Cheteshwar Pujara (8/10): If Dhawan turned out to be a left-handed Sehwag, Pujara’s similarity to the man’s whose boots he filled was even more eerie. The Saurashtra lad struck his second career double-ton, at Hyderabad, got a poor leg-before decision at Mohali, before scoring two vital fifties on an almost unplayable wicket at New Delhi. Pujara’s unbeaten 82 in the fourth innings made a tricky chase a walk in the park, and he looked untroubled as the rest of the batsmen struggled to get bat on ball. With his proficiency for the hook and the pull getting even sharper, the technically correct Pujara, like Rahul Dravid, will be a key member when India tour South Africa later this year.
Virender Sehwag (2/10): The new spectacles did not work for the Nawab of Najafgarh. Coming off a sorry series against England and a recent ejection from the ODI team, Sehwag was subdued in three innings across the first two Tests before he was dropped again. At Chennai, he was first made to look even lazier than usual by James Pattinson’s pace and then, as India chased paltry 50 for victory, was caught at slip trying to defend to an off-spinner. At Hyderabad, Sehwag tried to bide his time at the crease, but poked at Peter Siddle to be caught behind. At 34, Sehwag may be staring at a barricaded door into the Indian team again, especially after his replacement Shikhar Dhawan scintillated on debut.
Murali Vijay: (8/10) The Chennai opener silenced allegations of the strong Southern lobby working its influence to restore him to the eleven by top-scoring, with two hundreds, in the series. Vijay failed in both essays on his homeground: Pattinson destroying him with a 150 kmph projectile in the first innings. His approach at Hyderabad was noticeably different as he ground himself to a big score. His 167 was the archetype of a solid Test knock. Vijay played himself in for an entire session, getting his eye in before launching into attack. At Mohali, Vijay was the ideal foil to Shikhar Dhawan's butchery as he compiled his second successive century. Another crucial fifty on a Kotla minefield rounded up his series nicely; Vijay has given India a realistic option at the top of the order for crucial tours ahead, especially with the sidelining of Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir.
Shikhar Dhawan (8.5/10) The Delhi opener hit international paydirt after nine years of domestic cricket. Dhawan’s blistering 174-ball 187 on debut wrecked Australia at Mohali and engineered a home win despite the entire first day being lost to rain. The left-hander was a boss through the off-side field and his aggression perfectly replaced the man he had edged out of the team. Dhawan, unfortunately, injured his hand while fielding and was ruled out of the rest of the series. But in his only innings, he did enough to stake a claim on one slot of the tricky opening combination.
Virat Kohli (7.5/10): Solidity and aggression of the kind that had seen him make a mark in Australia in 2011-12 came to the fore again as Kohli accumulated 284 runs at an average of just under 58. Hundred-and-seven of those came in the Chennai first innings, while 42 of them helped India complete a rout after negotiating a tricky chase at Delhi. The Delhi batsman also discovered his tongue midway and was involved in several colorful send-offs to Aussie players. Often seen as a future captain, Kohli’s confidence-boosting returns here will stand him well when he faces tougher assignments ahead.
Sachin Tendulkar (4.5/10): There is an elephant in the room that nobody wants to talk about, but one which will soon trigger a cacophony of dissent and disagreement. The almost 40-year-old Tendulkar had one decent score in Chennai, where he was stopped nine short of what may have been his 101st international century. On that occasion it was a beauty by Nathan Lyon that took the maestro out, but it did not always need something special to dismiss him. One half-century in seven innings; wicket given to the likes of Lyon and Steve Smith; an unforgivable dab for a catch down the leg-side; a rushed run-out: nobody knows better than the person in question if age is indeed catching up. But sometimes a little external nudge is needed to give up something that has been part of you for almost your whole conscious life.
Ajinkya Rahane (4/10): A Test debut after a long wait did not mean all was well with Rahane. In for the injured Dhawan for the Mohali fixture, the young batsman spent a nervous ten minutes in the middle during which he was hit on the helmet by Peter Siddle. In the second innings, Rahane was out playing a semi-slog in India’s chase. Age, however, is still on his side, and Rahane will get more chances to prove his worth to the team.
MS Dhoni (8/10): Leading from the front is a habit with the Indian captain. He lost all four tosses, won all four matches, and was responsible for the first game-changing phase of play in the opening Chennai Test. At his favourite ground Chepauk Dhoni blasted his first double-century to wrench the initiative away from Australia. The match was absolutely evenly placed before Dhoni began his assault, at the end of which the hosts had taken a pivotal first innings lead. The skipper also struck the winning runs at Delhi, after having chastised Pujara for seeking to deny him the winning shot. Not until India get their teeth kicked in on their next of-shore contest will calls for Dhoni's head resume.
Ravindra Jadeja (8/10): MS Dhoni’s favourite cricketer was a revelation with the ball, his left-arm spin accounting for 24 wickets at 17.45 apiece. It was Jadeja who triggered the final Test to a premature conclusion within three days, with his maiden five-wicket haul. The cherry on the 24-year-old’s cake was Aussie captain Michael Clarke, whom he dismissed five times in six innings, often with a classical left-armer’s delivery that moved just enough to clip off-stump. Dhoni has already stated that Jadeja will be a crucial at No.6 on tours ahead, although it would really help if he could translate his three domestic triple-tons to at least a little something on the international scene.
R. Ashwin (8.5/10): His third Man of the Series award brought Ashwin back to form after a mediocre series against England last year. The off-spinner claimed 29 wickets and attributed his success to a minor tweak of his follow-through. He took out 12 in the first test and later thanked the men responsible for his renewed productivity. “Actually, my delivery stride was too long and it got worse during the Test series against England. I had to sit back and work on the videos and I was lucky to have a coach (Sunil Subramaniam) who identified the problem pretty quickly. Credit also goes to Duncan Fletcher and Joe Dawes. I needed a kick on my backside and they gave me one.”
Pragyan Ojha (4/10): A mixed outing for the left-arm spinner. He missed out to Harbhajan Singh in the first two Tests; surrendered the role of spearhead to Ashwin and Jadeja (both of who did the lion’s share of the bowling); and finished with not a five-wicket haul to his name on square turners. With Jadeja performing the left-armer’s role to perfection, Ojha’s place in the team, at least away, will certainly not be a given.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar (6/10): Not much is expected of the Indian seamer at home, official shine-removers and ball-softeners that they are. The young medium pacer’s six wickets in four matches thus has to be viewed in reference to the value of the scalps. At Hyderabad ad Mohali, Bhuvneshwar swung out three top-order Aussie batsmen cheaply, exposing the rest to the guiles of Indian spin. Not a bad haul for someone who bowled just 64 overs in four Tests in conditions that had very little for his ilk. Bhuvneshwar is still developing and will be a genuine threat in when India travel.
Harbhajan Singh (3/10): Having played his 100th Test at Chennai and 101st at Hyderabad, should Harbhajan ride happily into the sunset? We think, ‘Yes’! Nothing that the ‘Turbanator’ did across 84 overs in two matches indicated that he belonged at the highest level. His bowling was flat, his trajectory fruitless, his bite missing. Although Bhajji bowled slightly better in the second innings at Chennai, a lackluster second Test saw him excluded in Ojha’s favour, and he may well have played his last Test match.
Ishant Sharma (4/10): The lanky fast bowler had one decent spell, in the first innings at Mohali, where he bowled all-rounder Moises Henriques with reverse swing. For phases it did appear that the bowler had regained some of the pace that had catapulted him into the limelight some five years ago. Ishant was untroubled by his ankle injury: a good sign considering Zaheer Khan’s slide into oblivion.
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