Every player rated from the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test: Boland, Beau brilliance shows the Shield still matters

seo 0

https://ift.tt/B0xpTre RoarJanuary 05, 2025 at 05:48AMhttps://s.w.org/images/core/emoji/13.1.0/72x72/270d.png

For the first time since March 2017, Australia hold the Border-Gavaskar Trophy – another marvellous achievement for Pat Cummins and his all-conquering team.

It wasn’t always easy in Sydney, on a seam-friendly wicket where a flat track would have been welcome with Australia only needing a draw to claim the series.

But the brilliance of Scott Boland with the ball and debutant Beau Webster with the bat, plus a crucial injury to Jasprit Bumrah, were enough for victory, with plenty of jitters overcome in a small but tough run chase to cruise to an eventually comfortable win.

It means a World Test Championship final date with South Africa is secured for the Aussies, while the 3-1 series win means Australia now hold every single Test trophy available to them – along with the World Cup.

What a comeback after a nightmare in Perth to kick off the summer!

Here are The Roar’s player ratings for the fifth Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

More Cricket

Cricket

Australia

Sam Konstas – 4

Has any player divided opinion two Tests into their career quite as much as Konstas?

A pair of 20s at the SCG are about as good as any Australian opener has had it this summer, while his ultra-aggressive approach – including another reverse-ramp off Bumrah – succeeded in briefly knocking India’s quicks off their line in both innings.

But the manner of his dismissal on Day 3, wildly slogging across the line in a tight run-chase, will only add fuel to the growing chorus of calls for him to tone down his style.

SERIES GRADE – 6.5

Usman Khawaja – 6.5

Looked at his classy best in the second innings at a time of great need for Australia, working well off his pads, showing much-improved judgement outside his off stump and scoring 41 vital runs in bowler-friendly conditions to steady the ship after a collapse.

Konstas dominated the headlines for his first-day confrontation with Bumrah, but it all could have been avoided had Khawaja not played the last ball of the day about as poorly as he could have, poking at the ball with zero footwork.

184 runs at 20.44, nevertheless, is a poor summer, and with Travis Head likely to open in Sri Lanka, could it be Khawaja and not Konstas who makes way for his move up the order?

SERIES GRADE – 3

Marnus Labuschagne – 1

It was feast in Melbourne and famine in Sydney for Labuschagne, who continued his extraordinary run of scoring either below 16 or above 60 that dates back to the 2023 Ashes – and left his spot once again in jeopardy.

Copped a Bumrah beauty in the first innings, but fenced at a wide one in the second to be caught at gully – precisely the dismissal he took umbrage with David Warner saying was a weakness earlier in the summer.

Has made key runs at tough times, but an average of 25.78 for the series is well below what you’d want for a No.3, and Nathan McSweeney especially will be coming hard for his spot if he can’t make runs in Sri Lanka.

SERIES GRADE – 4

Steve Smith – 4

If you’d told the world Smith, looking assured as ever midway through Day 2, would end this match one short of becoming the fourth Australian to reach 10,000 Tests runs, no one would have believed you.

Along with Beau Webster, partially salvaged an early collapse in Australia’s first innings, but was done by extra bounce from Prasidh Krishna in the second, not helped by his decision to come a long way forward to face him.

Loses a mark for a pair of poor drops in the slips cordon – a dolly to spare Jadeja on Day 1, and a shelled one-hander off the same batter on Day 3 that he should have left for Khawaja.

SERIES GRADE – 7.5

Travis Head – 7

Continued his horror run of scores with a three-ball 4 in the first innings, but when Australia needed him most, Head stepped up.

Coming in with Australia 3/58 in their run chase and in a spot of bother, Head played within himself to whittle down the target in singles and twos, hitting just four boundaries in his unbeaten 34 yet still going at nearly a run a ball.

The best batter this series on either side, his ton in Adelaide turned the series on its head. Long live Trav.

SERIES GRADE – 8

Beau Webster – 9

The best Test debut by an Australian since Scott Boland’s 6/7 – and the biggest victory for the Sheffield Shield’s standing in decades.

Having plundered first-class runs over the last two summers, Webster’s composure, ability to negate the spicy conditions and rock-solid technique stood out almost as much as his glorious cover-drives.

Add to that his sprightly, persistent seam-up bowling and safe hands in the cordon, and the Tasmanian showed he’s the complete package, and well and truly at home at Test level.

Webster got through more overs than Mitchell Marsh has in a Test since 2019, while his batting was orders of magnitude better than the out-of-form Western Australian’s, justifying the bold call to bring him in with the series on the line.

If that wasn’t enough, his partnership with Head on Day 3 to turn a difficult run chase into a stroll in the park was another vindication for bringing in cool-headed veterans with experience galore.

Cameron Green’s impending return from injury will crowd the race for the all-rounder spot, but the 31-year old will certainly be on the tour to Sri Lanka – and frankly, should merit his spot in the middle order for his batting alone.

Alex Carey (wk) – 5.5

Again blew a start with the bat after getting set – and his dismissal, bowled through the gate by Prasidh Krishna, was an ugly look – but once again Carey was immaculate in his primary role.

While there was little spin to work with, his willingness to come up to the stumps to Boland was invaluable to deny India the chance to walk at him with impunity, while his sharp ears were key in removing Washington Sundar on Day 1 after he convinced Pat Cummins to review.

SERIES GRADE – 5.5

Pat Cummins (c) – 7.5

Not quite at the level of his Boxing Day Test heroics, but the skipper was still exceptional in Sydney, especially in India’s second innings as the visitors threatened to take control.

Outfoxed Rishabh Pant to end his swashbuckling cameo while repeatedly pulling the right reins as captain, and took out Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar early on Day 3 to ensure Australia wouldn’t be chasing much more than 150.

SERIES GRADE – 9

Mitchell Starc – 5

Came into the match under an injury cloud, and especially on Day 2, it showed.

Effective as ever on Day 1 with three wickets and looked menacing after finding reverse-swing, but was clattered for 16 runs in a ghastly opening over by Yashasvi Jaiswal in India’s second innings, and in friendly bowling conditions, leaking 36 runs from four overs meant he couldn’t be trusted to bowl again.

His once-handy batting has declined appreciably, too, finishing the series with an average of just 13.85.

SERIES GRADE – 7.5

Roar editor Christy Doran made the trip to Seattle with VisitSeattle.org, diving into the city’s electric sports vibe, outdoor adventures, and renowned food scene. Click here for his latest adventure in the Emerald City.

Nathan Lyon – 4

Similar to Adelaide, seam-friendly conditions left Lyon all but surplus to requirements in Sydney, a ground he has an excellent record at.

Was given just six overs in India’s first innings despite winkling out Shubman Gill before lunch, but for the second time this series wasn’t granted a bowl in the tourists’ second.

For all Lyon’s greatness, finishes the series with just nine wickets at 36.88 – his worst home summer since India’s last tour in 2020/21.

SERIES GRADE – 4

Scott Boland – 9.5

Utterly magnificent.

The stats are one thing – hauls of four and six wickets gave Boland his first first-class ten-for – but his metronomic accuracy, prodigious movement off the seam and unrelenting approach made him a nightmare for any Indian not brave enough to try belting him off his line.

Took out four of India’s top seven in the first innings, all to catches in the cordon, and his ball to dismiss Jaiswal in the second innings was just about the best of the summer – and a crucial strike after a 42-run opening stand that threatened to take the game away from Australia.

Was far too good for Kohli in both innings, once again exploiting his weaknesses outside off stump.

Is now surely in Australia’s first-choice pace trio ahead of Josh Hazlewood – with Cummins likely to miss a chunk of the Sri Lankan series on paternity leave, does he beat out Starc for what is likely to be a sole seamer’s spot in a spin-friendly attack?

SERIES GRADE – 9

India

Yashasvi Jaiswal – 3.5

Looked set to take the game away from Australia after smashing Starc for 16 in the first over of India’s second innings, but his promising knock was ended by a Boland peach.

More accomplished batters than he would have fallen to either ball Boland sent down to get him out in Sydney, so there’s no disgrace to his twin low scores to end a hugely impressive series – and taking two sharp catches in Australia’s first innings would have been blessed relief after his fielding nightmare in Melbourne.

SERIES GRADE – 7.5

KL Rahul – 2.5

For all the gains he has made this series – displacing Rohit Sharma as opener chief among them – Rahul ends the summer with an average of 30.66, well in the mediocre range he has occupied throughout his career.

Gifted his wicket with a poorly timed clip off Starc straight to mid-wicket on Day 1, while Boland’s nip-backer was too good in the second innings

Gets a bonus point for some excellent catching in the slips cordon, where he looks easily India’s best pair of hands – until hurting his finger on the toughest of low catches on Day 3.

SERIES GRADE – 6

Shubman Gill – 3

Just 33 runs for the Test for the developing young gun – though probably 25 more than what Sharma would have managed had he not made way.

It has been a series of frustrating starts for Gill, who again got himself set twice at the SCG before being worked over – his decision to charge at Lyon on the last ball before lunch on Day 1 a rush of blood to the head neither he nor coach Gautam Gambhir would have been thrilled about.

SERIES GRADE – 3.5

Virat Kohli – 2.5

Certainly Kohli’s last Test down under – and possibly his last ever – this was an ignominious end for one of Australia’s prime tormentors over the last decade.

Was dismissed in near-identical fashion in both innings by Boland, and in familiar style: good length outside off, a hint of movement, and unable to resist chasing the ball and giving the slips cordon catching practice.

Lucky to not fall for a first-ball duck on Day 1 after a controversial third umpire reprieve, but gets a bonus half-mark for his work as captain on Day 2, managing the bowlers far better than Sharma had done to help earn India a shock first innings lead.

SERIES GRADE – 3

Rishabh Pant (wk) – 8.5

With the series on the line, the match on a knife’s edge and his team four down and in trouble on a seaming pitch, Pant’s 33-ball 61, in the process nearly breaking his own record for the fastest Indian Test 50, must be one of the most extraordinary knocks ever.

Having reined himself in on Day 1 to the point of wearing blow after blow to the body during a bloody-minded but successful 40, Pant counterpunched like he has so many times in his glittering career on Day 2 to, briefly, leave Australia without answers and India with their noses in front.

For all the criticism of his at times brainless style, few players in the world can bat like the Indian wicketkeeper, and the audacity to pump everyone from Starc to Boland to Webster over the fences for six right from ball one can only be respected.

101 runs for the Test made him clearly the most successful batter on a bowler-dominated pitch, and Australia will be thankful that Day 2 burst is about the only time this series their long-term nemesis has got the better of them.

SERIES GRADE – 6

Ravindra Jadeja – 3.5

Once the most valuable cricketer in the world, Jadeja’s diminishing returns in Tests were made manifest in Sydney.

Given just three overs with the ball as India’s seamers took centre stage, he finishes the series with just four wickets at over 50 apiece; while with the bat, a man who was once a silky counterpuncher capable of taking games away from opposition at breakneck pace was reduced to a strokeless wonder for large periods.

Faced 138 balls for the Test – more than any Indian – and with Ravichandran Ashwin having retired, it would be a surprise to see Jadeja not remain the team’s number one spinner in more helpful conditions.

SERIES GRADE – 4

Nitish Kumar Reddy – 5

Having shone with the bat and done next to nothing with the ball across the first four Tests, Reddy reversed the polarities in Sydney.

Still sparingly bowled, he nipped out two key wickets – Cummins and Starc – with good seam movement and accuracy to help India take a first innings lead.

Still, with just eight overs for the match, it remains questionable whether Reddy is a Test-level all-rounder, and scores of 0 and 4 with the bat continue his downward slide since his spectacular ton in Melbourne.

SERIES GRADE – 7.5

Washington Sundar – 3

You have to wonder what the point was of playing Sundar as a second spinner, given he was used even less than in Melbourne.

In conditions that benefitted the quicks, bowled just one over – the last of the game – while scores of 14 and 12 with the bat weren’t enough to make up for it, even if he did keep the Aussies at bay twice.

It will be interesting to see whether he replaces Ashwin as India’s second spinner when next they play a home Test, or whether a superior bowler such as Axar Patel will be given a shot first.

SERIES GRADE – 4.5

Prasidh Krishna – 8

The pick of India’s quicks, it was Krishna who stepped up big time when Jasprit Bumrah was struck down by injury, taking three middle-order wickets to spark a collapse.

Finding exceptional bounce out of the SCG surface, the young quick twice denied Steve Smith the chance to reach 10,000 Test runs.

With three more wickets on the final day to single-handedly threaten to bowl Australia out, was probably India’s best in Sydney – though his waywardness bowling at Travis Head and Beau Webster showed he still has much to learn.

Jasprit Bumrah (c) – 6.5

Who knows how Australia’s final-day chase (and indeed their first innings) would have panned out had Bumrah not succumbed to injury.

Having bowled at his brilliant best late on Day 1 and early on Day 2 to see the back of Khawaja and Labuschagne – and provoke another round of barbs with Sam Konstas – Bumrah’s departure from the field midway through the second day and inability to bowl in Australia’s second innings were brutal, series-deciding blows.

Finishes one of the great bowling series in Australia with 32 wickets – the most ever by an Indian in Australia – at just 13.06. Simply couldn’t have done any more for his side.

SERIES GRADE – 9.5

Sports opinion delivered daily 

   

Mohammed Siraj – 6

Siraj’s series in a nutshell – a burst of brilliance around sustained mediocrity.

Broke Australia open on the morning of Day 2 with a double-wicket over, taking out Labuschagne and Head – but aside from that, was comfortably handled in both innings, and lost the plot entirely on the third day with some horrid bowling to gift Australia free runs galore.

Having broken out in 2020/21, Siraj’s return down under was one he’d love to forget, despite his 20 wickets for the series.

SERIES GRADE – 6.5

Tim Millerhttps://https://ift.tt/brMDaV8 player rated from the fifth Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test: Boland, Beau brilliance shows the Shield still matters
Tags

Post a Comment

إرسال تعليق

أحدث أقدم