Time and Date

Monday, March 5, 2012

Team India report card after dismal show in triseries

So poor was India's performance in the triseries Down Under that even the players agreed Sri Lanka, and not them, deserved to play the finals against Australia.

Dhoni's boys appeared jaded, bogged down by infighting, plagued by bad form and out of ideas and motivation. TOI rates the performance of the players...

Virat Kohli (TOI RATING 8.5/10)

His knock in the 'must-win' game against Sri Lanka at Hobart, which gave India a faint chance of going through to the finals, was so exceptional that former Australian batsman Dean Jones compared it to Viv Richards's then record 189 against England at Old Trafford in 1984.

The 23-year-old was immediately rewarded with the vice-captaincy. Still, there were just a couple of fifties in eight innings besides this brilliant, unbeaten 133, which means Kohli could have been more consistent.

Like in the Tests, got needlessly riled up by the Aussie crowds. His aggression and performance was one of the few bright spots for India.

M: 8, RUNS: 373, HS: 133*, AVG: 53.28, SR: 92.78, 50: 2, 100: 1

Gautam Gambhir (TOI RATING 5.5/10)

Was the best amongst the senior batsmen, but still, more was needed from this experienced opener. At Adelaide, he joined the 'rift party,' slyly taking Sehwag's side by saying the skipper should have finished off the match earlier.

Was at his best at Adelaide, where he was unlucky to miss out on a hundred both times - scoring 92 and 91. Against the Aussies, though, the Delhi Dasher looked vulnerable early on, particularly against the moving ball outside the off stump.

M: 7, RUNS: 308, HS: 92, AVG: 44.00, SR: 81.91, 50: 3, 100: 0

MS Dhoni (TOI RATING 5/10)

Dhoni the batsman played the finisher's role to perfection in a couple of games, with the huge six to the straight boundary off Clint McKay in the final over at Adelaide staying in memory.

But 'Captain Cool' looked flustered right through the tournament. Introduced a 'rotation policy' which backfired badly on the team, and didn't help matters by openly saying that playing the senior batsmen meant going with slowpokes on the field.

The failure of his 'trusted aides' made Dhoni's critics' gun for him harder. The, the rift, a ban due to slow over rate and then bad health laid him.

M: 7, RUNS: 205, HS: 58*, AVG: 51.25, SR: 67.65, 50: 2, 100: 0

Suresh Raina (TOI RATING 3/10)

This tournament has done serious damage to his claim for a berth in the 2015 World Cup team. Raina arrived Down Under with a question mark against his technique on bouncy pitches, and left the country convincing everyone that he wasn't cut out for those conditions.

While batting at No. 5, he managed just 182 runs.

M: 8, RUNS: 182, HS: 40*, AVG: 26.00, SR: 85.84, 50: 0, 100: 0 WICKETS: 1, BEST BOWLING: 1-10, AVG: 75.00, ECON: 5.35

Irfan Pathan (TOI RATING 3/10)

Returning to the team after a long gap, the all-rounder made a decent impression. Pathan contributed with both bat and ball. His six at Adelaide against Sri Lanka was crucial to India managing to tie the game.

Still, needs to work on his economy rate.

M: 4, RUNS: 96, HS: 47, AVG: 24.00, SR: 109.09, 50: 0, 100: 0 WICKETS: 6, BEST BOWLING: 3-61, AVG: 30.16, ECON: 5.32

Umesh Yadav (TOI RATING 3/10)

The Vidarbha seamer, delivering some searing pace, made teammate Gambhir boast that "we finally have a bowler who can give others a taste of their own medicine".

Yadav, though, wouldn't be happy about an economy rate of 6.22 and a bowling average of 59.80 on pitches that suited his trade. In the slog overs, the youngster appeared to struggle for ideas.

M: 6, WICKETS: 5, BEST BOWLING: 2-39, AVG: 59.80, ECON: 6.22

R Ashwin (TOI RATING 3/10)

Except for one game at Perth, where he took 3/32 against Sri Lanka, and won India a tight game by sharing a critical partnership with Jadeja, the off-spinner didn't have a particularly good time. Ashwin just struggled for wickets.

M: 7, WICKETS: 7, BEST BOWLING: 3-32, AVG: 43.42, ECON: 4.82 RUNS: 81, HS: 30*, SR: 81.81

Zaheer Khan (TOI RATING 3/10)

The left-arm seamer wasn't at his fittest best, managing to play just four games, and that probably hurt India a bit. Clearly, there are doubts over his longevity.

M: 4, WICKETS: 5, BEST BOWLING: 2-44, AVG: 39.40, ECON: 5.05

Ravindra Jadeja (TOI RATING 2/10)

No one is quite sure now whether the Saurashtra all-rounder is a bowler or a batsman - he was a big failure as both in this tournament.

His bowling average was 109 and batting, 16.83. Jadeja fielded well and won India a game with R Ashwin at Perth, but hardly did anything else.

M: 8, RUNS: 101, HS: 24*, AVG: 16.83, SR: 70.13, 100: 0, 50: 0 WICKETS: 3, BEST BOWLING: 1-41, AVG: 109.00, ECON: 5.30

Vinay Kumar (TOI RATING 2/10)

Started off well, then tapered off. Vinay Kumar looked good with the new ball, but owing to lack of pace, appeared totally vulnerable at the death, an example being the way Daniel Christian tore into him at Brisbane.

M: 6, WICKETS: 9, BEST BOWLING: 3-21, AVG: 32.11, ECON: 5.25

Praveen Kumar (TOI RATING 2/10)

After a few indifferent performances, 'PK' lost the confidence of his skipper. Praveen played just four games in the event, only coming back in the final stages, where he did decently against Australia at Sydney.

M: 4, WICKETS: 3, BEST BOWLING: 2-37, AVG: 63.33, ECON: 5.27

Sachin Tendulkar (TOI RATING 1.5/10)

Sachin Tendulkar just endured the worst Australia tour of his career. He had an ordinary Test series and a below-par triseries. Forget the elusive 100th ton, there wasn't even a half-century off the maestro's bat.

The rotation policy seemed to affect his rhythm, but that still doesn't explain why he failed to capitalize on good starts. 143 runs in seven innings meant that questions are being raised whether he deserve his place in the ODI team

M: 7, RUNS: 143, HS: 48, AVG: 20.42, SR: 82.65, 50: 0, 100: 0

Virender Sehwag (TOI RATING 1/10)

Has become an easy target because of his poor run of form and is being branded the 'villian' of the triseries. Did nothing to douse rumours of a rift with MS Dhoni and to make things more ugly, took pot-shots at the skipper too.

His bat, however, did not do the talking, and he has lost his place in the ODI squad for the Asia Cup in controversial circumstances.

Every time it seemed to be his day, Sehwag played a horrendous shot to get out and did not put a price on his wicket. Sehwag's carelessness ensured India did not enjoy decent starts.

M: 5, RUNS: 65, HS: 30, AVG: 13.00, SR: 112.06, 50: 0, 100: 0

Rohit Sharma (TOI RATING 1/10)

Clearly, not getting a chance in the long Test series led him to losing his form. His slump eventually cost him his place in the XI.

Appeared too laid back at times, playing careless strokes too early in his innings. Hasn't been helped by the fact that the skipper clearly prefers Raina to him. Like Raina, Rohit too has a few questions to answer about batting on bouncy wickets.

M: 5, RUNS: 79, HS: 33, AVG: 15.80, SR: 71.17, 50: 0, 100: 0

(Rahul Sharma and Parthiv Patel, who played just one game, and Manoj Tiwary, who didn't play at all, were not assessed in this report card)

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