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James Anderson during the Ashes tour in Australia, 2017
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Ratings | England charge to 2-0 lead in Test series with India

Michael Stafford-Jones
Cricket

By Michael Stafford-Jones

  • Sam Curran shines with bat and ball as England win gripping First Test
  • Virat Kohli scores 149 and 51 for India in a losing cause
  • Chris Woakes and James Anderson perform superbly as England thrash India in Second Test.
LORD’S, ENGLAND – Sam Curran, Chris Woakes and James Anderson produce stunning performances to fire England into a 2-0 lead in their Test series with India.

 

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England

 

Keaton Jennings – 5/10 – Started the series promisingly with 42 in the first innings at Edgbaston but has failed to impress since with scores of 8 and 11.

Alastair Cook – 3/10 – Dismissed cheaply by Ashwin in both innings at Edgbaston but looked better in his 21 at Lord’s. He needs to make a significant score in the series to avoid pesky questions about retirement.

Joe Root – 7/10 – He is growing as a captain all the time and he compiled an excellent 80 at Edgbaston before he was run out.

Dawid Malan – 3/10 – He has been in poor form ever since England left Australia and he was dropped after he scored 8 and 20 at Edgbaston.

Ollie Pope – 6/10 – Made a promising debut innings of 28 at Lord’s and also seems to be an excellent fielder.

Jonny Bairstow – 8/10 – He scored 70 at Edgbaston and 93 at Lord’s and is England’s best batsman in the series so far and the second-highest run-scorer behind Virat Kohli.

Ben Stokes – 7/10 – Took two wickets in the first innings at Edgbaston and then produced a match-winning spell of 4-40 in the second innings. Did not score many runs with the bat and missed Lord’s due to his court case.

Jos Buttler – 3/10 – Endured a miserable match with the bat at Edgbaston as he was out for 0 and 1. He improved to make 24 at Lord’s but needs to step up in the rest of the series.

Chris Woakes – 9/10 – At Lord’s, the Warwickshire star produced the kind of performance players dream of. He hit his maiden Test hundred (137 not out) and took two wickets in each innings (including Kohli).

Sam Curran – 8/10 – His wonderful performance at Edgbaston included 4-74 in the first innings with the ball and 63 with the bat. At Lord’s, he blazed a quick-fire 40 and bowled Karthik with a glorious inswinger.

Adil Rashid – 6/10 – Finished off the tail in both innings at Edgbaston and scored 16 during a crucial partnership with Curran. He was not required with bat or ball at Lord’s.

Stuart Broad – 6/10 – Came to the party in the second innings at Lord’s when he ripped through India’s middle order to take 4-44. He also dismissed both openers in the second innings at Edgbaston.

James Anderson – 9/10 – Took 2 wickets in each innings at Edgbaston and then produced a magnificent display of world-class swing bowling at Lords to finish with match figures of 9-43.

 

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India

Murali Vijay – 1/10 – He looks all at sea against England’s seamers and scores of 20, 6, 0 and 0 do not make for pretty reading.

Shikhar Dhawan – 5/10 – Dropped after making 26 and 13 at Edgbaston before getting out to loose shots.

KL Rahul – 1/10 – He is struggling badly in unfamiliar conditions as his scores of 4, 13, 8 and 10 demonstrate.

Virat Kohli – 8/10 – Single-handedly put his team in contention at Edgbaston with brilliant innings of 149 and then followed it with 51 in the second innings. He was dismissed for 23 and 17 at Lord’s.

Ajinkya Rahane – 2/10 – He has looked good at the crease to begin with but keeps getting out by wafting at deliveries outside off-stump. He has scored 15, 2, 18 and 13.

Hardik Pandya – 5/10 – He has been India’s second-best batsman so far. He nearly guided his team to victory with 31 at Edgbaston and has also made scores of 22 and 26. He has also taken 3 wickets but the visitors need more from him if they are to get back into the series.

Dinesh Karthik – 3/10 – Produced a good rear-guard knock of 20 off 50 balls in the second innings at Edgbaston but has only scored 1 run in his other three innings.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 7/10 – He bowled superbly at Edgbaston to take 4-62 and 3-59. He then bowled economically in unhelpful spinning conditions at Lord’s and contributed 29 and 33 with the bat.

Mohammed Shami – 6/10 – Took 3 wickets in the first innings at both Edgbaston and Lord’s and has always looked a threat to the English batsmen.

Ishant Sharma – 5/10 – Almost propelled India to victory with stunning spell of 5-51 in the second innings at Edgbaston. However, he has looked innocuous in England’s other innings.

Umesh Yadav – 4/10 – Produced an inconsistent display with the ball as he took 3 wickets at Edgbaston and was dropped for Lord’s. He may return at Trent Bridge.

Kuldeep Yadav – 2/10 – Proved to be an unwise and completely ineffective selection for a match at Lord’s on a pitch unsuited to spinners as he ended wicketless.

The Third Test between England and India begins at 11am at Trent Bridge on Saturday 18th August.

 

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