India v England 3rd Test Ratings

India

Gambhir - 5
Sehwag - 4
Pujara - 3
Tendulkar - 6
Kohli - 2
Yuvraj - 3
Dhoni - 3
Ashwin - 7
Khan - 2
Sharma - 3
Ojha - 5

England

Cook - 9.5
Compton - 6
Trott - 6
KP - 5
Bell - 3
Patel - 3
Prior - 6
Swann - 6
Finn - 7
Anderson - 7
Panesar - 7

My ratings. India.
Sehwag 4.
Gambhir 4, down on 2 points for the 2 runouts.
Pujara 2 besides the 2 batting failures he dropped the undroppable man.
Tendulkar 6.
Kohli 2.
Yuvraj 2.
Dhoni 5.
Ashwin 7.
Ojha 5.
Zaheer 2.
Ishant 2.
England
Cook 9.
Compton 6.
Trott 6.
Pietersen 6.
Bell 4.
Patel 4.
Prior 5.
Swann 7.
Anderson 7.
Finn 7.
Panesar 7.

Gambhir - 6
Sehwag - 5
Pujara - 3
Tendulkar - 6
Kohli - 3
Yuvraj - 3
Dhoni - 5
Ashwin - 7
Khan - 2
Sharma - 2
Ojha - 7

England

Cook - 9
Compton - 7
Trott - 7
KP - 7
Bell - 4
Patel - 4
Prior - 5
Swann - 7
Finn - 7
Anderson - 8
Panesar - 7

ENGLAND

Cook-9
Compton-5
Trott-8
KP-7
Bell-2
Patel-5
Prior-6
Swann-8
Anderson-8
Finn-7
Panesar-8

INDIA

Sehwag-6
Gambhir-6
Pujara-5
Tendulkar-7
Kohli-3
Yuvraj-3
Dhoni-5
Ashwin-7
Zaheer-2
Ishant-2
Ojha-7

harsh ratings on prior....

Did he keep well? Certainly not badly by any stretch
Did he score more runs than most batsmen in this game (when some of them had two bites of the cherry) as a number 7? Yes

He did his job as much a Tendulkar ( one score one fail no other contribution)

If KP is worth a 7 after scoring for avereging 27 in the game Prior is worth a cup of tea and a slice of cake at least.


7

Harsh on Compton CF. Not sure what Patel has done to be marked on the same level as him, and how is KP deserving of two more points than him?

England:

Cook - 9: another game as captain, another lost toss, another superb century. Batted magnificently after being dropped early on, played the spinners with consumate ease. Captained well (even very well) except when India's last two wickets put on a few second time around.

Compton - 7: very much growing into his role as opener, making his first half century and showing more expansive shots than in previous games. Not England's best fielder, but better than any Indian except Kohli nonetheless.

Trott - 8: finally got out of his lean run, with a gutsy (if not pretty) innings of 80-odd, very important in setting up England's strong position. Improving at slip where he held some good catches.

KP - 7: Scratched around at the start, then effortlessly slipped into gear to make a nice fifty. Got out just as he really looked like taking the game away from India, but by then had done his bit in pushing the scoring rate up and putting England is a very strong position.

Bell - 4: nice little knock second time around, just as England were wobbling a bit, but his first innings was horrible as he looked out of nick and played an uncharacteristic shot to get out. Excellent run out of Pujara gets him an extra mark.

Patel - 6: looked much better and organised against the spinners than he did in the previous Test, hence it must have been even more annoying for him that he got himself out after making a start. Played nicely though, and fielding much improved, a few years ago he'd have simply waved Sehwag's clip to the boundary but here he hared round, dived, stopped the ball and Sehwag was run out. Gains a mark for that.

Prior - 6: did his job with the bat, with a nice innings to make sure England's lead got over 200 at a time where it looked like it might be held to 150 or so. Keeping mostly good, with an excellent (if somewhat fortuitous) snag off Tendulkar on day one, and a nice catch off Gambhir in the second innings. Will be disappointed with the drop off Sharma, not a huge amount he could do about the stumping off Ashwin.

Swann - 6: didn't bowl great in the Indian first innings, though chipped in with the wicket of Yuvraj. Much more dangerous second time around, where he could easily have finished with more wickets than the two he did get. Those two were key, with the wicket of Sehwag starting the rot. Bright knock with the bat, ordinary catching.

Finn - 8: bowled OK in the first innings, though not as well as he would have hoped. Brute of a ball to get rid of Dhoni just as things were getting frustrating for England. Superb second time around as he found reverse swing both ways and a full length to draw the false shots, the dismissals of Kohli in particular pleasing, as was the set-up of Zaheer Khan (the short one which hits him followed by the full inswinger). Missed run out of Ashwin on day 1, but it was his flat and accurate throw which helped get rid of Sehwag.

Anderson - 9: superbly led England's attack, on what was never a great pitch for bowling. Found reverse swing both ways in two great spells on day 1 to get rid of Tendulkar and Kohli, before finding the energy to burst one through Ashwin's defenses late on. Led from the front again second time around, setting up Dhoni perfectly and also hitting the stumps of Yuvraj and Ohja. Fielded well though no chances came his way.

Panesar - 7: did his job in the first innings with 4 wickets, including Pujara cheaply with a lovely bit of bowling, an important part in setting up ENgland's strong position. Didn't bowl so well second time around, his first disappointing showing, though did remove the obdurate Sharma. Fielding a bit dodgy at times, particularly moving the wrong way for an AShwin reverse sweep.

India:

Gambhir - 5: would normally be a 7 for a couple of pretty good knocks, but loses points for atrocious running which cost India two important (vital?) wickets, though Sehwag was only half his fault. Ordinary stroke in both innings, and hardly the world's best fielder.

Sehwag - 4: got in, got out. Twice. First innings run out as much his fault as Gambhir's (turning blind, not calling, not running the first two). Ordinary shot first ball after a break second time around. Poor in the field, his lack of energy in chasing balls or backing up throws symptomatic of India's problems in that department.

Pujara - 3: deceived by a good bit of bowling first innings, though it wasn't a great shot. Not his fault for the second innings run out. Pretty decent under the helmet at short leg, as usual.

Tendulkar - 7: a fighting if scratchy first innings saved India from an even more subpar total, before he got a cracking ball. Not great defense second time around though, pushing hard at the ball. One of India's more energetic fielders, which considering he's 39 isn't saying much for the rest of them.

Kohli - 2: I'm going to cut him some slack for the second innings dismissal which I thought was cracking bit of bowling: first one swings in, second one swings away and is full enough to entice the drive, catches the edge. In India's situation they needed to do more than just block and the length was there. First innings dismissal was poor though, a limp poke. Fielding pretty good with bonus run out of Cook, though there was one ball he inexplicably let slip through his legs.

Dhoni - 2: fighting first innings fifty, even if he played a bit bizarrely on the second morning. Limp poke to slip in the second though, and captaincy incredibly poor, mostly just waiting for the mistakes to come from England (as in England in 2011). Suggestions that the job's getting to him. Keeping a bit up and down, a couple of very good catches, but some really shoddy work too.

Ashwin - 5: yes he played nicely second time around (though the game had pretty much gone already), but he's in the side for his bowling, which was once more completely unthreatening for the most part. Also, he's a rubbish fielder, and for his age that's not acceptable (or shouldn't be).

Zaheer Khan - 1: looked desperately short on fitness, and apart from a brief (through lack of fitness again) spell after lunch on day 2, never troubled England's batsmen. Batting has gone downhill so much that he should probably be n°11 now, and the less said about his fielding the better.

Sharma - 4: I thought he bowled well without much reward, troubling Cook in particular (the only Indian bowler to do so). His fielding though is utterly shocking for a 24-year old. Apart from the hilariously poor drop off Cook, he must have let through at least 3 or 4 shots through his legs, and didn't manage a clean pick-up all game. Obdurate second innings, rubbish shot in the first.

Ohja - 4: must be getting heartily sick of being pretty much India's only threat with the ball. Less threatening than in previous matches, though did pick up 4 wickets in the end. Average in the field but at least tries hard, and obdurate if limited with the bat.

How does Sehwag get more than Compton?

Its getting to a point where it makes sick to hear people saying Ishant Sharma bowling without any luck. SSharma has been doing that for at least the last 3 years. I don't think its so much a question of luck. He hasn't quite sorted his length out. Of course you all can point at Fredye Flintoff, but then Fredye was disciplined with his bowling, and perhaps he could have got more wickets than he eventually did. But Sharma has been averaging 90 for each wicket he took in the last 10 test matches. That is atrocious, he simply has to go back to domestic cricket and find out a way to get wickets. Otherwise he should learn to bowl with discipline and pace, then wickets would come through the pressure. At the moment his length isn't quite working for him and there is not enough sustained pressure, although that could be partly down to the rest of the bowlers and the overall fielding, where he's among the chief culprits.

I'm pretty much in agreement with MFC's. Perhaps a mark lower for Samit, and 1 more for Swann (who bowled very well in the second innings).

Agree with msp about Sharma. I'm not sure that he 'bowls well without reward'. He doesn't do a Mitchell Johnson, but he doesn't exactly beat the bat very often either.

Woohoo, ratings!

England:
Cook 9.5: well, he was a bit dozy for the run-out. And he lost the toss (again!). But apart from that a fairly faultless match.

Compton 7: set England up with his excellent half-century. Remember the UAE and Sri Lanka when England's bowlers bowled out their opposition cheaply on a flat wicket only to see the batsmen collapse completely? Compton's innings gave them just the solid start they wanted.

Trott 7: built on Compton's good work. By the time he got out, England were completely in the driving seat.

Pietersen 6: it was (after a shaky start) a good innings, and it moved England further ahead, but of the 3 half-centuries in the England innings it was probably the least important, and the most frustrating end as he got out with the bowling at his mercy.

Bell 3: will be delighted with 2nd innings runs, but first innings a poor poor effort. Gains marks for run-out, but loses them for simple drop of Kohli.

Patel 5: got in, got out. Not for the first time, but no excuses this time. Fielded well, perhaps Flower deserves some credit for that particular transformation.

Prior 6: generally kept well in tough conditions, and more runs with the bat.

Swann 7: bowled very well in the second innings, good runs with the bat.

Finn 8: added bite to the England attack, brilliant bowling to get Kohli in the 2nd innings in particular.

Anderson 9: making a mockery (again) of claims he can't bowl well overseas. One of the top 2 fast men around still.

Panesar 7.5: fantastic control and crucial wickets on day 1 to set England up. A bit underpar in the second dig. Fielding dodgy still.

India:

Shewag 4: I'm going to cut him some slack for 2nd innings dismissal, thought it was a lovely piece of bowling: a bit of dip shortened the length, and Shewag simply wasn't skilful enough to adapt. I am not however going to excuse the first innings run-out, which was (despite the rubbish being spouted by commentators) mainly his fault for not running hard, turning blind and then thinking there was a 3rd on (by that stage, there wasn't).

Gambhir 5: I'm going to cut him a bit of slack for the first innings run-out. The call of Pujara was terrible though. As was his first innings dismissal. Poor second innings shot, but brought about by a good sustained spell from England; the loose delivery brought a half-drive as Gambhir had been forced into survival mode - had England bowled less well he would have smacked it for 4 through cover-point.

Pujara 2: defeated by a good bit of bowling in the first dig, and a terrible call in the 2nd (some would say he should have turned it down, but I rather players trust each-other and respond to partner's calls). A poor drop off Cook though.

Tendulkar 6: gutsy in the first innings, but struggles in the 2nd demonstrate his current struggles. Are we near the end?

Kohli 4: will cut him some slack for 2nd innings dismissal where I agree with MfC. India needed another 200 runs or so, Kohli was right to play that drive. Fell during a good spell for England in the first innings also. Not happy with his misfield though.

Yuvraj 3: first innings frenetic, couldn't do much with his second, but unfortunately just looks out of place (I say unfortunately because I like the guy and think he's a good player). Rushed back a bit? Simply not mentally up to it? Who knows...

Dhoni 4: good fighting 50 in the first innings. Godawful poke in the second. Captaincy terrible. Keepin shoddy at times but takes all the chances brilliantly which I guess is more important than the odd bye.

Ashwin 3.5: 8 for his batting, 1 for his bowling. Loses a mark for his fielding which is disgraceful.

Zaheer 1: past it.

Ohja 6: tries hard at everything he does, be it bat, ball or field. Bowling not as effective, but actually pretty good figures on that flat pitch. Just a shame the rest of the team doesn't show so much fight.

Sharma 4: bowled well I thought actually fuller than usual. Loses a mark for his fielding which is beyond disgraceful.