Even though Indian cricket team had lots of forgettable moments in the past one and half year or so, the last one month period is something that they will want to wipe off from their memory chamber very soon.
After a 0-4 whitewash against England last season, this series was seen as a grudge series and India indeed did start as favorite. Pundits termed England as the underdog team and taking into consideration men in blue record at home, one can only say that it was fair enough.
India were on course of exacting their revenge and beat England by nine wickets in the first Test at Ahmedabad. But the visitors scripted a remarkable comeback and won both the following matches in Mumbai and Kolkata.
1-2 down in the series, India started off well in the Nagpur match but then English players showed great character to shut any chances of an Indian comeback and did well exceptionally well to draw the match and win the series.
The series win has now helped England break their 28-year jinx on Indian soil; last time an English side won a series was in 1984-85. This is also for the first time that India lost a series at home in eight years, last time was in 2004-05 against Australia.
Indian team failed collectively in the series and it is a very herculean task to push them on the back-foot in these conditions.
India had many players who disappointed right through the series and let us take a look at them:
Sachin Tendulkar: The master blaster had been going through a very poor form and critics were after him. But more than anyone else, he had to prove a point to himself that he still belongs to international cricket. But he failed miserably in the series making calls for his retirement stronger than ever. In the six innings, he just scored 112 runs at an average of 18.66 including one half century. It has now been two years that maestro has not scored a Test century.
Yuvraj Singh: Yuvraj Singh who was making a comeback into the Test cricket after a long sabbatical flopped comprehensively in the series. Yuvraj made a earned a place in the team owing to his double century in the Duleep Trophy. He scored a brilliant half century in the first innings of the first Test and it looked like finally he would be would be able to cement his place in the team. But unfortunately, he could hang sustain his form. He was at sea in the subsequent innings and eventually was dropped from the fourth Test. He scored 125 runs in five innings at an average of 25 including an half century.
Ravichandran Ashwin: Ravichandran Ashwin’s recent performances in the longer version of the game made him the most important bowler for India in the series. He was expected to be the trump card for Dhoni, but he disappointed with his bowling. He flattered to deceive in the series and took only 14 wickets at an average of 52.64. His best bowling in the series has been 3-80. He however impressed everyone with his batting but then the team wanted him to deliver with the ball.
Zaheer Khan: The senior Indian bowler was woeful in the series. He never got it right in the series and his bad form prompted the selectors to drop him from the last match at Nagpur. In the three matches that he played, he just took four wickets bowling at an average of 53.25.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni: The series gone by raises serious doubts on his captaincy. After the success of the spinners in the first match, he was actually vocal about playing on rank turners and the idea cost him a lot. The complacency hurt India a lot and English spinners ran riot whereas Indian spinners were kept at bay. Also his decision making comes under scrutiny especially his idea of playing three spinners in Mumbai and Nagpur. It back-fired for India and it is only Dhoni who is to be blamed for it. Even his approach was far too defensive and he actually waited for England to make mistakes and hardly was seen taking any initiatives.
By Indian Sports News Network
