India vs Australia: First Test (Day 1) - Player Ratings

Honours were split evenly on Day 1 of the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, thanks to a faulty decision, a brilliant partnership and a spectacular display of spin bowling from a local boy. The Indian fielding was pretty good today with the exception of a dropped sitter from the lazy Virender Sehwag, while Sachin Tendulkar and Ravindra Jadeja looked to be the crowd favourites.

Here is a look at how the Indian bowlers and Australian batsmen featured on the field today:

Australia

Ed Cowan

Rating : 5/10

Cowan began brilliantly with some flashy shots against the poor Indian pacers, but soon lost out once Ravichandran Ashwin was brought into the attack. Like in the warm-up games, Ed Cowan’s struggle against spin led to his dismissal.

David Warner

Rating: 7/10

With plenty of experience in the sub-continental pitches, a lot was expected from David Warner, and he fulfilled his responsibilities as an opener, before failing to read a fuller length delivery from Ashwin.

Philip Hughes

Rating: 3/10

After a relatively good home series against the Sri Lankans, Hughes was taken aback by the Ashwin factor and was shown a very early exit.

Shane Watson

Rating: 5/10

Watson threatened to take the game away from the Indians by forming a solid partnership with Warner, but was easily deceived by a low delivery from the leading Indian spinner to help the Indians breathe easy.

Michael Clarke

Rating: 8/10

Michael Clarke showed why he is the best Australian batsman in the business with a fine display of cricketing shots all around the park against all the five bowlers, and eventually rescued Australia from danger. With an umpiring error going in his favour, Clarke is expected to pile on more runs on the second day.

Matthew Wade

Rating: 3/10

A silent customer at the crease today, Matthew Wade neither troubled the bowlers nor the scorers and was back to the pavilion quickly, giving Ashwin his fifth five-wicket haul.

Moises Henriques

Rating: 8/10

Moises Henriques looked to be the most comfortable player in the Australian team, and showed no signs of nerves on his debut. He delivered more than what was expected, and could even be hailed as the star performer for the Australian side.

India

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Rating: 5/10

Unlike his ODI debut, Kumar had an average outing on Day one, as he looked pretty ineffective on the dry surface, and his lack of pace only added to his woes.

Ishant Sharma

Rating: 4/10

Considered to be the senior bowler in the Indian side, Ishant fared lower than average, as he failed to pose any serious threat to the batsmen. The lanky pacer received warnings for running down the pitch, and seemed off-colour with the ball in hand.

Ravichandran Ashwin

Rating: 9/10

Easily the performer of the day, Ashwin delivered at his home ground as he troubled the Australian batsmen with subtle variations in pace and length. Except for the start of the third session, Ashwin was at the peak of his game today.

Harbhajan Singh

Rating: 3/10

With all eyes upon him before the start of the match, Bhajji was nowhere near his best, as he was treated with disrespect by the rival batsmen. He seemed to struggle for consistency, and his 100th Test might well turn out to be his final Test match.

Ravindra Jadeja

Rating: 7/10

Jadeja seems to have finally come of age, as his performances have been on the rise ever since he became the household comedian of the nation. Though he didn’t trouble the batsmen much, he bowled with a consistent line and length to keep the scoreboard under control.