In numbers: India's shocking batting performance in England

Tags: India tour of England, 2014, India, Poor batting

Published on: Aug 18, 2014

The nightmare for the Indian batsmen is finally over. After being dismissed for under 200 in their past few innings

The nightmare for the Indian batsmen is finally over. After being dismissed for under 200 in their past few innings', they succumbed to a paltry 94 in their second innings of The Oval Test. Here's a player by player account of Indian batsmen's misery in England.


Virat Kohli: This is one ordeal the India number four isn't going to forget soon. In 10 innings, he managed merely 134 runs at an average of 13.4 with a best of 39, including two ducks. Except for a couple of knocks, Kohli never looked comfortable out in the middle, not knowing where his off stump is. He was James Anderson's bunny in the series.


Cheteshwar Pujara: The only area where Pujara bettered Kohli was in that he managed to cross fifty once during the series. Leave that aside, and he was sailing in pretty much the same boat as Kohli. In 10 innings, he managed to collect only 222 runs at an average of 22.20, with a highest of 55, and one duck. Usually known for playing the big knocks, Pujara faced only 510 balls in the entire series.


Shikhar Dhawan: He began the series as India's first-choice opener, but was axed after the third Test. India had genuine reasons to drop him. In six innings, he totalled 122 runs at a poor average of 20.3 with a disappointing highest score of 37. Dhawan got off to starts in a number of his earlier knocks on the tour, but failed to convert them. At the same time, he always looked suspect against the moving ball, which augmented the decision to axe him.


Gautam Gambhir: The out of favour Indian opener was brought into the picture for the last two Tests, but his performance proved even more disastrous. In four innings, he managed to gather only 25 runs at an average of 6.25 with a highest of 18. Gambhir never looked the part during the time he spent at the crease, and his selection is bound to raise questions. His ridiculous run out in the second innings at The Oval pretty much summed up his lack of Test match preparedness.

Ajinkya Rahane: He was one of the better performers for India during the series, but only in the first half. Once India started losing momentum, Rahane's form also began to recede. Eventually, he ended with 299 runs from 10 innings with a highest of 103 with one hundred and two fifties, and a highest of 33.22.


Murali Vijay: TheIndian opener was the team's best batsman on the tour, but like Rahane, his form also petered away towards the end. Still, Vijay ended with reasonable figures in comparison to the the other Indian batsmen. In 10 innings, he finished with 402 runs at an average of 40.2 with a highest of 146, including one hundred and two fifties. Considering his form, Vijay could have done more.


MS Dhoni: He may have failed to inspire the team as a leader, but demonstrated that he can bat in English conditions. With 349 runs from 10 knocks, he was India's second highest run-getter. Dhoni scored four fifties during the course of the series, with a highest of 82, but finished off with a duck. However, he finished off with a duck.


Ravindra Jadeja: If you take away that steely 68 at Lord's, Jadeja's batting was taildender-like. Even that half-century at Lord's was a chancy knock. In eight innings, Jadeja managed on 177 runs at a disappointing average of 22.12 with one fifty and one duck. Not surprisingly, he was dropped for the final Test.


Rohit Sharma: The Mumbai batsman got a chance to display his skills in one Test, but could not impress. He made 28 and 6 during his two visits to the crease, and was promptly dropped.


--By A Cricket Analyst

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