Going by sheer averages of Team India's top-order batters in England, the visitors were never in the game after Australia posted 469 in the first innings of the WTC final
Virat Kohli (L), Rohit Sharma (R) (Pic: AFP)
TEAM India's vastly experienced top order, comprising Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane are legends in their own right, with impressive Test averages.
Kohli, a veteran of 109 Tests, boasts of an average of almost 50 (48.73), with 28 centuries to his name. Pujara, who has played 103 Tests, averages 43.61 with 19 tons. Rahane, with 83 Tests, averages almost 40 (38.97) and has picked up 12 centuries en route. Rohit, who has comparatively played much lesser Tests, 50, has an impressive average 45.22 with nine tons to his name. However, some probing into these numbers, particularly with reference to away matches in England, shows these very stalwarts in rather poor light.
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Cheteshwar Pujara (L), Ajinkya Rahane (R) (Pic: AFP)
In English conditions, Kohli averages 33.21 from 16 Tests and has scored two centuries. Pujara, who has played one Test less than Kohli in England, averages even lesser, at 29.00, with one century in the bag. Rahane has also featured in 17 Tests in England, but his average is the lowest among the top four, at 28.80, with one ton there. Skipper Rohit's average at 40.31 appears good at first glance with one century in the list, but he has played just seven Tests in England.
Considering these numbers would have been more or less the same before the WTC final at The Oval in London, the odds were clearly stacked against the visitors. And given these poor batting averages, it was almost foolhardy to expect Team India to overhaul Australia's mammoth first-innings total of 469 at the end of Day 2.
Consequently, the Indian top order made inadequate contributions in the Ultimate Test. While Rohit scored 15 and 43 and Kohli made 14 and 49, Pujara managed just 14 and 27 while Rahane notched up 89 and 49 to emerge the best of the lot.
Also Read: Can India's 'Big Three' redeem themselves after seismic defeat during WTC final?
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