's show in South Africa

Virat Kohli 6/10

Two parameters for him: batting and captaincy. Except in the first Test, he was one of only two Indian players who batted with assurance and fluency, with Bhuvi being the other. But it is his leadership that came under scrutiny on this tour. Backing the wrong players, dropping the right ones and being needlessly over-expressive on the field have put the first blot on Kohli's unblemished captaincy career so far.
M: 3; I: 6, R: 286; Hs: 153; Ave: 47.66; 100/50: 1/1; 0: 0; Cts: 3

Murali Vijay 3/10

India needed their old Monk more than ever on this tour. Instead Vijay wanted to bat like a breezer. Leaving balls outside the off stump was his forte, but he got out fending at balls away from his body too often. Reverted to his old self in the final innings of series, but it was too late.
M: 3; I: 6, R: 102; Hs: 46; Ave: 17.00; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 0; Cts: 4

Shikhar Dhawan 2/10

Played just the first Test, and got out going for the pull in both the innings. Didn't help his cause by dropping a catch at slips. Sunil Gavaskar termed him bali ka bakra (scapegoat) after he was droppe.
M: 1; I: 2, R: 32; Hs: 16; Ave: 16.00; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 0; Cts: 0

KL Rahul 2/10

Walked into the team for the second Test with much promise but delivered little. Played some really poor shots to gift soft dismissals, a trait not befitting the reliable opener. That a team boasting of three openers having to ask Parthiv Patel to take up that role at Wanderers reflected the irony and the openers' form.
M: 2; I: 4, R: 30; Hs: 16; Ave: 7.5; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 1; Cts: 1

Cheteshwar Pujara 4/10

If a No. 3 batsman's most memorable moments in a series are a couple of silly run outs and a bittersweet record of taking 54 balls to get off the mark, you know he's had a below-par tour. Tried to show intent with a few gritty innings coupled with a few errors of judgement.
M: 3; I: 6, R: 100; Hs: 50; Ave: 16.67; 100/50: 0/1; 0: 1; Cts: 1

Rohit Sharma 1/10

Got a massive confidence booster from the team management in being picked ahead of Rahane. As it turned out, the confidence was misplaced. Rohit never looked like a Test batsman that has it in him to conquer challenging conditions.
M: 2; I: 4, R: 78; Hs: 47; Ave: 19.50; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 0; Cts: 1

Ajinkya Rahane 6/10

Was more in the news for his non-selection rather than what he did with the bat, and therein lies Rahane's sorry tale from his tour. His 48-run knock in the most trying circumstances at Wanderers showed what India missed in the first two Tests. What's more, he caught well too.
M: 1; I: 2, R: 57; Hs: 48; Ave: 28.50; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 0; Cts: 2

Wriddhiman Saha 3/10

Reiterated the fact that he is India's best wicketkeeper in Tests, taking 10 catches in Cape Town to break MS Dhoni's record of most dismissals by an Indian 'keeper in the longest format. Sadly for him, a hamstring injury ended his contribution after the first Test. That said, he appeared all at sea with the bat against the moving ball.
M: 1; I: 2, R: 8; Hs: 8; Ave: 4.00; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 1; Cts: 10

Parthiv Patel 2/10

Like a kid learning to swim, Parthiv was thrown into the deep end of the sea often. Was sent in to weather the SA storm at the fag end of the fourth day at Centurion, and was asked to open in the second innings at Wanderers. He put his head down and did it with sincerity, but not enough quality. Dropped — and didn't attempt — catches too.
M: 2; I: 4, R: 56; Hs: 19; Ave: 14.00; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 0; Cts: 10

Hardik Pandya 3/10

Showed spark during his blistering 93 that saved India from complete embarrassment in the first Test. From thereon, though, the spark fizzled out. There's a fine line between playing one's natural game and being reckless, and Pandya crossed that line more than once. Made little impact with the ball too.
M: 3; I: 6, R: 119; Hs: 93; Ave: 19.83; 100/50: 0/1; 0: 1; Cts: 3
Wkts: 3; Best: 2/27; Ave: 54.00; 5WI/10WM: 0/0

Ravichandran Ashwin 3/10

Save the Centurion Test, the offie didn't have much to do in the series. And even on a 'sub-continental' Centurion track, he failed to exploit the crumbling pitch in the second innings after bowling well in the first. Looked solid as ever as a batsman, but the question remains: is he a spinner that can excel in all conditions?
M: 2; I: 4, R: 90; Hs: 38; Ave: 22.50; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 0; Cts: 0
Wkts: 7; Best: 4/113; Ave: 30.71; 5WI/10WM: 0/0

Bhuvneshwar Kumar 9/10

The biggest, brightest and boldest tick for India from this series. Set the tone by rattling the Proteas batsmen in the first hour of the series, his reward being a place on the bench in the next Test. Came back at Wanderers and proved why his exclusion was a monumental blunder. If his bowling wasn't enough, Bhuvi had the second-best average among Indian batters in the series.
M: 2; I: 4, R: 101; Hs: 33; Ave: 33.66; 100/50: 0/0; 0: 0; Cts: 2
Wkts: 10; Best: 4/87; Ave: 20.30; 5WI/10WM: 0/0

Jasprit Bumrah 8/10

The find of the series. To give credit where due, the team management's gamble of giving an unknown-at-the-Test-level Bumrah a go worked. His seemingly easy transformation from a specialist pacer in limited-overs to a skillful one in the Tests bodes well for the future. He was the most expensive of the Indian bowlers, a leak that he will like to plug.
M: 3: Wkts: 14; Best: 5/54; Ave: 25.21; 5WI/10WM: 1/0; Cts: 2

Mohammed Shami 7/10

On paper, he was India's highest wicket-taker in the series but in reality, he joined the party a bit too late. Wasn't menacing and consistent, and when he was, like in the second innings at Wanderers, ran through the Proteas line-up. Was good, but could've been better.
M: 3: Wkts: 15; Best: 5/28; Ave: 17.06; 5WI/10WM: 1/0; Cts: 0

Ishant Sharma 6/10

His inclusion in the second Test at the expense of Bhuvi raised many an eyebrow, but to his credit, Ishant didn't do badly. Cleaned up captain Faf du Plessis twice in two Tests, and AB de Villiers once. Bowled his heart out. Fits nicely into India's four-pacer strategy overseas.
M: 2: Wkts: 8; Best: 3/46; Ave: 18.75;
5WI/10WM: 0/0; Cts: 0

Ravi Shastri 1/10

Acts more like a cheerleader of the team than coach. 'Proud' and 'fight' seem to be his go-to words, ones that he used to brush the 2014-15 away series loss to Australia under the carpet, as well as this one. But there's no brushing aside the fact that some selection calls defied logic throughout the series. At some stage, coach, the words need to be backed by action, and the fight needs to be backed by results.