India managed to draw the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy 2-2 and in the process play out one of their most memorable Test series in recent times. They won the Oval Test by six runs to level the series 2-2.
England, needing 35 runs to win, fell agonisingly short of their target and ended up losing the Test match from a potentially winning position. Meanwhile, for India, there were a lot of positives from the series.
The top run-getter and the top wicket-taker in this series were both Indians. Meanwhile, the Indian batting flourished in the series with Shubman Gill scoring 754 runs. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja scored over 500 runs, while Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rishabh Pant scored over 400 runs in the series.
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With the ball, Mohammed Siraj picked up 23 wickets. Jasprit Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna picked up 14 each while Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar picked u seven each. Purely in terms of cumulative performance, this was by far India’s most fruitful series since the covid era.
Meanwhile, in this article, we rate the players for their performance throughout the series and will prepare a virtual report card and mark them on the basis of their performance. Only Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav and Abhimanyu Easwaran did not play a single match from the original squad that was named.
Report Card Of Indian Players After Oval Test Win
Shubman Gill - 8/10
Tasked with captaincy, Gill tried his best as captain and a draw in his very first Test series and that too away from home is a remarkable achievement. He top-scored in the series with 754 runs runs scoring four centuries and led from the front as captain.
KL Rahul - 7/10
Purely, in terms of consistency, this has been KL Rahul’s series. He missed out in this Test but ended the series with over 500 runs, including two hundreds. His most important score was the knock of 90 runs he scored alongside Gill, tiring out the England bowlers as they batted for over 400 balls as a partnership.
Yashasvi Jaiswal - 7/10
Jaiswal went big when he was set. His knock of 118 runs in the second innings was very crucial to India scoring 396 runs in the second innings and giving England a target of 374 runs. Purely in terms of impact, this was a good series from the southpaw.
Rishabh Pant - 9/10
Pant, too, can be given a 9/10 in the manner in which he played the Test series. He picked up multiple injuries but battled through it and scored crucial runs for India. He too scored over 400 runs with twin centuries in the first Test. Him coming out to bat in the second innings of the Manchester Test with a broken toe is a sight that will remain with the Indian fans forever.
Sai Sudharsan - 4/10
The southpaw scored a half-century in the first innings of the fourth Test in testing conditions in Manchester. Apart from that, he scored a good-looking 31 in the first innings of the Headingley Test. He had his opportunity in the Oval Test to make a mark for himself, but he could not, as India’s search for number three continues even after this Test series.
Karun Nair - 4/10
It was an opportunity lost for Karun Nair to lengthen his Test career. He scored just one half-century and ended the series with 205 runs in four Test matches at an average of 25.62. Cricket did give him a chance, a golden chance at that, but Karun failed to make the most of it. It can be expected now that Team India will move on from him by the time they next play Test cricket.
Ravindra Jadeja - 7/10
This was Jadeja’s most fruitful series with the bat in Test cricket. He scored over 500 runs and took seven wickets in the series. He was unbeaten in the second innings of every Test match and played his role as an all-rounder to perfection. However, one argument against him is that he could have taken a few more wickets in the series.
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Washington Sundar - 7/10
Like Jadeja, Sundar can be given a 7/10 for his performances throughout the series. He came up with timely performances, be it dismissing Ben Stokes just before the lunch break in the Lord’s Test or scoring those runs with the bat. Sundar has well and truly replaced Ravichandran Ashwin in the lineup and his batting has added massive depth to this lineup.
Shardul Thakur - 5/10
Thakur failed to make an impact as an all-rounder throughout the series. He was almost a misfit in that role not fulfilling his role perfectly. He scored just 46 runs and picked up two wickets, delivering a below-par performance.
Nitish Kumar Reddy - 5/10
India switched between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Shardul Thakur, looking to fill in the slot for the seam bowling all-rounder. However, like Thakur, Reddy also did not fit into this role and did not deliver as was expected from him. The series was proof that he needs to develop his bowling skills and needs to learn to be consistent with the bat.
Jasprit Bumrah- 6/10
Bumrah played three out of the five Test matches and ended the series with 14 wickets. He was eventually ruled out of the fifth Test, as per reports with a back injury. All the talk before the Test match was about Bumrah’s workload management and despite playing just three Tests, he still picked up a back injury.
Mohammed Siraj - 10/10
He is the only Indian player, perhaps in this series, who gave it his all. Among the bowlers, he played all five Test matches and bowled 1113 balls. He is the only bowler who bowled over a 1000 balls in the series, which is a significant implication of his workload in the series with or without Bumrah.
Prasidh Krishna - 7/10
Krishna had a slow start to this series, but he eventually ended with 14 wickets. In fact, he had the best strike-rate among the Indian bowlers at 45.00, which was even better than the likes of Bumrah and Siraj. 8 of his 14 wickets came in the final Test at The Oval.
Akash Deep - 5/10
Akash Deep played the second, third and fifth Test at The Oval and ended with 13 wickets. He got his maiden fifer in the Edgbaston Test and finished with 10 wickets in the match. In the next two Test matches, he picked up just three wickets, including just two in the final Test. He had his share of injuries as he missed the fourth Test in Manchester. He is very much still a work in progress.
Anshul Kamboj - 3/10
Kamboj’s selection for the fifth Test in Manchester came in as a big surprise. He was called in as a replacement for the injured Akash Deep. He was selected ahead of Arshdeep Singh and was criticised for his military medium pace, as his pace kept dropping throughout the Test match. He is still very raw to play at the international level.
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