The first Test match between India and England ended in a draw after it was pouring throughout the fifth day. Both teams looked really good in the match. Unfortunately, there was no winner and they shared 4 points each which will add to the WTC table.
There were a lot of positives in this game, especially for India. Here we look at the ratings of the players after the game.
KL Rahul – 9/10
He got a chance after both Mayank Agarwal and Shubhman Gill were injured. He grabbed onto this opportunity with both hands. He was India’s top scorer in both innings. Due to his well-crafted 84 runs, India was able to get 278 in the first innings. The Karnataka batsman showed us what he is capable of.
His technique has definitely become much better and he looked fluent as he stitched partnerships with his teammates.
Rohit Sharma – 6/10
India’s limited-overs vice-captain has looked in fine touch for quite some time now. He certainly got off to great starts but has not been able to convert these starts to a big score.
As an opening batsman, he is doing the perfect job of negating the swinging ball. He is due for a big score and it will be interesting to watch his approach in the upcoming matches.
Cheteshwar Pujara – 4/10
Cheteshwar Pujara is considered one of India’s finest Test batsmen, but he has not been able to live up to that in recent times. He has the knack of starting slow and then getting a few boundaries. In the last few test matches, he has had a dip in form. Pujara has not been able to do that in the last few test matches.
The bowlers have got him out before he can get to the hitting phase. In the second innings, he put away a few bad deliveries and therefore was looking good. If he had gotten a chance to bat on Day 5 he probably would have scored big.
Virat Kohli – 3/10
This certainly is not a common sight. Virat Kohli is one of the greatest batsmen of the generation and he receives a 3/10. He got out for a golden duck off James Anderson. He did not get a chance to bat in the second innings. The Indian captain would certainly like to put this match behind him and bounce back in the next game.
When it comes to captaincy, Kohli was spot on with his bowling changes which helped India to a great extent.
Ajinkya Rahane – 3/10
The India vice-captain has been blowing hot and cold for quite some time now. He has been inconsistent in the recent games. In this game, he managed to score only 5 runs before getting run out. Ajinkya Rahane has a great technique and should put all these failures behind him.
He got out in an unfortunate way and will hope to do better in the coming matches.
Rishabh Pant -6/10
India’s wicket-keeper batsman had a mixed game. He was looking fluent with the bat. Along with KL Rahul, he stitched together a good partnership which helped India in rebuilding the innings. His DRS calls seemed to be decent and that helped the team get a few wickets here and there.
Ravindra Jadeja -7/10
This man has been in superb form for the last 2 years. There were a lot of questions as to if Ashwin should have been included ahead of him but he put all those to rest. He managed to score a 50 towards the end of the Indian first innings thus pushing their lead.
Although he did not pick up a wicket Ravindra Jadeja is a useful asset to the team.
Shardul Thakur – 7/10
This man has been phenomenal over the last few months. He picked up wickets just when his team needed it. Joe Root was batting fearlessly in the first innings. Shardul Thakur picked up two quick wickets and broke an important partnership.
These wickets turned out to be crucial and tilted the game in India’s favour. Having picked up a total of 4 wickets in the game, we hope to see Shardul Thakur continuing his good form.
Mohammad Shami – 7.5/10
The word associated with Mohammad Shami in this match would be ‘unlucky’. He was bowling the perfect lines and trying to get an edge or lbw but was unlucky. He did pick up 4 wickets in the game but he certainly deserved more.
Shami has become a vital cog in India’s set up and he has often shown why he is so important. He has the knack of hitting the right line and length whenever needed.
Mohammad Siraj – 6.5/10
This man had a decent game. Mohammad Siraj picked up 3 wickets having bowled 37 overs in the Test match. Not only that he also stood by Jasprit Bumrah towards the end of the first Indian innings as the two bowlers added 25-30 runs. The youngster is full of potential and looked in decent touch.
Jasprit Bumrah – 10/10
This man was the star performer for India. He picked up a total of nine wickets in the game. In the second innings, he bowled beautifully. He picked up a fifer, but the most important wicket was Joe Root. The England captain was batting on 109 before he was dismissed by Bumrah. Whenever captain Kohli needed a wicket he used to turn to Bumrah and boy did he deliver.
This man also contributed with the bat. He scored 28 of just 34 deliveries that helped extend India’s lead to 95 runs. He was certainly the man of the match from India’s side.
