Report card: Bhuvneshwar sucked into mediocrity by India's incompetence

Here is India’s report card at the end of the disastrous five-Test series against England. Bhuvneshwar Kumar 8/10 (Bowling: Innings - 7, wickets - 19, Avg - 26.63, SR - 54.5) (Batting: Inns - 10, runs - 247, avg 27.44) [caption id=“attachment_1668889” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Bhuvi started the series well but was weighed down by the workload. AP[/caption] Bhuvneshwar Kumar was India’s Man of the Series. He not only performed with the ball but also with the bat. He ended up as India’s highest wicket-taker with 19 wickets (joint-second highest overall) and picked most number of five-fors -2. He scored 247 runs from 10 innings at 27.44 and was the third-highest run-getter for India after Murali Vijay and MS Dhoni. He was instrumental in stitching crucial partnerships lower down the order and bailed India out from tricky situations. He started off with a bang but his performance waned as the series progressed. But still he was the best Indian player in the series. Ishant Sharma - 8/10 (Bowling: Innings - 4, wickets - 14, Avg - 27.21, SR - 49.2) Ishant was India’s bowling spearhead going into the series and he did lead from the front. It was his match-turning spell of 7-74 in the second innings of the second Test at Lord’s that helped India take the lead in the series. But luck was not in his side as he suffered an injury and was ruled out for the next two matches. He was the one capable of producing match-turning spells and he showed glimpses of it in the first innings of the first Test on a docile pitch at Nottingham. India dearly missed him in the next two Tests. He came back to pick four wickets at The Oval and finished as the second-highest wicket-taker for India. Murali Vijay 7.5/10 (Batting: Inns - 10, runs - 402, avg 40.20) Vijay ended up as the highest run-getter for India. He was perhaps the only top order batsman who looked assured with his footwork. He had shown great resolve in South Africa and New Zealand and he tackled the new ball pretty well in this series as well. He faced the most number of balls for India - 1054. He had a great start to the series but then he also fizzled out. In his first five innings he scored 352 runs at 70.4 with one century and two fifties. While in the next five his figures read 50 runs at an average of 10 with no fifty-plus scores. Varun Aaron 6.5/10 (Bowling: Innings - 2, wickets - 5, Avg - 50, SR - 66) The one thing that was missing from India’s arsenal in the first three Tests was pace. With Bhuvneshwar and Shami jaded, their pace went downhill. India needed a bowler who could bowl fast and trouble the batsman with raw pace. Varun Aaron did exactly that in the final two Tests. He consistently bowled between 87-89 mph and got the ball to swing. A couple of spells that stand out were the one at Manchester in the first innings where he set Moeen Ali up nicely up. He bowled a fiery spell, hit Moeen on the gloves with a nasty bouncer and then followed it up with a inswinging yorker next ball to rattle Ali’s stumps. The other one came at The Oval where he bowled a probing spell and removed a set Alastair Cook(79) in the first innings. He is definitely one for the future but should be managed properly. Ajinkya Rahane 6.5/10 (Batting: Inns - 10, runs - 299, avg 33.22) Rahane had a decent outing but more was expected from him. He got starts but couldn’t convert it into big ones. He battled it out in the middle but then threw it away. His 103 in the first innings at Lord’s was probably the best innings of the series where he pulled India out of a precarious situation. That innings along with Ishant’s spell in the 2nd innings, won the match for India. But the one thing he needs to sort out apart from converting starts is learning from his dismissals. He was out caught and bowled three times in the series. MS Dhoni - 6/10 (Batting: Inns - 10, runs - 349, avg 34.90) He may not have the best technique in the world but he led from the front in the batting department and showed determination to battle it out in the middle when the rest of the top order batsmen were failing. He took blows on the body, shuffled inside the crease frequently and used his feet even to the fast bowlers to unsettle them. He ended up as the second-highest run-getter for India and faced the second-most number of deliveries (709) for India. But he didn’t have the greatest of series behind the stumps and the most disappointing part was his captaincy. He didn’t get his selections and field placements right. There were plenty of edges that dropped short of the slip cordon and the gully region but no action was taken. His captaincy will be under a lot of scrutiny after another failure outside the subcontinent. Ravichandran Ashwin 5.5/10 (Bowling: Innings - 2, wickets - 3, Avg - 33.66, SR - 71) (Batting: Inns - 4, runs - 106, avg 35.33) Coming in for the last two matches, Ashwin bowled with good discipline. He varied his pace well and was impressive with his lines. He also impressed with his batting. His technique and assured footwork which were on display at Old Trafford where he scored 40 and 46*, showed that Dhoni was wrong in not picking him from the first Test itself. Ravindra Jadeja 5/10 (Bowling: Innings - 6, wickets - 9, Avg - 46.66, SR - 104) (Batting: Inns - 8, runs - 177, avg 22.12) He ended up bowling 156 overs but was used as a containing bowler rather than a wicket-taking one. Hence, he ended up with only nine wickets to his name at 46.66 and SR of 104. He played a crucial innings of 68 at Lord’s in the second innings but apart from that he didn’t contribute much with the bat. But his biggest mistake of the series was the dropped catch of Cook in the first innings at Southampton which former cricketers like Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan believe was the series-turner. Pankaj Singh 4/10 (Bowling: Innings - 3, wickets - 2, Avg - 146, SR - 225) He bowled with great heart but was unlucky. He could have had his maiden wicket in as early as his third over in Test cricket but Ravindra Jadeja dropped a sitter of Cook in the slip cordon. He was then robbed of a wicket when the umpire turned down a LBW appeal against Ian Bell. Replays showed it would have hit the stumps. Pankaj ended up with the dubious distinction of an Indian debutant conceding most runs in an innings without taking a wicket. He was ineffective at Manchester and hence was dropped for the final Test. He bowled with discipline but lacked pace. Shikhar Dhawan 3/10 (Batting: Inns - 6, runs - 122, avg 20.33) After a blistering 187 on Test debut Dhawan had fizzled out but he showed glimpses of a return to form with scores of 115 and 98 in New Zealand. India have been struggling with the opening partnerships outside subcontinent over the years. It was a challenge for the openers in this series against the likes of Anderson and Broad. Vijay showed his grit but Dhawan faltered. He showed resilience in the second innings at Lord’s and Southampton but couldn’t carry on. He was finally dropped after the third Test. The failures of Gambhir mean that he again has a chance to get back into the team for the series against West Indies. Stuart Binny 3/10 Batting (Innings - 6, runs - 118, avg 23.60) Bowling (Innings - 3, wickets - 0 ) Binny did not make the most of the chances presented to him. He was underutilised as a bowler by MS Dhoni and that might have had a demoralising effect on the all-rounder. After the crucial innings of 78 at Nottingham, expectations from him rose especially with his batting. But he disappointed in the next Test and was dropped for the the Southampton and Manchester Tests. He was brought back for the final Test but couldn’t make a substantial impact — He was left stranded on 25 in the second innings. The 30-year-old ended without taking a wicket in the 32 overs that he bowled in the series. He was one of three wicketless bowlers, the others being Gary Ballance and Shikhar Dhawan. Mohammad Shami 2.5/10 (Bowling: Innings - 5, wickets - 5, Avg - 73.20, SR - 115.2) (Batting: Inns - 6, runs - 79, avg 19.75) He already looked jaded going into the series. He fluffed his lines consistently; there was a ‘hit-me’ ball every over. His pace dropped and he went for 3.81 runs an over. Finally, after three matches he was dropped. The only positive was his batting where he stitched together a couple of crucial stands lower down the order. He even ended up with a half-century – an achievement which Gambhir, Kohli and Dhawan failed to achieve. Cheteshwar Pujara- 2/10 (Batting: Inns - 10, runs - 222, avg 22.20) An epitome of determination and concentration, India had high hopes from Pujara. He along with Kohli formed the cornerstone of India’s batting line-up. But he flopped big time scoring 222 runs from 10 innings at 22.20. He was guilty of getting into a shell to start off with and then was found wanting with his footwork. The only fifty he scored was on the flat pitch in the second innings at Trent Bridge. It was a series to forget for the Saurashtra batsman. Rohit Sharma 1/10 (Batting: Inns - 2, runs - 34, avg 17) With Dhoni opting for five bowler strategy for most of the series, Rohit got just one chance but couldn’t capitalise on it. He played at Southampton, got a start in the first innings but couldn’t carry on. He then played a horrendous shot to get dismissed in the second innings at the stroke of tea and was dropped for the next Test. Time to let him go and play a few seasons of Ranji cricket. Virat Kohli – 0.5/10 (Batting: Inns - 10, runs - 134, avg 13.40) There were high expectations from Kohli in this series and Sanjay Manjrekar even went on to say before the start of the tour that he will score at least three centuries. But after five matches Kohli ended with a dismal 134 from 10 innings at 13.40. It was a abysmal performance from India’s No.4. He was Anderson’s bunny who got him out four times. He kept getting out in similar manner, either caught in slips or misjudging his leaves. This tweet perfectly summed up his series. https://twitter.com/deepakyen/status/501028374651744259 Gautam Gambhir - 0.5 (Batting: Inns - 4, runs - 25, avg 6.25) Gambhir was brought into the side into for the last couple of matches after the consistent failures of Shikhar Dhawan but he was even worse. He was making a comeback into the Indian team after almost two years and it was his chance to silence the critics but he flopped big time. He had no clue against the England pacers and was found hopping and poking. Geoffrey Boycott said this on air while watching Anderson dismiss Gambhir for a golden duck (first of his career) in the first innings at the Oval, “He is rubbish, he can’t bat in England, You can’t play Test cricket like that, they left him out before because he lost it and he’s still not found it.” Gambhir might well have played his last match in whites for India.