A very good match for India overall with lots of positives.
Murli Vijay: For the first time he impressed me with his batting even though he didn't make a big score. I think Stinky mentioned couple of pages ago that he was leaving the ball really ball at the start of the inning and trying to reduce the shine of the ball.
Shikhar Dhawan: Shikhar Dhawan was scratchy but that is just because his aggressive style of batting. I think he needs to be a bit more watchful at the start of the inning rather than throwing his bat at everything. I still don't think he has problem with the short ball but just needs to l
Cheteshwar Pujara: He was absolutely brilliant. He is India's best test batsman and proved it again. He missed out in the first inning when he was looking very settled but made up for it in the second inning.
Virat Kohli: Excellent batting from Kohli and he was also leaving the ball very well. He missed the century in the second inning but still was looking very good. Hopefully he can continue with his form.
Rohit Sharma: Rohit Sharma looked very shaky which I did not expect him. I think he has decent technique to survive against moving ball but he did not display that in either innings. Going for a flashy drive outside the off stump when the ball is swinging is a bit foolish move but I am still hoping he can do well in the 2nd test.
Ajinkya Rahane: He played very well in the first inning. He made those crucial 47 runs in the first inning but was unfortunate to get a beauty from Philander. I can't blame him in the second inning because he was just trying to add quick runs.
MS Dhoni: He is mentally very strong and that helps him to survive even when he does not good have technique. He has a weakness outside the off stump with the ball swinging away from him. He usually edges it to slips or wicket keeper. However, he tried to adjust it with taking guard on off stump and trying to charge the bowlers every time.
Ravi Ashwin: Very poor bowling from Ashwin. He is not getting enough wickets to support the fast bowlers. Even though his batting is good but he has to take wickets to support fast bowlers. I still think they should give Ojha chance in the next game.
Zaheer Khan: A very good comeback for Zaheer Khan. He bowled very well in the first inning where he got Smith out and than cleaned up the tail rather quickly. In second inning however, he was very ineffective with the new ball. I am not sure if the pitch was assisting him enough but did not look well in the second inning. Maybe it is because of the amount of overs that he had to bowl. It is good to see him 300 wickets club now.
Ishant Sharma: Probably the best Indian bowler in this test match. Nobody expected him to do well but he surprisingly did very well. He got some assistance from the pitch in the first inning and caused that collapse. Again, in the second inning, he looked ineffective but he was not getting assistance form the surface which helped him in the first inning. However, as commentrators said, he bowled with a big heart and ran in everytime he had the ball in his hand. It was good to see him bowling that way.
Shami Ahmed: Again very impressive bowling from Shami. He is good with the new ball but he is even more lethal once the ball starts reversing. He bowls at very good length and forces the batsman to play most of the time. His ability to swing the new ball both way was also good to see.
For the next game, I would bring Ojha in place of Ashwin. I think Ojha deserves a chance outside subcontinent. I am pretty sure if the pitch offers some bounce, he will be very handy. Of course it won't give us that extra batsman in Ashwin but the way we have batted in this test match, I don't think we need any batting after Dhoni.
