India vs Australia Test Series Report Card

India edged out Australia in another highly-entertaining Border Gavaskar series to maintain their dominant record at home in red ball cricket. It was a closely-contested series between the top two Test-playing nations in the world, with plenty of outstanding performances from the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin, Virat Kohli, and Usman Khawaja over the four matches, and here is our report card for the series.

Ravindra Jadeja – 8/10

Ravindra Jadeja made his long-awaited return to the Test arena against Australia, and the all-rounder played a starring role in India’s series victory. Although Jadeja’s impact with the bat waned as the series went on in the tricky spinning conditions, the all-rounder was worth his weight in gold with the ball. Jadeja picked up 22 scalps at an average of 18.8 and was the most threatening bowler amongst the Indians against Australia’s two premier batters, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne.

Usman Khawaja – 8/10

Usman Khawaja was the pick of the batters across both sides in the Border-Gavaskar series, with the left-hander showing tremendous applications against a world-class spin trio in challenging conditions. Khawaja finished the series as the highest run-getter, scoring 333 runs in seven innings, which included a match-winning half-century in Indore and a gritty 180 in the final Test in Ahmedabad.

Axar Patel – 8/10

Axar Patel continued to prove his worth with both bat and ball in the longest format for the Men in Blue in the Border-Gavaskar series. Although Patel picked up only three wickets across the four matches, the left-armer had the best economy rate amongst all bowlers in the series. Additionally, Patel displayed remarkable improvements with the bat, particularly against the spinners, and was the only Indian to score three 50+ scores in the series.

Ravichandran Ashwin – 8.5/10

Ravichandran Ashwin won his 10th man of the series award in Test cricket against Australia and the all-rounder finished the series as the highest wicket-taker, picking up 25 scalps at an average of 17.28. Ashwin spun India to victory with his fifer in the first Test in Nagpur and was also the most disciplined and effective bowler across both sides on the benign batting surface in Ahmedabad.

Virat Kohli – 6/10

Virat Kohli finished the series as India’s highest run-getter, scoring 297 runs at an average of 49.5, but it was far from plain sailing for the former India captain against Australia. Although Kohli lit up the fourth Test with a majestic century, the number four managed just 111 runs in the first three Tests of the tour and struggled to contend with the spinning tracks and the quality of Australia’s spinners, Nathan Lyon and Todd Murphy.