India Report Card: Raina tops the class; Kohli brings up the rear

After losing the Test series to England in abject fashion, India bounced back to win the one-day series comprehensively before narrowly losing the one-off T20 International. Here is our report card on each India player who took part in the limited-overs legs of the tour.

Suresh Raina - 9/10

ODI: 160 runs, 53.33 avg, 114.28 strike-rate/4 wickets, 29.25 avg, 4.68 economy rate

T20I: 25 runs, 125 strike-rate

It’s amazing how one player can lift the entire team. After the Test series debacle, India went into the ODI series low on confidence. The visitors needed a spark for revival and that spark was provided by Raina. A scintillating 75-ball hundred in the second ODI at Cardiff set the tone. It was one of the best ODI innings by an India batsman outside Asia. Raina just couldn’t do anything wrong. He kept the runs down with the ball, picked up wickets, and was a live wire in the field, diving around and pouching brilliant catches. There was no surprise when he was named the Man of the Series in the ODIs.

Ajinkya Rahane - 8.5/10

ODI: 192 runs, 48 avg, 93.20 strike-rate

T20I: 8 runs, 8 avg, 200 strike-rate

India suffered a blow after the second ODI when Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the rest of the tour due to an injury. This forced Rahane to bat as the make-shift opener. It’s difficult to adjust when the batting position keeps shuffling but Rahane showed that he can adjust to any position and that too quickly. He hit 45 in the third ODI and then went on to hit a classy hundred in the fourth as India sealed the series. He impressed with his technique against the moving ball and played some beautiful strokes. He also showed that he is a quick learner. There was criticism that he was not converting starts but he worked with team director Ravi Shastri and made sure that he got out of the nervous 40s and reached the three-figure mark in Birmingham. A duck in the final ODI blackened his copybook a tough but he still ended as India’s highest run-getter in the ODI series.

Mohammad Shami - 8/10

ODI: 8 wickets, 19 avg, 4.67 economy rate

T20I: 3 wickets - 3, 12.66 avg, 9.50 economy rate

After a disappointing performance in the Test series, Shami bounced back in the limited overs by finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series. Death bowling has been India’s perennial problem but Shami provided a glimmer of hope with accurate yorkers. That said, he still needs to become more consistent. In the T20I, those yorkers turned into low full tosses, which were hammered all over the park.

Ambati Rayudu - 8/10

ODI: 117 runs, 117 avg, 81.81 strike-rate

T20I: 3 runs, 60 strike-rate

Rayudu did not find a place in the starting eleven in the second ODI and it was only after Rohit Sharma’s injury that he got his chance. He grabbed it with both hands and hit half-centuries in the two innings that he batted. The striking aspect was the maturity he showed and the calmness with which he played coming to the crease in tricky situations. He was agile in the field and even chipped in with a wicket with his part-timers. He might have felt hard done by when Dhoni didn’t give him strike in the last over of the T20I. He keeps getting better series after series and this consistency might just help him cement his place in the starting eleven.

Bhuvneshwar kumar - 7.5/10

ODI: 5 wickets, 26.80 avg, 4.32 economy rate

Bhuvneshwar churned out overs after overs in Tests. It was clearly visible that he was jaded but still, he bowled his heart out in the ODIs. He wasn’t amongst the wickets but he kept the pressure in the initial overs with disciplined bowling. He kept it tight which helped the bowlers to get the wickets from the other end. He bowled a wonderful spell of 8-3-14-2 in the fourth ODI at Cardiff which laid the platform for a win. He ended up with the best economy rate of 4.32 (bowlers with more than 10 overs) in the ODI series. It was a whole-hearted performance from him.

Ravichandran Ashwin - 7.5/10

ODI: 7 wickets, 24.85 avg, 4.44 economy rate

T20I: 0 wickets, 9.25 economy rate

Ashwin finished as the joint-second highest wicket-taker of the ODI series. He kept Eoin Morgan, possibly England’s best player of spin, in check throughout the ODIs, dismissing him in three of the four games. The off-spinner was also able to choke choked the England batsmen in the middle overs, creating the kind of pressure that Dhoni demands from his bowlers. The impressive thing was Ashwin didn’t try to overdo things and took wickets with the stock offbreak. He finished with best economy rate among the spinners (4.44) in the ODI series. Though he was taken for a plenty in the T20I, overall, he had an impressive series.

Ravindra Jadeja - 7.5/10

ODI: 108 runs, 108 avg, 122.72 strike-rate/7 wickets, 7 avg, 4.77 economy rate

T20I: 7 runs, 7 avg, 175 strike-rate/1 wicket, 35 avg, 8.75 economy rate

Ravindra Jadeja underlined his importance as an allrounder in the series as he had a decent run with the bat and ball. He was the joint-second highest wicket-taker of the ODI series and just like Ashwin, maintained a stranglehold over the England batsmen in the middle overs. He was brilliant in the Batting PowerPlays as well as the death overs. He fought a lone battle and played a defiant innings of 87 from 68 balls in the fifth and final ODI, which India lost.

Karn Sharma: 7/10

T20I: 1 wicket, 28 avg, 7 economy rate

Karn Sharma made an impressive debut in the T20Is, when every other Indian bowler was taken to the cleaners. In his first three overs, Sharma conceded just 11 runs and scalped the wicket of the in-form Joe Root. He was impressive with his variations. He went for 17 runs off his last over but still ended up as India’s most economical bowler. He can be handy with the bat too and is one for the future.

MS Dhoni - 6/10

ODI: 81 runs, 40.50 avg , 87.09 strike-rate

T20I: 27 runs, 150 strike-rate

It was a complete different MS Dhoni that we saw in the limited overs. He did show grit with the bat in the Tests but in the limited overs, he added a new dimension. He was energetic behind the stumps, affected some smart stumpings, constantly ran up to the bowlers and fielders to have a word of encouragement, patted them on the back and gave high-fives. In the two innings in which he batted in the ODIs, he scored 51 and 29. But in the T20I, he copped a lot a criticism when he didn’t farm the strike with Ambati Rayudu in the last over with 17 needed off six balls. He backed himself to finish the game but couldn’t do so as India lost by a narrow margin of three runs.

Rohit Sharma: 6/10

ODI: 52 runs, 52 avg, 59.77 strike-rate

Rohit played a crucial knock of 52 in the 2nd ODI at Cardiff. Being put into bat under difficult conditions, India lost the wickets of Dhawan and Kohli early but then Rohit took over the reins and added 91 runs for the third wicket with Rahane, which pulled India out of troubled waters. He went on to score 52 from 87 balls. Unfortunately, he suffered a broken finger while fielding and was ruled out for the rest of the tour.

Shikhar Dhawan - 5/10

ODI: 155 runs, 51.66 avg, 91.17 strike-rate

T20I: 33 runs, 33 avg, 117.85 strike-rate

After a poor Test series, much was expected of Dhawan in the shorter format of the game. But he didn’t have the best of times in the limited overs either. Apart from the one innings of 97 at at Edgbaston, he didn’t contribute much. Often, he did not get the momentum going at the start which built pressure on the other batsmen. He looked good but only in patches and India would hope that he gets back to his best before the World Cup.

Mohit Sharma - 4/10

ODI: 0 wickets, 3.88 economy rate

T20I: 1 wicket, 39 avg, Econ. 9.75 economy rate

Mohit played just two ODIs before an injury in the third ODI ruled him out of the series. He bowled with discipline in the second ODI at Cardiff but bowled just three overs in Nottingham. He was taken to the cleaners in the T20I, however. With the Haryana pacer playing in patches, there is not much we can decipher from this series.

Umesh Yadav: 4/10

ODI: 1 wicket, 46 avg, 7.66 economy rate

Umesh Yadav played just a single match in the limited overs international. He was brought in for the fifth and final ODI where he impressed with his pace but fluffed his lengths. He went for 46 runs from six overs and managed to pick up just one wicket, when he hurried Alex Hales into a pull shot. His pace can be a good weapon on the pitches of Australia and New Zealand. India should give him more playing time and groom him for the World Cup.

Dhawal Kulkarni - 3/10

ODI: 0 wickets, 5 economy rate

Dhawal Kulkarni played just one match, in Edgbaston. He was the only bowler who went wicketless in that match, conceding 35 runs from 7 overs. It will be harsh to judge him from just one game.

Virat Kohli - 2/10

ODI: 54 runs, 18 avg, 70.12 strike-rate

T20I: 66 runs, 66 avg, 160.97

Kohli’s disastrous Test series was followed by a poor ODI series. No one expected him to go through such a lean patch. He scored just 54 runs from four innings at an average of 18 in the ODI series. He continued to commit the same mistakes in the ODI series, pushing at deliveries outside off and nicking them. He struck some form on the last day of the tour with a fluent 66 off 41 balls in the T20I. It was his first fifty of the tour. He is too good a player not to bounce back from this disappointment but he would like to forget that this tour ever happened.