England vs India 2018, 3rd Test: Rating the Indian Players

Back against the wall, India played out a perfect game; Batting clicked, Bowlers continued their good work and most importantly were ably supported by the slip fielders. It was the kind of performance which will definitely boost the confidence of Virat Kohli's men going forward in the series and give them the belief that they can still win the series. With visitors making it 1-2 after thrashing England by 209 runs, let us take a look at player ratings for Indian players in the match:

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INDIA

#1 Shikhar Dhawan (6.5/10)

Shikhar Dhawan had a lot of pressure to deliver

Making his comeback into the side in place of struggling Murli Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan had a lot of pressure to deliver. Albeit, he didn't score big, he managed to give India a solid start and seeing off the new ball having scored 35 runs off 65 balls.

In the second innings as well, Dhawan gave India just the kind of start that was required to consolidate the lead over the hosts and Dhawan did just that scoring 44 off 63 balls.

However, his failure to convert his start into a big knock see his points being deducted. Thus, he gets a six and a half.

#2 KL Rahul (6/10)

Rahul was unable to convert his start into big innings which India desperately wants from its openers

Rahul looked streaky, to say the least, in both the innings. But, he hung in there and should have capitalized on the starts, scoring 23 runs off 53 deliveries in the first innings & 36 runs off 33 balls in the second. However, just the way in the last two tests, he was unable to convert his start into big innings which India desperately wants from its openers.

In the field, considering India's woeful slip catching, his seven catches standing in the second slip definitely earns him a bonus point (5+1).

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara (7/10)

Pujara played a solid knock of 72 runs in the second innings

Pujara will definitely not like to remember the first innings of the match having committed mistakes which could have dearly cost India.

Firstly, wasting India's one review by asking Rahul to use it when the ball struck plumb in front, then got out cheaply for 14 playing an irresponsible shot with India's score reading 82-3. Then, during England's first innings dropping Alastair Cook standing in the first slip.

However, Pujara did make amends in the second innings scoring 72 runs off 208 deliveries and being involved in two crucial partnerships, first with Dhawan (51 runs) and later on with Kohli (113 runs).

He will be disappointed to miss out on a hundred but relieved at the same time for getting back into form which should keep him in good stead with two more matches to come.

#4 Virat Kohli (9.5/10)

Kohli was instrumental in the team's success

Kohli was tested early in the innings with quite a lot of misses, edges, surviving reviews, but unlike openers, he was able to convert his start into a big score in both the innings.

He scored 97 runs in the first innings which helped India to reach a par score and bettered the effort in the second innings by scoring a masterful 103 runs (his 23rd century overall), thereby, taking his team to a position from where losing was close to impossible.

Even in the field, his placements were generally good and also, he rotated his bowlers well. To round off a complete performance.

Kohli took a blinder at third slip to send Ollie Pope packing in the fourth innings. The only miss he had in the entire match was a dropping a regulation catch standing at third slip which could have finished the game in the fourth Day itself. Thus, earning a 9.5.

#5 Ajinkya Rahane (7.5/10)

England v India: Specsavers 3rd Test - Day One

Rahane was finally able to deliver, having received the word of confidence from the head coach Ravi Shastri in the pre-match press conference.

Rahane provided the much-needed support to Kohli which he dearly missed in the 1st two matches. He scored of 81 runs in the first innings and stitched a 159 runs partnership with Virat Kohli to take India from a pressure situation into a comfortable one.

In the second innings too Rahane was solid with his defence and decisive in his footwork, a clear indication of the lad getting back into form. Albeit, he scored only 29 runs in the second innings, the job was done.

#6 Hardik Pandya (10/10)

Pandya came out all guns blazing with the ball

One of the biggest benefits of being an all-rounder is if you fail with the bat you have the ball to make amends. This is exactly what Pandya did in the first England innings.

After a not so convincing inning with the bat having scored only 18 runs, Pandya came out all guns blazing with the ball. He picked up Joe Root's wicket off the very first delivery of his spell and within a span of 29 deliveries he had sent 5 English players packing.

In the second inning with the bat, Pandya took confidence from his bowling effort and scored a quickfire half-century (52 runs off 52 balls) which included seven fours and one big six and picked up the wicket of Ben Stokes as well. Thus, a perfect 10 for a perfect performance.

#7 Rishabh Pant (5.5/10)

Pant had a mixed game on his debut

The Debutant came into the side with high hopes pinned on him with his senior counterpart Dinesh Karthik failing with the bat big time. However, the game didn't go as planned for the youngster personally as he had a very mixed game.

Pant did show why he is known to be a fearless cricketer when he sent the second ball of his International Test career into the stands for a six. He got the start but couldn't convert it big scoring 24 runs off 51 deliveries. He also took five catches behind the stumps in England's 1st innings.

In the second innings, he was sent up the order at No. 6 to add some quick runs. However, he couldn't capitalize the chance and got out scoring just one.

Later in the fourth innings, Pant also dropped Jos Buttler early in the innings when he had only scored one run.

The miss could have cost India a lot more had it not been for the position they were in as Buttler went on to score his maiden Test hundred scoring 106 runs.

However, eight catches in his debut match should be considered as an excellent performance behind the stumps.

#8 Ravichandran Ashwin (5/10)

Ashwin showed a lot of heart to bowl these many overs despite being in discomfort which was quite visible to one and all

India's best batsman in the previous test, Ashwin wasn't very comfortable on the crease while batting scoring 14 runs off 17 balls, in which he was dropped once and two of his boundaries came from edges. He was largely sitting in the dressing room during India's bowling due to a hip injury and only bowled one over in the innings.

Ashwin only came out for one ball to bat in the second innings, however, he did bowl 22.5 overs in the second innings where he dismissed last English batsman to seal the victory for India.

Ashwin showed a lot of heart to bowl these many overs despite being in discomfort which was quite visible to one and all.

#9 Ishant Sharma (7.5/10)

The Delhi lad provided the early break-throughs which the team was looking for on Day 4

Ishant didn't get to bowl before the lunch in the first innings, which surprised many. But once he got the ball post-lunch, he looked very threatening.

He opened the gates for India by picking up Alastair Cook for the 10th time in his career and then also removed Ollie Pope to put England under serious pressure.

He kept bowling in the right channels to ask the right questions from English batsmen.

In the second inning as well, the Delhi lad provided the early break-throughs which the team was looking for on Day 4.

He made Jennings to knick one to the keeper in the very first over of the day and then got his man, Cook, for the 11th time in his career.

#10 Mohammed Shami (3/10)

Mohammed Shami left a lot to be desired

In an otherwise complete performance from the Indian side, Mohammed Shami left a lot to be desired. To put it politely, it just wasn't the kind of performance that deserves a place in the starting XI. Shami was awful with the new ball in the first innings and just failed to put the English openers into any sort of trouble. However, he did pick Ben Stoke's wicket in that innings.

In the second innings as well, Shami bowled 19 overs in which he gave runs at an economy of 4.1 and picked up just 1 wicket. If Shami gets another chance in the next match, he definitely needs to up his game to justify his selection.

#11 Jasprit Bumrah (8/10)

Bumrah had a comeback to remember

Making a comeback into the side after a hand injury kept him out of the Limited Overs series as well as the first two test matches, Jasprit Bumrah, took time to find his lengths.

But his limited overs skills came in handy when he foxed Jos Buttler with a slower delivery when Buttler started to counter-attack while batting with the tail in the first innings.

Bumrah also removed Jennings earlier in the innings when he was looking comfortable at the crease.

In the second innings, Bumrah started off much better and picked up a five-wicket haul during which he broke 169 runs stand between Buttler and Ben Stokes dismissing the former lbw. Thus, completing a perfect comeback for himself and also for his team in the series.