England vs India 2018: Top 5 individual batting performances in the series

The Test series between England and India has ended with the scoreline reading 4-1 in the former's favor. This scoreline, however, does not do justice to the fact that it was a very closely contested series. There had been many instances in the series where if India could have capitalized on key moments, they would have been on the winning side.

A key highlight of this series has been batting failures from both sides (especially the top order). None of the batsmen seemed to be able to tackle the swinging ball and hence we witnessed far too many batting collapses in the series. This is evident from the fact that there was only one instance where a team scored more than 400 in an innings, in a 5 match series.

There seemed to be only one batsman who looked like consistently getting a big score. Look at the leading run scorers in the series and you will see a massive gap between number 1 and number 2. Alastair Cook and KL Rahul, who had a dismal series coming into the last match, got into the top 5 simply by their performance in one match.

Hence it is important to highlight the best batting performances in a series dominated by the bowlers. Some may not necessarily be big scores but may have changed the course of a match.

Honorable mentions:

1. Chris Woakes- 137(177), Lord's
2. Jos Butler- 106(176), Trent Bridge
3. Virat Kohli's both innings at Trent Bridge
4. Ravindra Jadeja- 86*(156), The Oval
5. Alastair Cook- 147(286), The Oval
6. Joe Root- 125(190), The Oval
7. Rishabh Pant- 114(146), The Oval

#5: KL Rahul - 149 (224), The Oval

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Five

This might very well have been the knock that saved Rahul's career. He reminded everyone why he was in the team in the first place. He played some exquisite shots that many would not have thought can be played in a Test match.

Whenever a team is chasing a mammoth target like 463 with only 1 day remaining, you expect them to play for a draw. But when Rahul and Pant were batting it seemed like they were going for the win. It took a peach of a delivery from Adil Rashid to dismiss Rahul. Since this knock came in a dead rubber where the pressure was not as much, it prevents this innings from ranking any higher.

#4: Sam Curran - 63 (65), Edgbaston

England v India: Specsavers 1st Test - Day Three\

In the second innings of the first Test match, England started off with a lead of just 13 runs. They were looking to put up a large total to defend in the last innings. But at the fall of the seventh wicket, they only had a lead of 100 runs to show. India would have been very happy as their chasing record overseas was very poor.

But then Sam Curran threw caution to the wind and starting attacking the Indian bowlers as he had realized that he did not have enough time left to bat with the tail. In the end, this innings proved to be the difference between the two sides as India lost by just 31 runs.

#3 Cheteshwar Pujara - 132* (257), The Ageas Bowl

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Two

This was a long time coming for Chetheswar Pujara. There were doubts over his defensive approach and his overseas capability. But he silenced his critics with this knock. This was a similar innings to Kohli's hundred in the first Test (which I will get to later), as, during the later stages of the innings, he batted with the tail and farmed the strike, which he did beautifully.

This was also an uncharacteristic knock, as he was forced to go for the big hits because he was batting with the tail. I would have never imagined Pujara coming down the track and hitting Stuart Broad over long on.

#2: Sam Curran - 78 (136), The Ageas Bowl

England v India: Specsavers 4th Test - Day Four

After they had England reeling at 86/6 in the first innings after being asked to bowl first, the Indians would have been licking their lips at the thought of gaining a huge first innings lead.

But young Sam Curran had other ideas. He literally took the series away from India's grasp. He was batting at that frustrating time for the fielding side where the bowlers expect to get easy wickets, and the opening batsmen are ready to go and bat. Curran's counter-attack just summed up the series for India.

#1: Virat Kohli - 149 (225), Edgbaston

England v India: Specsavers 1st Test - Day Two

There is a reason that many claim Virat Kohli to be the best batsman in the world currently. Look no further than this innings at Edgbaston to back up that claim.

After having a disastrous tour to England in 2014, Kohli looked like a man on a mission to write his wrongs. And he got right into business in the first Test match itself. He farmed the strike for most of his partnerships with the tail and single-handedly ate into the lead of the Englishmen to eventually reach his century.

In my opinion, this is the best innings that Kohli had played just because of the fact that he toiled hard for the first 50 runs, watching wickets fall at the other end while weathering the Anderson storm. He had his fair share of luck, but he capitalized on that luck, which is what good players do. In the end, England's lead was brought down to a paltry 13 runs, opening up the game for India to come back in the second innings.

This was better than Pujara's innings because while Pujara had a batsman at the other end during his initial phase to settle down, Kohli had to bat with the lower order for most of his innings.

This was a defining series for the batsmen in a series dominated by the ball. There is no doubt that Pujara, Rahul, Pant, and Curran played the best innings of their careers in this series. There is also a valid claim to say that Kohli too played his best innings in this series. One fact that cannot be denied is the batsman who scored runs in this runs-scarce series, can go back mighty proud of what they have done.