The Positives and the Downsides for the Indian Test Team in 2018

The Downsides

1. The vacancy at the top of the order

All the Indian openers were consistent in being inconsistent

Both the Indian openers Murali Vijay and KL Rahul had a torrid time this year as most of the matches were played abroad. Apart from scoring a big hundred in an inconsequential Test match at Oval, Rahul struggled to survive at the crease with his apparent technical deficiencies. In almost all the matches, he was either out bowled or leg before wicket.

Other than scoring a hundred against newcomer Afghanistan, Vijay failed to score a single 50 in the other matches. Shikhar Dhawan did not do any better. The continuous failure of the Indian openers right through the year put a lot of pressure on the Indian middle-order.