West Indies v India 1st Test: India player ratings

The first Test between West Indies and India concluded with the Indians claiming their biggest Test win outside Asia courtesy of the innings and 92 runs margin. While it was certainly a terrible disaster for the West Indies players, the Indians and their charismatic skipper Virat Kohli took a victory with pleasure. However, the real question of Anil Kumble and the rest of the stuffed shirts will be the contributions made by each player. That said, here is a quick look at the player ratings for the Indian team shortly after the completion of the first Test.

Murali Vijay – 3/10

Murali Vijay didn’t have an awful lot to do as his teammates took great pleasure in securing the victory. The 31-year old scored 7 runs in the first innings and didn’t feature in the rest of the match nursing, what looked like a sore right thumb.

Shikhar Dhawan – 7/10

Shikhar Dhawan played a magnificent knock in difficult batting conditions and went on to smash a valuable 84. Although it was just a piece of brilliant batting amid some iconic batting displays, his 84 proved to be perhaps one of the grittiest knocks ever played by Dhawan in Test cricket.

Cheteshwar Pujara – 4/10

The so-called ‘Dravid replacement’ began his innings well by blocking the good delivery and punishing the bad ones. However, a loss in concentration on the cusp of Lunch on day 1 saw Pujara lose his wicket to a rather careless shot. Apart from the 16 runs, Pujara failed to make any impact in the match.

Also read – West Indies v India, 1st Test: Memorable moments of the match

Ajinkya Rahane – 5/10

Although the Indian vice-captain failed with the bat, he was more than sparkling in the field. Rahane lost his wicket in perhaps the most disappointing of circumstances when he attempted to pull Devendra Bishoo and got beaten in the flight. However, he also went on pluck a few catches, increasing his impact on the match.

Virat Kohli – 8.5/10

It seems as though each time the Indian skipper goes out to bat, there is a certain element about him that is seemingly unstoppable. Kohli became the first Indian skipper to score a double century outside India as the 200 runs he scored played a massive role in Kohli’s and India’s performance in the match.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 9/10

The man of the match for India, Ravi Ashwin came up with the goods when it mattered the most.  He came in to bat at No. 6 and proved one and all wrong after smashing a wonderful century. Although he went wicketless in the first innings, Ashwin was instrumental in completing the match for India with his figures of 7/83 in the second innings.

Wriddhiman Saha – 7/10

Wriddhiman Saha, India’s wicketkeeper-batsman looked lively during his batting innings as he played the ball to different parts of the ground. However, the fact that Saha picked six catches and a stumping ensured that his impact on the game had not gone unnoticed.

Amit Mishra – 6.5/10

Amit Mishra was drafted back into the side following a good series against South Africa. Moreover, the fact that the tracks in the West Indies have slowed down to such an extent that many began to tip Mishra to be the deciding factor in the series. He responded by smashing 53 in the first innings followed by 3 wickets in the match.

Mohammad Shami – 7/10

Many who had their doubts and reservations about the returning Mohammad Shami were made to eat their own words. On his comeback to international cricket, Shami made a wonderful impact as he picked 4 wickets in the first innings and bowled, quite literally, without breaking a sweat.

Ishant Sharma 5/10

Ishant Sharma was perhaps the most experienced bowler when it came to facing the West Indies for India prior to the start of the Test. Although he was unlucky not to pick a wicket in the first innings, Sharma bowled his heart out in the second with his perseverance witnessing him pick one wicket in the entire Test.

Umesh Yadav – 6.5/10

Umesh Yadav impressed one and all yet again with his raw pace and ability to extract out-swing from the wicket. He picked 5 wickets in the match.