Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch were the biggest batting disappointments as Australia lost the Test series 2-1 to India, while star quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood were also sub-par.
Here are my ratings from this four-Test series:
Australia
Pat Cummins – 7.5/10
14 wickets at 27, plus 163 runs at 23
The only Australian bowler who looked truly switched on for every innings of every Test. Cummins bowled far better than his figures suggested in the first two matches before getting his just rewards in the third. He is now clearly Australia’s best quick.
Also batted with fine technique, patience and determination.
Nathan Lyon – 6/10
21 wickets at 30
Lyon was tracking for man of the series honours after the first two Tests before falling away. The off-spinner was quelled by fine Indian batting and some awful Australian fielding in Melbourne and Sydney.
Marcus Harris – 5.5/10
258 runs at 37
A clear pass mark for Harris in his debut series. The left-hander reached 20 in six of his seven innings – no mean feat against a quality pace attack. He often looked comfortable only to find a way to get out.
Finished as easily Australia’s leading runscorer and the overall fourth-highest for the series. Should be persisted with.
Tim Paine – 5.5/10
174 runs at 25, plus 16 catches
Paine kept neatly, as always, and chipped in with handy runs as usual. But he is marked down due to his inability to convert his many starts into a match-shaping score. Paine’s wasted starts included scores of 41, 38, 37, 26 and 22.
Skipper Tim Paine of Australia. (Photo by Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images/Gallo Images)
Travis Head – 5/10
237 runs at 34
The same as Harris and Paine, Head had no problems making starts but consistently frittered them away with loose strokes. His scores for the series were 72, 58, 34, 20, 20, 19 and 14. Like Harris, he deserves more time to prove he can fix this issue.
Josh Hazlewood – 4.5/10
13 wickets at 31
Hazlewood rarely was wayward, but also rarely was threatening. Too often his spells were just a tad off – a little bit too short or a little bit too full, a little bit too wide or a little bit too straight.
Mitchell Starc – 4/10
13 wickets at 34, plus 117 runs at 23
The veteran quick is flattered by his series statistics. It was probably the worst series he has had with the ball since four years ago against Pakistan in the UAE. Continually wasted the new ball and did not pose nearly as much threat with the old ball as usual.
Marnus Labuschagne – 4/10
38 runs at 38, plus 0 for 76 with the ball
Batted nicely in his sole innings, but his bowling looked a long way short of Test standard, even for a fifth bowler.
Usman Khawaja – 4/10
198 runs at 28
Khawaja needed to stand up and be Australia’s batting lynchpin in this series. But he didn’t. Instead, he played just one knock of significance and laboured against both spin and pace.
Shaun Marsh – 3.5/10
183 runs at 26
Should never play another Test for Australia, but probably will anyway. This was Marsh’s third consecutive poor Test series, following on from his dud performances in the UAE and South Africa.
Mitchell Marsh and Shaun Marsh are feeling the heat. (Photo by Lee Warren/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
Peter Handscomb – 2.5/10
105 runs at 21
Didn’t deserve to be recalled, having averaged just 34 in first-class cricket since he was dropped during the last Ashes. His odd technique is being shredded by Test quicks.
Aaron Finch – 1/10
96 runs at 16
Has had his chances of building a Test career cruelled by the Australian brains trust, who foolishly tried to turn him into an opener when everyone else in the cricketing world knew he was a middle-order batsman or bust.
Mitch Marsh – 1/10
19 runs at 9, plus 0 for 51 with the ball
Has been in wretched form over his past three Test series. Last summer’s Ashes, which he dominated, is a clear aberration in a career otherwise marked by consistent failures.
India
Cheteshwar Pujara – 9.5/10
521 runs at 74
One of the best performances by a visiting batsman of the modern era.
Jasprit Bumrah – 9/10
21 wickets at 17
This series will be looked back upon as the moment Bumrah became a superstar.
Rishabh Pant – 8/10
350 runs at 58, plus 20 catches
His keeping is shoddy and his batting temperament is poor, but there is no denying Pant’s immense raw talent with the blade.
Mayank Agarwal – 8/10
195 runs at 65
India must move on from Murali Vijay, KL Rahul and Shikhar Dhawan and give Agarwal the extended run he deserves.
Mohammed Shami – 7.5/10
16 wickets at 26
This clever and skilful quick continued his fine overseas form by consistently tormenting Australia’s batsmen, particularly with the old ball.
Ishant Sharma – 7.5/10
11 wickets at 24
Ishant has come of age over the past two years, after being a meme of a cricketer for the best part of a decade. So accurate and so consistent.
Ravi Jadeja – 7.5/10
Seven wickets at 28, plus 90 runs at 30
Precise spinner, dangerous batsman, gun fielder – Jadeja adds so much to the Indian team.
Virat Kohli – 7/10
282 runs at 40
A rare quiet series by his insanely-high standards. Yet he still compiled a masterful ton at Perth.
Virat Kohli. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
Kuldeep Yadav – 7/10
Five wickets at 20
This left-arm wrist spinner has incredible potential as a pure wicket-taking Test bowler. Rips it hard and has befuddling variations.
Ravi Ashwin – 7/10
Six wickets at 25
Bowled well in the first Test before getting injured.
Rohit Sharma – 5/10
106 runs at 35
Continues to be an enigma at Test level. India have several better and younger options.
Ajinkya Rahane – 5/10
217 runs at 31
The veteran middle-order batsman wasted a string of starts. But his second innings 70 at Adelaide was pivotal.
Hanuma Vihari – 3/10
111 runs at 22
An ordinary series for the rookie batsman. Looked particularly vulnerable against the short ball.
Umesh Yadav – 2.5/10
Two wickets at 69
Yadav was outstanding the last time Australia played India in Tests but was very poor in his only match this time around.
Murali Vijay – 1/10
49 runs at 12
Soon to turn 35 years old, Vijay may well have played his last Test.
KL Rahul – 1/10
57 runs at 11
Rahul had a horror run overseas in the past year, averaging 20 from ten Tests in Australia, South Africa and England.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
What do you expect? Some teams are tossers. Aussies aren't.
IAP
Guest
Yep. The toss has far too much influence on the outcome of the game in Australia.
IAP
Guest
4-1, with one innings win. That's flogged.
satz
Roar Rookie
Those were rubbish wickets anyway. decided too much by the toss.
Hari
Roar Rookie
Not only a flat pitch but by then Pujara had killed whatever life was there in the Aussie bowlers!
Hari
Roar Rookie
Flogged?! You saw some other test series!
Hari
Roar Rookie
Who are those exactly which Poms have in equal for Pujara and Kohli?! And best bowler, ahem ....!
Hari
Roar Rookie
English are in for a surprise!
satz
Roar Rookie
Not winning a series in Australia was an albatross around the neck. Good to get it out of the way. I was hopeful for a series win but i thought the bowling would struggle more to dislodge Australia since its lower order was relatively stronger. But the bowling performed above expectations because Bumrah has rose very quickly...my only doubt about him he had played only a handful of tests. Shami finally delivered some output after years of underperformance. Ishant also chipped in with more than 10 and that was useful enough. Still it would have been difficult without the spinners. Ashwin and Jadeja did the job. 5 wickets in an Australian test is fantastic output for Asian fingerspinners who have struggled or decades. But the first innings in Adelaide was an expected gift with the turn. we are a different bowling side when it turns. The openers nearly did a demolition job and cost the series. but their firing(even if late) was crucial. They got the benefit of the doubt because the pitches in SA and england were no true wickets. but Rahul should not have been selected and it was quite stupid. The new players really did well on conditions they would not have been used to. That was the biggest joy for the tour. Half my interest declined when Shaw was injured. Pujara was a surprise because he had struggled for years overseas. In recent year, he showed signs of improvement. but the breakthrough was on this tour. Not happy with Rahane and Vijay who let us down badly.i had hoped they would rise to greater heights like Pujara but they became stale. They should be replaced in the home tests. Would play Gill for Rahane in the next season. Vihari/Rohit can continue for the time being at 6. Pant is amazing in his ability to learn quickly..At each level he got exposure, he has adapted quickly in lightning speed. That's what you want from a developing u 25 player.
satz
Roar Rookie
Will take years to deploy upcoming talent and domination is still some time away. Batting wise, the incoming talent is exciting and exceptional…but still translating talent into performances and a solid reliable game is hard work. Fast bowling needs stronger bowlers than ishant for example. Happy that spinners took wickets in ill suited conditions. Remains to be seen how they go elsewhere. would like a wrist spinner to figure it out,
Simoc
Guest
Well our batsmen couldn't maintain concentration against the tightest bowling attack they've come across. Maybe they need to listen to Kohlis advice. Treat each ball on its merits. They need to bat for longer and forget about the strike rate. Easier said than done of course. Especially when they get to England against the Dukes ball. The ratings seem about right. Ponting seems to think there are around half a dozen young Indian batsmen similar to Pant. It is a pity they are not allowed to play in our Big Bash.
Sean
Guest
True but our bowlers lack of swing or seam movement was telling. They scrambled the seam most bowls while India's attack had that seam dead straight which allowed the movement. Starc and Hazelwood just didn't look that dangerous. If India's openers were not so incompetent I would of thought India could of won the games in the first session.
Targa
Guest
England is actually only the 4th best team behind India, South Africa and New Zealand. I wouldn't be surprised if Australia gets the Ashes back either.
Matt H
Roar Guru
Yes you will win at home like you have for the last 18 years. Then you will come here an be spanked like you have on every occasion bar one in the last 31 years.
George
Guest
And even with Shaun Marsh reaching his peak by then.
Paul
Roar Guru
so Curran and Woakes are going to open the batting as well as the bowling, are they? I assumed that's who you were referring to when you said England had slightly better openers. Otherwise, that's a truly funny statement given how many players have been tried at 1 & 2 since Strauss retired.
IAP
Guest
Not really. They have a 2 man batting line-up (Kohli and Pujara), one of which is not good unless he's in Australia. Our poor bowling flattered their batting line-up. England flogged India 4-1 only a few months ago.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Which fielding in Sydney was crucial for Lyon? Pant dropped 5 maybe 6 catches in the series. That’s terrible. Doesn’t matter how many regulation catches you take, scoring a ton when it’s 5/400 on a flat pitch, or being a smartarse for the stump microphones. You stuffed it. 3/10.
IAP
Guest
A bit rough to call Mitch Starc a veteran. He's 28; he's in his prime.
Kopa Shamsu
Guest
I feel this ratings have been mostly scoreboard inspired rather than actual game. my ratings are -> Score 1-10 – Grade A-F India : Vijay – > 0 -> F Rahul – > 1 -> F Mayank -> 6 -> A- Pujara -> 10 -> A+ Kohli – > 5 -> B Rahane -> 4 -> C Rohit – > 3 -> D Vihari -> 4 -> C Pant – > 4 -> C Ashwin – > 5 -> B Jadeja – > 4 -> C Kuldeep – > 3 -> D Bumrah – > 7 -> A Shami -> 6 -> A- Ishant – > 6 -> A- Yadav -> 0 -> F Note : I would be very worried if i were indian selectors. The team is overtly dependent on Pujara. Unless there is another 2-3 pujara produced,there might be tough time ahead. Shubman gill should be given a run. Australia : Harris -> 6 -> A- Finch – > 1 -> F Khawaja – > 2 -> F Head -> 4 -> C Handscomb – > 3-> D S Marsh -> 1 -> F M Marsh -> 1 -> F Paine -> 4 -> C Starc -> 3 -> D Hoff -> 4 -> C Cummins – > 7 -> A Lyon -> 7 -> A Note : Too many good start wasted, bowlers wayward in last half of series,no individual planning. Sticking to failed formula of Marshes. Entire shield requires overhaul.