Team India white-washed the Australians in the four-match Test series by 4-0 and avenged their loss in Australia in a grand style. They finished off the final Test in less than three days. India played as a unit and didn’t leave any stone unturned to win the series against the Aussie after their humiliating loss to England a couple of months back.
Indian captain MS Dhoni led from the front and it was his blistering 224 in the first Test that set the tone for India's win. Later, Murali Vijay, Chetashwar Pujara and Shikhar Dhawan played some splendid knocks to contribute to India victories. The likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja not only lived up to the expectation but did exceedingly well to give a Indian fans a lot to cheer about.
Here we bring to you the hits and flops from Team India in the Border-Gavaskar trophy:
RAVICHANDRAN ASHWIN: Ravichandran Ashwin was simply outstanding in this series and didn’t give any breathing space to the Aussie batsmen. He picked up 29 wickets which included three five-wicket hauls. Though he failed to match the 32 wicket tally of Harbhajan in 2001, it was good enough to give India a 4-0 against the Kangaroos. His variation in pace not only deceived the Australian batsmen but left them stunned most of the time. Add his accurate line and length, which was missing against England, to that, it made him unplayable at times. Surely, Ashwin deserves to be the Man-of-the Series after such a consistent performance.
RAVINDRA JADEJA: After many years, Indian team finally founded a brilliant all-rounder who can not only contain runs but also makes the batsmen dance on his tunes. His accuracy has always been his strength and the manner he bowls his wrong-ones, it just makes it almost impossible for the batsman to read the turn. Jadeja picked up 24 wickets in this series and overshadowed the front-line bowlers like Harbhajan Singh and Pragyan Ojha. His leap from back-up bowler to front-line bowler has been one of the prime factors of India winning the series in such a convenient manner.
MS DHONI: Mahendra Singh Dhoni came up with his career best performance in the first Test at Chennai and went on to score 224. This not only changed the course of the game but also the changed the attitude of the Indian players in the series. His domination over Aussie spinners throughout the series kept them under pressure and didn’t give them much chance to sneak through the Indian lower-middle order. His keeping was superb throughout the series and had been lightning fast behind the stumps. His field-placement and selection of team not only worked out in India's favour but emerged as a significant difference between the two sides. His strategy of going with three spinners throughout the Test series not only did wonders but gave some sigh of relief to them as they were given enough chances to prove his worth.
MURALI VIJAY: Murali Vijay made the most of the opportunity which came his way by scoring 150+ in back-to-back Test matches at Hyderabad and Mohali. He amassed 430 runs in this series with an impressive average of 61.42. Changing one’s natural game is not an easy thing to do but he did quite well and took his time to set the good foundation for the top order to come and fire in later half of the innings.
He spent more than 18 hours on the crease in this series and displayed that he is all set to play on the bouncy wickets of South-Africa. His quality of shot-selection had never looked as good as it was in this series. Single-handedly, he took the game away from Australia in second and third Tests. His ability to keep a price on his wicket was the best thing that he did throughout the series and displayed a great character in every inning. Apart from his batting, his fielding has also looked good as he did great job at silly mid-off and short cover.
CHETASHWAR PUJARA: Chetashwar Pujara looked aggressive in this series and scored consistently throughout. His double-century against Aussies in Hyderabad Test was a hallmark of his ability to play long innings. He scored 419 runs in this series and was the highest run-getter. He looked rock solid in whichever innings he batted, but his very well balanced knock at Kotla got lot of praises as even some batting legends were not able to read the vicious bounce and turn the bowlers generated from the pitch play.
His reflexes on the field were razor sharp and he gave spin bowlers an added advantage of getting the batsman out. He was more than handy fielder at silly point and short-extra cover. He for sure has a promising future.
FLOPS
SACHIN TENDULKAR: Sachin Tendulkar looked in good touch in the intitial part of the series but wasn’t good enough to convert it into a big one. He scored just one half-century in Chennai after which his batting woes continued till the last innings at Kotla. He got out to spinners four times in this series and was looking unsettled against Nathan Lyon. His approach wasn’t a problem but his ability to hold on his wicket is a cause of concern. He scored 192 runs with an average of 32 but on the home soil much more was expected from him. He just failed to deliver in the series which is considered to be his last on home soil.
VIRENDER SEHWAG: Virender Sehwag wasted a lifeline that he got in the first two Tests of this series. He did not look in good touch and got out without even taking a good start. His average was much below what is expected of him. With the rising stars in this series, one thing is sure that his comeback into the team will not be easy. He averaged just nine in the three innings that he batted in this series .
HARBHAJAN SINGH: Turbanator was supposed to be the real weapon in the Dhoni’s armoury against the Aussie. But he failed to live up to the expectations and picked up just five wickets in the first two Tests after which he was rested for the rest of the the matches. His lack of match-practice was clearly visible on the first day of the first Test because of which Dhoni didn’t gave him the ball in the final session of the first day.
Though he did well on the second day and looked in great rhythm but still he failed to pick up wickets. His story didn’t change much when he was bowling in Hyderabad and looked as rusty as he was in Chennai. His average of more than 40 was a worrying sign for Indian captain and Dhoni didn’t wait too long to show him the exit door and brought in Pragyan Ojha instead.
PRAGYAN OJHA: He was brought in place of Harbhajan Singh but he also could not make a significant difference with his bowling. He got enough chance to prove his worth but he didn’t live up to the expectation of his captain and struggled throughout the Mohali Test.
His bowling performance was not up to the mark and he picked up just seven wickets on the turning tracks of Mohali and Kotla. His average of 34 in bowling has surely raised the eyebrows and the only hope for him is a good performance in IPL and Champions Trophy.
By Amit Chopra
Indian Sports News Network