Player ratings for India vs Sri Lanka 1st Test

Three things that played their part at the Eden Gardens. Rain, India and Sri Lanka. Both the teams played really well and in the end, it was India that extracted much of the positives.

Had the rain not played a spoilsport for a couple of days, it would have been a different result altogether. The first match between India and Sri Lanka ended in a draw that had lot of thrills and chills in the end.

India

#1. Lokesh Rahul – 7/10

Despite scoring a duck on the first ball of first innings, he made an impressive 79 in the second innings. Many still feel that he hasn’t converted the doubles to triples.

He put on a solid 166-run rapport with Shikhar Dhawan that helped India to essay slick flow of runs.

#2. Shikhar Dhawan – 8/10

Shikhar Dhawan also turned up in the second innings. He deserved a century for sure but was unfortunate to get out on 94. He constructed a good partnership with Rahul.

#3. Cheteshwar Pujara – 8/10

Pujara is India’s dependent utility batsman. He scored his 16th half-century in the first innings and also became the third Indian to have batted for five days.

#4. Virat Kohli (c) – 8/10

The Indian skipper might not have got clicked in the first but he certainly did it in the second innings where he scored his 18th Test century.

#5. Ajinkya Rahane – 1/10

Rahane’s form in the first Test is surely a concern. His single digit scores of 4 and 0 in the first and second innings is something that he needs to think over it.

#6. Ravindra Jadeja – 2/10

Ravindra Jadeja bowled just a couple of overs overall in the match. He wasn’t given much of the opportunity to bowl. He didn’t any wicket either.

#7.Ravichandran Ashwin – 2/10

Just like Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin’s presence didn’t have much impact on the game. It was the game when Kohli trusted seamers more than the spinners.

Ashwin bowled just 8 overs and picked no wickets. He was not brought back into the attack in the second innings.

#8. Wriddhiman Saha (wk) – 5/10

A decent 29 in India’s 172 in the first innings was something decent. Apart from that, he was far from being impressive. He was involved in three dismissals as a wicketkeeper.

#9. Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 9.5/10

Spot on from the word go and was economical even in the Test match just like he is a practitioner in bowling the dots. He was splendid throughout the match. He picked eight wickets overall. Four in the first and four in the second.

#10. Mohammed Shami – 8.5/10

Struggled to get going initially but once he got into the groove, he made sure no Lankan batsman flexed their muscles as Shami kept his line and lengths tight. Shami picked four wickets in the 1st innings whereas picked two in the second.

#11. Umesh Yadav – 8/10

Umesh Yadav might not have picked more wickets like Bhuvi or Shami. But, he picked three important wickets so far. He got the well-set batsmen Thirimanne and Mathews in the 1st innings and got Mathews again in the second innings.

Sri Lanka

#1. Sadeera Samarawickrama – 4/10

Having scored 23 in the first innings and a duck in the second, he still has to justify his selection may be in the second game.

#2. Dimuth Karunaratne – 2/10

He failed to convert the single digit to good scores. His scores read 8 and 1 in first and second innings.

#3. Lahiru Thirimanne – 5/10

Thirimanne proved to be productive in the first innings with his 51 but didn’t help the team as he got out on a mediocre 7 runs.

#4. Angelo Mathews – 5/10

Mathews was quite good with the bat in the first innings with his 52 runs but scored just 12 runs in the second innings. Both the times he got out on Umesh Yadav’s deliveries.

#5. Dinesh Chandimal (c) – 3/10

The Lankan skipper got some scores of 28 and 20 to his name. He didn’t hang out there much like Mathews or Thirimanne did.

#6. Niroshan Dickwella (wk) – 5/10

He chipped in with decent scores of 35 and 27 respectively. He did his best in the slot. He was involved in three dismissals as a wicketkeeper.

#7. Dasun Shanaka – 7/10

Shanaka was good with the ball as he picked 5 wickets.

#8. Dilruwan Perera

Dilruwan Perera picked up three wickets to his name.

#9. Rangana Herath – 7/10

Herath might not have picked wickets to his name but he registered a good score of 67 to his name to help Sri Lanka in the first innings.

#10. Suranga Lakmal – 9/10

Lakmal was the top-notch bowler for Sri Lanka from the word go. He picked 7 wickets overall.