Danger zone on this player's by BCCI:- India Report Card, WTC Final: Pujara, Rahane's future uncertain; Rohit, Kohli, Gill weak; Jadeja above average

   India Report Card, WTC Final: Pujara, Rahane's future uncertain; Rohit, Kohli, Gill weak; Jadeja above average

India's defeat in the WTC final to Australia is the most recent example of their failures at an ICC competition. Here is our performance evaluation of India

The last time an Indian cricket team won an ICC championship was on June 23, 2013. Nine ICC events in various forms and a decade later, the race for the next world championship is still ongoing. India hasn't exactly performed terribly in ICC competitions since they won the Champions Trophy in England almost ten years ago. They have played in the final four times and the semifinals four times in nine tournaments. Only the T20 World Cup in the UAE in 2021 did they actually falter under duress, failing to get past the semifinals. The Indian cricket squad, though, would not consider a semi-final finish adequate. A defeat in the final is seen as an error. It ought to be as well, particularly after four of them.

India's defeat in the WTC final against Australia at The Oval is the most recent instance of them losing in a knockout game in an ICC competition. India was always trailing in the match, making their defeat by a score of 209 runs seem respectable. An all-around subpar performance calls for investigation. 

Here's our report card on India's performance in the WTC final

Rohit Sharma, captain (4/10, Poor): Rohit had one of his poorest performances as a skipper in the WTC final, starting with his choice to bowl first after winning the toss and ending with the dismissal of Ashwin. The first innings' assault from Travis Head and Steve Smith left him without any defence. When he was in his 90s, the short ball strategy was applied to Head, which is unquestionably the left-hander's weakest location. He also wasted starts in both innings as a batter. He got a good one off Pat Cummins in the first innings when he was batting on 15, but in the second, after reaching 43 because to some impressive strokeplay, he played a sweep shot in the first over of the second innings.

The Nathan Lyon. The Australian off-spinner was bowling around the wicket, obviously to halt the runs, and it's possible that the sweep shot was his best chance to dismiss a well-positioned Rohit. That is what the Indian captain did. He became late because he was unable to decide whether to play a paddle or a slog sweep. He was hit directly in front by the ball.

Poor, Shubman Gill (3/10) You can argue about his dismissal for 14 in the second innings all you want, but the third umpire acted in accordance with his moral convictions. Furthermore, there is no solid proof that he was mistaken. In fact, if one carefully analyses the legislation, it is likely that he would support the umpire's judgement. Following the fourth day of play, Gill was penalised by the ICC for his social media posts. But despite everything, attention switched away from Gill's batting. In the first innings, he shouldered arms to a Scott Boland delivery and had his stumps knocked back for 13. On most days, Gill would have defended that ball with a forward defence. The youthful opener was expected to perform well, but he struggled

short by a fair amount. Gil, though, is positioned to remain the cornerstone of India's Test batting lineup given his talent and the years to come.

Cheteshwar Pujara (2/10, Very Unsatisfactory): Pujara was the most prepared Indian cricketer in the WTC final since he wasn't IPL-tired and had a county season behind him. But when the veteran of 103 Test matches walked out to bat at The Oval in both innings, it didn't seem that way. Pujara's throw to Cameron Green was worse than Gill's errant throw to Boland in the first innings. He struggled to get to 14 before being bowled for nothing. Pujara was out trying to play a ramp shot from Cummins in the second innings, just after Rohit had thrown his away wicket, in an attempt to be extremely upbeat, which is never something that comes easy to him. Pujara has been much below average except from a few strong performances in Bangladesh.

insufficient in this WTC cycle. It's now necessary to raise important issues about his rank of No. 3.

Poor Virat Kohli (4/10) Sanjay Manjrekar, Sunil Gavaskar, and a few others made it abundantly clear that Kohli would have been in a better situation if he had not leapt in response to a Mitchell Starc pitch that came around the midway point of the first innings. They are accurate. In recent years, Kohli has struggled to advance regardless of the length of the ball. Having said that, he was taken off guard as the ball bounded more than he had anticipated. However, nothing unexpected happened in the second inning. Kohli only made a terrible shot. When he had put in all the effort to get to 49, he chased a wide full ball from Boland and obtained an outside edge. The worst aspect of this is the

the fact that Kohli has repeatedly performed the same action. He has largely regained his form in white-ball cricket, but he is far from at his best in red-ball cricket, which is hurting India. The better for him and the squad, the faster he gets going.

Ajinkya Rahane (7/10, Good): India's surprise selection and the most contentious player in the batting order ended up being their best performer in the championship game. Due to KL Rahul's injury, Rahane returned to the Test team after nearly one and a half years away. The former vice-captain rode his luck, fought through a couple finger blows, and eventually made it to 89 in the first innings. Green might have easily scored a hundred points if he hadn't taken the one-handed blinder. He had the finest appearance of the Indian batters in the second inning as well. Up until he flashed at a wide ball from Starc, he was confident in his defence, did not appear hurried, and judged the ball on its merit.

if on 46. Take that shot away; Rahane performed admirably in the WTC championship match. But it is uncertain whether he would remain in the Indian Test team.

 Ravindra Jadeja (6/10, Above average):   Because of his batting, Ravindra Jadeja was chosen ahead of Ravichandran Ashwin (6/10, Above Average). and did somewhat deserve that in the opening innings with a smooth 48. But the shot he played to Nathan Lyon would greatly disappoint him. He had no sighters in the second inning. Boland pitched just outside off to catch the outside edge of his bat, then he came up with a gem that drifted away just a little bit. Jadeja probably went above and beyond what was expected of him with the ball. In the first innings, he was India's most effective bowler and he also eliminated Alex Carey. He used the rough in the second inning to trouble all the Australian left-handers.

produced outside of their off-stump and brought back data of 3/58.

KS Bharat (4/10, Poor):

 Bharat was never going to be as good with the bat as Rishabh Pant, but he performed a terrific job behind the posts. But he must focus heavily on improving his batting if he hopes to serve as India's backup keeper in Test matches.

Shardul Thakur (5/10, average): Shardul won't be too pleased with the manner he bowled, but his courageous 51-run effort in the first innings ensured that India remained in the match. In the first innings, he did make a few fortunate breakthroughs, but in the second, he appeared out of sorts and out of breath. He finished with no wickets in his eight overs.

Mohammed Shami (4/10, Poor): Mohammed Shami struggled at times but had to do well overall without Bumrah. In the first frames, he failed to connect. When the track was most difficult for batters, he was much too short with the new ball. India paid dearly for that. When your star seamer fails to perform on Day 1 of the championship, it is not helpful. He returned on Day 2 and performed admirably in the second innings, but only four wickets from the Test's pace spearhead were never going to be enough to claim the victory.

Umesh Yadav (2/10, Very Poor): He appeared unprepared and out of sync for the most of the World Team Championship final. His first innings lines and lengths were another cause for concern because his bowling lacked the necessary aggression. To Warner and Head, he bowled too wide. He did perform better in the second innings and was rewarded with the wickets of Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja, but his future in the Indian Test team appears to be dismal.

Mohammed Siraj (7/10, Good): Without a doubt, India's top pacer. In the first innings, Mohammed Siraj bowled valiantly and claimed four wickets. He enabled India to prevent Australia from crossing the 500-mile mark. He bowled well in the second innings but only managed to claim one wicket.