Report card: India unbeaten in 16 series at home across formats

Virat Kohli leads with 2062 runs in Tests, 986 in ODIs and 451 in Twenty20.

Skipper Virat Kohli has led the batting honours list in this 20-Test period, scoring 2,062 runs at a remarkable average of 71.10 with seven centuries and four half centuries.

 

All the kerfuffle following South Africa’s thrashing of India by 214 runs in the fifth and final one-day international at the Wankhede Stadium here and the 2-3 series loss in the 2015 series is a thing of the past now. Since that massive defeat, India has had a good run of 16 consequent undefeated series across all formats at home over a period of 25 months.

India has won 15 series (six Test series, five ODI series and four Twenty20 series) and drawn one. The Twenty20 series against Australia two months ago ended in a draw with the third match at Hyderabad being abandoned without the toss taking place due to rain.

Read: Rohit steals the show in maiden series as captain

Two years ago, the coach of the Indian team Ravi Shastri was annoyed with the Wankhede pitch in charge, Sudhir Naik, for not making a ‘slow turner’; the strip allowed South Africa to plunder 438 runs for the loss of four wickets. It was entertainment of the highest class with Quinton de Kock cutting loose to make 109, Faf du Plessis 133 and A.B. de Villiers 119 and South Africa scoring at a rate of 8.76 an over. In reply, India was all out for 224 in 35.5 overs.

Two years ago, the coach of the Indian team Ravi Shastri (left) was annoyed with the Wankhede pitch in charge, Sudhir Naik, for not making a ‘slow turner’; the strip allowed South Africa to plunder 438 runs for the loss of four wickets

 

The fact that the Future Tours Programmes (FTP) scheduled a long list of home series enabled the Indian team to show its mettle and prove to the cricketing world that it’s hard to beat at home. The good run started with a 3-0 win against the Hashim Amla-led South Africa, the ICC deemed the pitch prepared for the third Test in Nagpur as ‘poor’. The Test match had ended within three days, with off spinner Ravichandran Ashwin taking 5 for 32 and 7 for 66.

Ashwin has remained India’s linchpin taking 125 wickets at 22.22 from 20 Tests with left arm spinner, Ravindra Jadeja a close second at 104 wickets at 20.47 from 20 Tests. India dismissed 361 batsmen at 25.21 in this particular phase that started with the first Test against South Africa in New Delhi. Ashwin and Jadeja are followed by Umesh Yadav, 40, Mohammed Shami 27, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma, 18 each, Amit Mishra 12, Jayant Yadav 11, Kuldeep Yadav 4 and Varun Aaron, 2.

Skipper Virat Kohli has led the batting honours list in this 20-Test period, scoring 2,062 runs at a remarkable average of 71.10 with seven centuries and four half centuries. He is followed by Cheteshwar Pujara (20 Tests, 1807 runs at 56.47 with five centuries and ten half centuries), Murali Vijay (18 Tests, 1273 runs at 42.43 with five centuries and four half centuries), Ajinkya Rahane (18 Tests, 1001 runs at 35.75 with three centuries and as many half centuries), K.L.Rahul (11 Tests, 794 runs at 46.71 with one century and seven half centuries).

While India played 20 Test matches and lost only one Test, falling to left arm spinner Steve O’Keefe — who took 12 wickets and as a result losing to Australia by a whopping 333 runs in Pune in February — the Indian team lost three ODIs to New Zealand (3), England (1), Australia (1) and Sri Lanka (1) and four Twenty20 matches — to Sri Lanka (1), England (1), Australia (1) and New Zealand (1).

India’s top batsman in the ODI format, starting with series against New Zealand in October 2016, has been Kohli, who has an aggregate of 986 runs at 70.34, including four hundreds and as many fifties. He is followed by Rohit Sharma (810 runs in 16 matches at 54.00) with three centuries and three fifties, M.S. Dhoni (597 runs in 19 matches at 39.80) with one ton and three half-centuries, Kedar Jadhav (490 runs in 16 matches at 44.25) with one century and two half-centuries, Hardik Pandya (454 runs in 18 matches at 37.83) with three half-centuries and Rahane (388 runs in 11 matches at 35.27) with five half-centuries.

From left: Hardik Pandya, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey and Jasprit Bumrah at a training session.

 

The ODI wicket takers have been Jasprit Bumrah (26 at 29.88), Pandya (21 at 34.62), Yuzvendra Chahal (16 at 25.75), Amit Mishra (15 at 14.33), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (14 at 39.64), Umesh Yadav (13 at 28.46) and Kuldeep Yadav (11 at 28.73).

In Twenty20, Chahal leads the bowling list with 20 from 10 matches.

 

Kohli has been the No.1 batsman in Twenty20, scoring 451 runs from 13 matches, Rohit, 418 from 16 matches, Dhoni, 349 from 19 matches, K.L. Rahul 255 from 6 matches and Shikhar Dhawan 253 from 12 matches. Chahal leads the bowling list with 20 from 10 matches, Bumrah 18 from 18, Pandya 13 from 19, Ashish Nehra 13 from 12 and Ashwin 13 from 8.