Figures don't lie when it comes to hailing these India heroes of the 2016-17 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series
Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav
Ravindra Jadeja. Pics/AFP
25 wkts & 127 runs
Not only his left arm, but Ravindra Jadeja was on the whole in auto mode during the entire four-match Border-Gavaskar Test series. Twenty-five wickets, a miserly economy rate of 2.17 and an outstanding average of 18.56 with two five-wicket hauls took Jadeja to the top of the wicket-takers' list from either side. With 142 wickets, Jadeja now becomes the highest wicket-taker among left-arm bowlers in Test history after the first 30 matches, surpassing ex-India left-armer Bishan Singh Bedi. Jadeja has also provided insurance with the bat down the order. He scored 127 runs in four games at an average of 25.40.
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Cheteshwar Pujara
405 runs
Patience is a virtue, it is said, and who knows it better than Cheteshwar Pujara. Another hero from Saurashtra, Pujara's exploits with the willow has been phenomenal — 405 runs with an average of 57.85. The 29-year-old scored his third double century during the third Test in Ranchi, an innings that tested the patience of the Aussies. The 525 balls faced by Pujara en route his 202 was the longest by an Indian batsman in Tests, breaking former India skipper Rahul Dravid's 13-year record. Although he couldn't bask in the glory on the winning day at Dharamsala, thanks to a major mix-up between him and KL Rahul, Pujara stood firm like a wall in the series.
KL Rahul
393 runs
64, 10, 90, 51, 67, 60 and 51*. These are scores young KL Rahul registered in this series. While he may not have converted his starts to big scores, the 24-year-old Karnataka batsman's average of 65.50 is the best among his teammates. Only Australian captain Steven Smith (71.28) has a better average than him. Former India batsman Mohinder Amarnath (against West Indies in 1982-83) was the last Indian batsman to score more than six half-centuries in a Test series. The last batsman to do this against Australia was Graham Gooch in the 1993 Ashes.
Ravichandran Ashwin
21 wickets
Ravichandran Ashwin's four wickets in the fourth Test at Dharamsala may have been disappointing by his standards, but that does not take away the efforts the premium Chennai offie has put in the other matches. With 21 wickets in the four-match series Ashwin, whose 25th five-wicket haul in Bangalore was the cornerstone of India's turnaround, has been exceptional. The Aussies came prepared for him, but Ashwin managed to keep his economy rate below three (2.55) in the series.
Umesh Yadav
17 wickets
It was a delight for Indian fans to see Umesh Yadav steaming in to deliver hot bouncers to the Australian batsmen. The result — 17 wickets at an economy of 3.08. Such was the confidence from the Nagpur-born Umesh that he beat his previous best (14 wickets) against Australia in 2011-12. Umesh extracted full use of the Dharamsala wicket, which had true bounce and showed immense control of the ball. Even in spin-friendly conditions, his pace did the most damage during Australia's first innings. His 4-32 (in Pune) included the big wicket of David Warner.
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