The Indian team which looked so out of sorts in the first test match and survived only because of the weather, came back to win the series 1-0 giving them their first test series victory in England in 20 years. The series was a great advertisement for test cricket, say what you want about one day cricket but nothing compares to a great test match played between two good sides on a sporting wicket.
We definitely could have won the Oval’s test but good batting displays from Pietersen and bell ensured that England saved the match. I still believe Dravid made the right decision in not enforcing the follow on- he must have felt that Kumble would have a better chance of getting wickets on a crumbling fifth day wicket.
Anyway, we won 1-0 and here are the series ratings:
Wasim Jaffer 6
Jaffer’s biggest contribution of the series undoubtedly came in the second test at Nottingham when he and Karthik put on 147 for the first wicket and squashed any chances of a English victory. He had starts in one inning in all three tests (58, 62 and 35) but never went on to make it count. But he has done enough to ensure he pads up in the first test match against Pakistan in New Delhi on November 22nd.
Dinesh Karthik 8
Undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the series- what were the odds that Karthik would finish the three test matches as India’s highest run getter. 263 runs in 6 innings at an average of 43.8 showed that the faith that Dravid has in him was not unfounded. Had a terrible start in Lords when he dropped the sitter of all sitters off the bat of Strauss, but came strongly in the second innings to post a fighting 60. Scores of 77 and 91 in the second and third tests show that this youngster has both the talent and the drive to thrive at the international level. And I must add, almost all English pundits were singing his praises through the series.
Rahul Dravid 5
A very poor series by Dravid’s high standards- scores of 2 and 9 in Lords, 37 and 11 in Nottingham and 55 and 12 in Oval are a total contrast to his achievements in the 2002 series. And the 12 (of 96 balls!) must rank his worst batting display ever. A good series as a captain, how will he work with the new coach remains to be seen.
Sachin Tendulkar 7
Sachin deserved a century in this series, too bad he fell short on two occasions with one of them thanks to a terrible umpiring decision. His determination to put runs on the board didn’t go unnoticed. If his body holds up, we can definitely hope to see the little master for another two years. But he will definitely have to cut down on some meaningless one day internationals.
Saurav Ganguly 8
Ganguly’s knock of 57 in the second innings of the Oval test must rank as his best knock since the famous 144 at the Gabba. Much like Tendulkar, the sheer will to make runs was all too apparent over the course of the test matches. 249 runs at an average of 50 from three test matches will hold him in good stead in Australia. Now, if only he could something about his running between the wickets.
VVS Laxman 6
To his credit, Laxman made runs in all three test matches. And two of the knocks came in very trying conditions. But unfortunately for him , he couldn’t come up with a big one. Laxman ended up with 205 runs at a very respectable average of 51. However, it seems to me that the man can never cement his position in the final XI!
MS Dhoni 7
If Dhoni was under pressure from Karthk for the slot of the wicket keeper, he certainly didn’t let it show. Two very crucial and contrasting knocks capped off a good series for Dhoni. A very uncharacteristic and fighting 76 at Lords saved the test match for India (with a little help from the weather) but a belligerent 92 off just 83 balls at the Oval just showed why Indian fans are crazy about the man.
Anil Kumble 7
Anil Kumble may have ended up with 14 wickets in the series but it certainly wasn’t one of his better performances. But then with Zaheer and RP Singh in fine form , he certainly didn’t need to be at his best. He will always remember this series for that fine 110( a knock which helped him go one up on Warne). But the good thing is that Kumble is bowling a lot slower than before, and certainly one hopes that he can produce the goods down under.
Zaheer Khan 8
18 wickets. Man of the series. Comparisons with Wasim Akram. Life cannot get better for Zaheer Khan. And a lot of his success has to do with his stint in the county circuit. Now, if only we can find out who threw the jelly beans in the second test. Indian cricket will always thankful to that cricketer for firing Zaheer up! Zaheer’s second inning performance at Nottingham must rank as one of the best performances by an Indian fast bowler.
RP Singh 7
12 wickets at an average of 28 meant that RP Singh had a reasonable series. Plus, his name will go up on the Lords honours board for his 5 wickets. Something that Sachin has never been able to do. His dismissals of Pietersen and Prior in the second test were something to remember.
Sreesanth 6
A lot of talent but at times during the series, I felt Sreesanth had absolutely lost it. I don’t see why he has to abuse the batsman after each delivery. Aggression is fine but this is carrying it a bit too far. Will need his head sorted before he plays Pakistan and men like Prasad and Srinath will certainly help him. Did bowl extremely well in the second innings of the Oval test though.
P.S: Just realized that both the teams only used 11 players in the series. This must be a new record!
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Very astute analysis, and almost all right, but for this – “Much like Tendulkar, the sheer will to make runs was all too apparent over the course of the test matches.” Saying this about Ganguly is most definitely not true because, almost all of his innings should touches of his class and flair, though none of them could be converted to big ones, thanks to the God-forsaken South African dumbster. And especially all the innings in which Sachin and Sourav partnered, the difference in batsmanship was all-too-evident. Otherwise, the rest was fine.
Agree with all your stuff.
To me though the performance of Zaheer was a revelation. It is nice to see him come back strongly after being dropped. Pathan can learn some things.
And the batting of Dhoni and Jaffer has been promising. There was no doubt that Ganguly and Sachin could score runs or that Laxman would do his bit. Heartening to note we can win even with Dravid putting nothing up on the board.