Indian Players' Report Cards After England Debacle

Following an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to England, Gocricket.com has the Indian players' report cards ready here.

Shikhar Dhawan: 5/10

Dhawan was India's highest run-scorer in the two-Test series against New Zealand with 215 from four innings. However, the Delhi batsman couldn't create the same impact against England: he managed 122 runs at an average of 20 with a highest of 37. His technical flaws were widely exposed by James Anderson, who gave Dhawan a tough time outside the offstump. While he looked good in patches during his innings of 29 at Trent Bridge, 31 at Lord's and 37 at The Ageas Bowl, he couldn't convert them into anything productive. Most of his dismissals came in the initial part of the innings which dented India's hopes of getting off to a decent start.

Murali Vijay: 7/10

Dhawan's opening partner got off to a start few imagined him to. His 146 at Trent Bridge was his fourth century in Tests and first in England. He followed it up with consecutive half-centuries - 52 in the second innings and 95 at Lord's - but lost his bearings thereafter. In the next seven innings, Vijay made just 109 runs and his average - which at one point in the series touched 80 - dropped to 40.20. He wasn't troubled much at Trent Bridge and Lord's but in Southampton, Vijay was unlucky to play on and get run out. It was at Old Trafford and The Oval that he looked out of sorts, throwing his bat at away-going deliveries and flummoxed by those that darted in. A decent series all in all, but it could have been better. Considering the way his team-mates performed, Vijay was one of the few positives for India.

Gautam Gambhir: 0/10

Returning after an 18-month absence, Gambhir showed so signs of improvement. He was the most unconvincing among the Indian batsmen. His replacing Dhawan for the last two Tests raised many eyebrows. He remained persistent with his tendency to poke at balls outside offstump and looked like a sitting duck in each innings. An edge to gully, a run-out and a caught behind while trying to leave the ball, such dismissals indicate that Gambhir may have played his last Test for India.

Cheteshwar Pujara: 4/10

Pujara has endured one of the toughest series of his young career. He started off well with scores of 38, 55, 28 and 43 but Southampton, much like it did for India, led to his downward spiral. He had problems with the incoming delivery and even his rock-solid forward defence couldn't come to his rescue. Pujara was out caught behind on six occasions and fell prey to Moeen Ali's offspin twice. With a total of just 222 runs in 10 innings, India's No 3 looked very shaky.

Virat Kohli: 2/10

The first real forgettable tour for India's most prolific batsman of the current era. The fact that Kohli couldn't score even a single half-century in 10 innings speaks volumes about his failure. With 134 runs at an average of 13.40, statistically he is India's worst batsman on tour. James Anderson had his number throughout the series, dismissing him four times. Kohli was twice out without troubling the scorers and the cobwebs in his head were clearly visible. Twice he was dismissed offering no shot - bowled by Liam Plunkett at Lord's and out lbw to Chris Jordan at The Oval.

Apart from his batting, his goof-ups in the slip cordon added to Kohli's woes. A gloomy series like this can be excused, especially after the string of success he has experienced, but Kohli must realise that a major chunk of India's batting revolves around him. His getting back among the runs is crucial if India are to have any chances in Australia later this year.

Ajinkya Rahane: 7/10

Another example of a batsman who squandered away a decent beginning. Rahane, in only his second Test in England, registered his name on the Lord's Honours Board, courtesy a match-winning century on day one to revive India splendidly. Two fifties followed in Southampton but the promising run was brought to a halt in the last two Tests with Rahane managing 21, 4, 0 and 1. He showed a lot of promise with 299 runs at 33.22 and but the team needs more from him.

Stuart Binny: 2/10

Much was said about Binny after his selection in the 18-member squad, and as it would turn out, he was another hyped-up player. His only substantial knock came at Trent Bridge - a match-saving 78 in the second innings. He played a horrible shot in the first innings at Lord's and his credentials of an allrounder also took a big blow as he struggled with the ball and went wicketless in all three Tests he got.

MS Dhoni: Batting 7.5/10, Captaincy 5/10

While Dhoni the batsman raised his game in England, Dhoni the captain was another major setback in away matches. With four half-centuries in five matches, the India skipper had one of his best overseas series. His 82 at Trent Bridge was followed by 50 in Southampton where his biggest slip was falling early on day four when India needed him to stay in the middle. At Old Trafford and The Oval, his innings of 71 and 82 were one of only three Indian scores in double digits as the rest of the batsmen crumbled around him.

Dhoni's captaincy though looked lifeless yet again. His five-bowler strategy never really came to India's aid, and the decision to ignore Ishwar Pandey raised questions. After leading India to their fifth consecutive overseas series loss, this might mark the end of the road for Dhoni the Test captain.

Ravindra Jadeja: 5/10

Despite the fact that he and Anderson kept on getting each other out, Jadeja's only meaningful contribution came in the second Test at Lord's, where his counter-attacking fifty set the game up in favour of India. With the ball, he was inconsistent. His wickets either were down to poor shots or the need for quick runs. Ian Bell and Jos Buttler took him apart in Southampton, where he was either too short or generous down the legside. Jadeja remains a strong contender at home but a doubtful starter for away matches.

Rohit Sharma: 1/10

Our very own flat-track bully was drafted into the team at The Ageas Bowl in place of Binny and what did he do? Played a silly shot to Ali in the first innings and fell early on day five to Anderson in the second. Might be a cinch to play on Indian wickets, but his modes of dismissal are only worsening his case of playing abroad.

Ravichandran Ashwin: 6/10

Ashwin managed to surprise in a role-reversal of sorts. While at Old Trafford he impressed one and all with his batting, The Oval saw Ashwin get back among the wickets. He forged a 66-run partnership with Dhoni for the seventh wicket in the fourth Test and played textbooks shots. Ashwin played second fiddle to Dhoni, who at the other end took calculated risks. Ashwin scored 46 in the second innings as India went down by an innings and 54 runs. At The Oval, Ashwin finally took his first wicket since 2012 and his 3/72 kept things tight.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar: 8/10

The conditions in England were supposed to ideal for Bhuvneshwar's style of bowling and he proved the theory right with figures of 5/82 and 6/82 in the first two Tests. But as soon as the English batsmen came into their own, the Uttar Pradesh bowler was a tired figure out in the middle. Once the batsmen negotiated with his early movement, scoring became easy. And even though in the third and fourth Test he took 3/101 and 3/75, Bhuvneshwar lacked support at the other end.

To see him bat nicely in the series was a pleasant surprise. Scores of 63, 58 and 52 in the first three innings of the series were an added bonus for the team. With 19 wickets at 26.63 and 247 runs at 27.44, Bhuvneshwar had a series to remember.

Ishant Sharma: 7/10

Ishant was supposed to spearhead the Indian attack in England and many believed that the win at Lord's - where he took a career best 7/74 - had finally established Ishant as India's premier fast bowler. But an unlikely injury after the historic triumph was a case of bad luck for India. And when Ishant came back, it was fairly evident that he wasn't the same bowler who etched his name of on the Lord's Honours Board. At The Oval, he was predictably short and Stuart Broad took the attack to him despite batting with a broken nose. Ishant looked a bit ragged in his 4/96.

Varun Aaron: 5/10

The Jharkhand fast bowler made a return to Tests after December 2011 with plenty of calls for his inclusion for the fourth Test, in Ishant's absence. And even though he dismissed Ali with a peach of a delivery and broke Broad's nose, Aaron was mostly erratic, wasting energy on bowling far too many short balls. He bagged five wickets at an average of 50 - which included him conceding runs at over five an over at The Oval. But there is no doubt that he caught a few eyes with his pace.

Pankaj Singh: 4/10

Known as a workhorse in domestic circuit, Pankaj bowled with a lot of heart in Southampton after getting a debut in place of an injured Ishant. He was unlucky twice after Jadeja put down Alastair Cook in the first session followed by an umpiring error that reprieved Bell. Pankaj finally tasted success after toiling for 47 overs in Southampton and almost 23 overs in Manchester, where he bowled bad balls too frequently and went over four an over.

Mohammed Shami: 2/10

Shami bowled with good pace in three Tests but was overall ordinary. His five wickets in the series came every 115 deliveries and at the cost of 73.20 runs. But with the next series taking place against the West Indies, he might return on the basis of what he did against them last year.