India vs. South Africa: Ranking the Players on Freedom Trophy Form
Ranking pieces such as these are notoriously difficult, and this one is even trickier with the way this series has panned out.
Conditions have played a massive role in determining how certain players have fared and the bowlers were by far the most successful in this series.
Yet, when numbers are tallied up and averages are looked at, a picture begins to form over who did and who didn’t perform well over the course of this four-match series.
The players are ranked in the slides following the explanation of ranking system used.
Explanation of Methodology
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The best way to rank players for form in such a tricky series is to use a point system for averages, economy rates and runs scored.
The points scored are then tallied up and to get a total and players are ranked accordingly.
With this method, players who performed are identified easily and those who performed consistently will naturally have higher totals, barring one or two exceptions.
The points were awarded as follows:
Batting:
For every 50 runs, 15 points
Average 50.00 or more, 25 points
Average 40.00 or more, 20 points
Average 30 or more, 15 points
Century, 100 points and a half century, 50 points
Bowling:
Five points per wicket
Average 15 or under, 35 points
Average 20 or under, 30 points
Average 30 or under, 20 points
Economy rate 2.00 or under, 35 points
Economy rate 3.00 or under, 30 points
Economy rate 4.00 or under, 20 points
Interestingly, just two players—Dean Elgar and Ravi Ashwin—scored points for both disciplines. For the bowlers, only those who bowled more than 10 overs in the whole series were considered for points. Overall, only players who played more than one Test were including in the top-10 rankings.
Subjectivity has been removed and only the points scored have been tallied. However, a subjective note is added where needed to indicate where the points scoring system might be somewhat inaccurate.
Temba Bavuma, Dane Piedt, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn and Stuart Binny
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These players all played just a solitary Test, with Vernon Philander and Dane Piedt being the most impressive based solely on stats. Dale Steyn struggled with an injury during the first Test, while Stuart Binny bowled just three overs in the Bangalore Test, which was rained out. Their points are as follows:
Vernon Philander: 65 points
Wickets: 3, average 20.33, economy rate 2.25
If players who played just one Test were considered for the top 10, Vernon Philander would have come in at No. 9. While he didn’t pick up any wickets, a tidy economy rate and useful average means Philander was a valuable player for South Africa, even in conditions that didn’t favour the seam bowlers.
Dane Piedt: 40 points
Wickets: 4, Average: 42.50, Economy rate: 3.03
It’s a real pity Dane Piedt played just one Test, that too on the track with the least amount of turn. He seemed to get more revolutions on the ball than any other South African spinner. Domestically, he has been able to get the ball to turn square on flat wickets, so just imagine what he could have done if he played in Nagpur.
Dale Steyn: 30 points
Wickets: 0, Average: N/A, Economy rate: 2.72
It’s not often that Dale Steyn has an empty wickets column, but the South African pace ace has struggled with a few niggles as of late and it has clearly affected his approach.
Temba Bavuma
Runs: 56, Average: 28.00
Temba Bavuma's numbers only tell half the story, but because he only played one Test, it is impossible to rank him on form. Asked to open the batting, although he is usually a middle-order batsman, Bavuma grinded out 117 balls for just 34 runs in South Africa's attempt to pull of the great escape. Bavuma scored as many runs in one Test as Stiaan van Zyl, the opener he replaced, did in three.
Stuart Binny: N/A
Wickets: 0, Average: N/A, Economy rate: 0.33
Stuart Binny bowled a grand total of three overs in the rained-out Bangalore Test and, as a result, was not considered for any points.
13. Rohit Sharma, 0 Points
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Tests: 2, Runs: 26, Average: 6.50
On some dark corners of the internet, Rohit Sharma is referred to as “Nohit”, because some Indian fans believe he is completely inept at batting. If his performances in this series are anything to go by, they’re right.
He only played in the last two Tests, and his 23 on the nightmare that was the Nagpur pitch was far more impressive than the 1 and 0 he managed in the final Test in Delhi.
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12. Wriddhiman Saha, JP Duminy and Faf Du Plessis, Stiaan Van Zyl, Dane Vilas
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Players who are ranked 12th all earned 15 points and they are all batsmen, underscoring just how difficult this tour was for batting. Overall, this ranking is spot on for all the players ranked here as they all struggled to get runs.
Wriddhiman Saha
Tests: 4, Runs: 83, Average: 16.60
Wriddhiman Saha earns some credit for his wicket-keeping efforts, but he was off the boil with the bat. His high score of 32 came on the devilish track in Nagpur and while he deserves some credit for that, a dubious effort in all the other Tests means his ranking is deserved. He had started to look set during India's final innings in the final Tests and managed an unbeaten 23, but it was probably too little, too late.
JP Duminy
Tests: 3, Runs: 70, Average: 14.00
JP Duminy is usually an astute player of spin, but like all of the other South African batsmen, he just couldn't put together anything substantial on this tour. In the final Test in Delhi, where there was little wrong with the pitch, Duminy managed just one solitary run across both innings. While he usually contributes with the ball a bit, a struggle with a hand injury means he bowled just nine overs across the three Tests he played in.
Faf du Plessis
Tests: 4, Runs: 60, Average: 8.57
Faf du Plessis had an absolute howler of a tour. Dismissed for a duck in three out of his seven knocks and getting past the 10-run mark just once, Du Plessis will be very glad this tour is over. While he did a good job of stonewalling in the fourth innings of the fourth and final Test, much more is expected of one of South Africa’s senior batsmen.
Dane Vilas
Tests: 4, Runs: 60, Average: 8.57
It was a cruel introduction to Test cricket for Dane Vilas. He had been capped during South Africa's tour of Bangladesh, but hardly played because of the rain. Thrown into the deep end in some of the toughest conditions in world cricket, Vilas looked like a fish out of water. He looked as uncomfortable as his stats suggest and missed more than a few chances behind the stumps, too.
Stiaan van Zyl
Tests: 3, Runs: 56, Average: 11.20
Earmarked as South Africa's new opener after Alviro Petersen retired, Stiaan van Zyl did not survive the tour at the top of the order. The only time he looked remotely at ease was when he was demoted down the order in the second innings of the first Test. Even then, he got out because of a loose shot.
11. Hashim Amla and Varun Aaron
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The 11th spot is shared by a bowler and a batsman, an Indian and a South African. Both tallied just 30 points and for one of them—the South African skipper—this has quite possibly be one of his worst tours ever.
Hashim Amla
Tests: 4, Runs 118, Average: 16.85
This was the South African skipper's worst series in recent memory. While he did put in a resolute effort with the bat in fourth innings of the final Test, he failed with the bat in the rest of the series and often took a very defensive approach with his bowlers.
Varun Aaron
Tests: 2, Wickets: 2, Average: 36.00
Did you even remember that Varun Aaron played in this series? Probably not. With Mohali assisting the spinners, he did not make much of an impact. In Bangalore, which was eventually rained out, he took just one for 51.
10. Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada
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Ishant Sharma
Tests: 3, Wickets: 1, Average: 115.00
Kagiso Rabada
Tests: 3, Wickets: 2, Average: 55.50
Coming at 10 is Ishant Sharma and Kagiso Rabada, who both managed 40 points. The ranking is probably a bit harsher on Rabada since he did have a number of exceptionally tidy spells and was unlucky not to pick up wickets. Sharma, too, had a very good economy rate, but he failed to pick up many wickets as the Indian spinners dominated.
9. Shikhar Dhawan
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Tests: 4, Runs: 150, Average: 25
That Shikhar Dhawan is sitting at No. 9 is indicative of just how bad it was for batsmen on this tour. The ranking system gave him 45 points. After getting a pair in the first Test, he managed an unbeaten 45 in the second, rained-out match, but that was the only time he passed the 40-run mark in this series.
8. Simon Harmer
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Tests: 2, Wickets: 10, Average: 25.40
One of South Africa's newest spin recruits, Simon Harmer will feel a little irked that he did not exploit the conditions more. Still, the ranking system earned him 90 points and the tour will have been a stern lesson in the fact that even if conditions are favourable, you still need to execute your skills to make it count.
7. Umesh Yadav, Amit Mishra, Morne Morkel, Dean Elgar, Kyle Abbott
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Umesh Yadav
Tests: 2, Wickets 5, Average: 12.00
Amit Mishra
Tests: 2, Wickets 7, Average: 17.28
Morne Morkel
Tests: 3, Wickets: 9, Average: 20.66
Kyle Abbott
Tests: 2, Wickets 6, Average: 17.50
Dean Elgar
Tests: 4, Wickets; 5, Average: 27.20 & 137 runs @ 19.57
The No. 7 spot is shared by five players who all totalled 95 points. One of whom was the only player to pick up points from both batting and bowling.
Dean Elgar had a bit of a "golden arm" on this tour and proved a handy part-time option when JP Duminy was out of action. With the bat, he showed grit, and he was one of just three South African batsmen to score more than 100 runs across all four Tests.
Morne Morkel was probably South Africa's best bowler and picked up the bulk of his wickets on pitches that favoured spinners. Like Morkel, Abbott put in an exceptional effort in conditions that weren't suited to the fast bowlers. He has certainly given the selectors something to ponder ahead of the squad announcement for the England tour coming up in just a few weeks.
Umesh Yadav and Amit Mishra were helped by South Africa's mental scars and were mere supporting roles to India's chief destroyers: The Ravis.
6. Imran Tahir
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Tests: 4, Wickets; 14, Average: 21.35
Imran Tahir is the only top-10 ranking that warrants a little bit of subjective notation.
Tahir was not as effective as many would expect him to be in conditions that were so spin friendly. While he was South Africa's highest wicket-taker, he was used conservatively by his captain because he is such a risk to bowl. Tahir does not trust his stock delivery and gets it wrong far too often.
If these rankings involved subjectivity, too, Tahir is the only player who would have shifted down a notch or two.
5. Virat Kohli, Murali Vijay, Che Pujara
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Virat Kohli
Tests: 4, Runs: 200, Average: 33.33
Murali Vijay
Tests: 4, Runs: 210, Average: 35.00
Che Pujara
Tests: 4, Runs: 202, Average: 33.66
As the only three players to score a half-century at least once, it's no wonder that these men managed 125 points each. Virat Kohli's good form hit in the final Test, and although he missed out on a century, he had two good knocks.
For the first three Tests, Murali Vijay was India's most consistent batsman, seeing off the new ball and paving in very difficult conditions. He did not manage to carry that form through to Delhi, but for three good Tests in a row, his place is well earned.
Che Pujara, meanwhile, put in a good effort in the first Test, and although his scores were modest for the rest of the series, they were probably on par with what the conditions had to offer.
4. AB De Villiers
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Tests: 4, Runs: 258, Average: 36.85
AB de Villiers was the only South African batsman to manage a half-century on this tour—and he got two.
Despite also being dismissed for a duck once, De Villiers showed his team-mates on more than one occasion how to bat on a sticky wicket. Considering just how tough conditions were, De Villiers’ high ranking—with 190 points—is no surprise.
3. Ravi Jadeja
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Tests: 4, Wickets: 23, Average: 10.82
At No. 3 with 215 points is India's second best bowler. Ravi Jadeja took two fivers this series and consistently managed to get under South Africa's skin.
He only went wicketless in an innings once—South Africa's second innings in Nagpur.
2. Ajinkya Rahane
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Tests: 4, Runs: 266, Average: 53.20
Ajinkya Rahane was tied on 300 points with the top-ranked player, but because sharing top spot is cheating a bit, subjectivity is being used to separate the two.
Rahane was a bit shaky at the start of the series, but it's difficult to argue with two hundreds in a Test. It took him some time to find form, but when he did, it was a delight.
1. Ravi Ashwin
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Tests: 4, Wickets: 31, Average; 10.82
Ravi Aswhin is undisputedly the most in-form player of this tour. With four five-fors and a 10-for to show, he was the thorn in the side of the South Africans.
South Africa contributed to his figures with their own mental ineptitude, and Ashwin managed to exploit this time after time to put him at the top of the form list.
He also contributed 109 runs with the bat (including a half-century), underscoring that this was probably the best series of his career.
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