England vs India 2018: Report Card of key players for the Test series

Let the scoreline not disguise you of what was a terrific Test series. From the magical Anderson doing his tricks to Virat Kohli thumping his authority, from the young Sam Curran's bravado to perennial Ishant Sharma wreaking havoc on English left-handers, you name it, this series had it all for cricket fans across the globe.

There were some unexpected and exceptional performances from the players on both sides but there were some poor performances too from some of the better players. So, let's see how some of the key players fared in the series.

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#1 Virat Kohli

Virat Kohli is always the talk of the town wherever he goes but when he landed in London this time around, he was still the talk of the town but for different reasons. There were murmurs amongst the media and former players that he might just struggle in England again. Well, let me tell you who can answer this question if he struggled or not. Ask Joe Root.

His battle against James Anderson throughout the series was one for the ages. You could see two masters in their prime fighting for supremacy. You might say Virat Kohli didn't get out to Jimmy even once, so he wins the battle but all those who saw this confrontation know that it was just the audience that won rather any of these two.

Virat Kohli started of his tour with a brilliant century at Edgbaston and then failing at Lord's under acute back pain and some high-class bowling. But he came back strong with a 97 and a 103 at Trent Bridge. Every time his wicket fell in the series it looked like someone pinned the balloon and everything fell apart.

Scoring 593 runs with an average of 59.3 in what were difficult batting conditions, he was outstanding and did everything he could from the batting point of view. But his poor shot dismissal in Southampton was one of the turning points of the series.

Rating - 9/10

#2 James Anderson

James Anderson after getting his 564th wicket

If you were a true cricket fan, you would have enjoyed James Anderson as much as you enjoyed Kohli. Everyone around the world witnessed the magician at his absolute best.

It was as if Anderson was justifying Cutter from The Prestige, where he says every magic trick has three parts, first is called "The Pledge", where the magician shows you something ordinary (Holding the ball with seam position towards the first slip), second part is "The Turn", where he does something extraordinary (Pushing the ball inwards with seam for an outswinger) and the third part is called "The Prestige", the hardest of them all (Swinging the ball late from leg stump to knock off Murali Vijay's off stump in Lord's Test).

With 24 wickets at an average of 18.10, we witnessed a magician at his best.

Rating - 9.5/10

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara

India missed Pujara in the first Test

Pujara was thought to be the cornerstone of this batting line up by many at the start of the series but Virat Kohli had different plans. He was surprisingly dropped from the first test, which would have been a great setback for Pujara personally and it was reflected in his game in next test at Lord's.

But as the series went on he looked better by each passing innings, though still not contributing highly with the bat until the 4th test. Pujara would be definitely looked back at this series as a missed opportunity personally to establish himself as a world-class player overseas too.

Pujara scored 279 runs at an average of 39.71 which is boosted by his brilliant 132* at Southampton. With the class of Pujara, you expect more match-winning contributions.

Rating - 6.5/10

#4 Stuart Broad

Stuart Broad after getting Virat Kohli's wicket

One of the most underrated cricketer in my opinion, with 433 test wickets Stuart Broad is a great of our game but I don't think many people realize this. Anyway, that is a debate for some other day. Stuart Broad is England's Rohit Sharma, though a more consistent one, on some days you are in awe of the man, the days when he looks head and shoulders above others but not so on other days.

Stuart Broad's fiery spell at Lord's in India's 2nd innings was one of the top moments of the series. Every time Joe Root looks for some sort of inspirational breakthrough, his eyes end up on Broad more often than not.

With 16 wickets at an average of 29.68, you would think he had a decent series but in our game statistics never tell you the complete story. He was always at the batsman from another end even if he wasn't taking wickets.

Rating - 8.5/10

#5 Ishant Sharma

Numbers don't justify Ishant Sharma's performances in this series

It took Ishant Sharma nearly 80 tests but he finally arrived at the scene. Had Ishant Sharma bowled like this since early in his career, who knows where he might have been today? Anyway, let bygones be bygones, for the moment we should celebrate what we have and we have a rejuvenated Ishant Sharma who is as lethal in bowling friendly conditions as anyone going around especially to left-handers.

Ishant has always been a great team man, bowling his heart out every time and he did the same this time around but with greater success, than he ever had. Getting mighty Cook out 11 times in his career definitely tells you that this man had the ability but just couldn't use it well enough until last few months.

Ishant Sharma was India's leading wicket-taker and in Edgbaston, he almost won the game for India had it not been for Sam Curran's brilliance. He not only took wickets but also kept pressure from another end when other bowlers were in action. With 18 wickets at 24.26, he probably had the best series of his career personally.

Rating - 9/10

#6 Joe Root

Joe Root after his hundred at Oval

At the start of the series, there was one more battle other than the Anderson/Kohli battle which everyone was looking forward to and it was Joe Root vs Virat Kohli. It was not that Joe Root had a terrible run of form and couldn't score anything but he was getting starts and throwing them away as a gift to the opposition.

As a captain, he needs to show more responsibility while batting as there were two instances where he gifted his wicket, running himself out. There was finally a century from Joe, even though it came when least required. Although he finished the series with 319 runs at an average of 35.44, you expect more from a player of his class.

Rating - 7/10

#7 Jasprit Bumrah

India missed Bumrah in the first two test matches

It can be said that Jasprit Bumrah is the first superstar from bowling category in India. He can win you matches of his own and has done so on many occasions for India in limited overs and in the IPL. It was obvious that whenever Bumrah will hold the red cherry in his hands, he will be a certain success.

If not for his injury, India might have come back with two limited-overs trophies at least. When you feel someone's absence, you know he is special. India felt it for sure. The cricketing acumen that Jasprit Bumrah has is rare.

When Bumrah finally played in the 3rd test, he was brilliant especially in the 2nd innings and the performances light up even more when you take into account the fact that he hadn't played any cricket for a month. Jasprit Bumrah with 14 wickets in just 3 matches he played was splendid to watch.

Rating - 8/10

#8 Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler after his fifty in the 4th test

If you aren't a cricketing fan and you are shown some of the IPL footage earlier this year of Jos Buttler's innings and then his batting highlights of this series, you would find it very hard to believe that it is the same guy. Sometimes you wonder if players like Buttler even know how good they are. Well, if he didn't know then he should watch his innings again and again for some time.

His innings in Trent Bridge and in Southampton were of very high class, with a great mixture of attack and defence. Some players are better than other players and Buttler is definitely better than many. With 349 runs in the series, Buttler was England's highest run scorer and a circuit breaker to few England collapses.

Rating - 8/10

#9 Mohammed Shami

Shami struggles with consistency early on in the series but found rhythm later on

There was a time when we used to call Ishant Sharma as unlucky Ishant and now I think, Shami is going through the same phase and you won't question this assertion if you have seen him bowl in this series especially in the last test match.

Shami, I think is the most skilful bowler in the test match cricket that India has ever produced. He swings it, seams it, reverses it both ways and at a high pace. But once again like Ishant, numbers don't agree with the quality of Shami. He was fabulous throughout the series, maybe a few more wickets would have done justice to him. Shami took 16 wickets in the series but those who have seen him bowl would agree that he could have ended up with 20-21 easily.

Rating - 7/10