England vs India, Player Ratings: Virat Kohli, Sam Curran get a perfect 10, Alastair Cook, KL Rahul get low scores

England defeated India by 31 runs in the first Test at Birmingham to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match Test series. The fixture ended within three and a half days, as both the teams' batters, barring Virat Kohli, struggled against some really impressive bowling.

The hosts would consider themselves lucky to win the match, given they had given a meagre target of 194 for India to chase in the final innings. As for India, they will have many positives to take away, though, there equal number of negatives.

While skipper Kohli, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and fast-bowlers Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami shone, the others were way below the mark. The same can be said for England, who crawled towards the win thanks to the sensational performances of their fast bowlers.

Let's take a look at how the players from both the teams fared during the first test.

England

Alastair Cook (2): The former England skipper looks a shadow of the beast he was a few years back. England's opening batsman was dismissed by Indian spinner Ashwin on the both the occasions. But the manner of his dismissal, failing to read the spin, would be a concern for his team. Further, Cook's miserable Test also saw him drop a catch.

Keaton Jennings (5): Jennings, making his return to Test cricket, fared decently on a pitch where most batters struggled. The opener looked seemingly comfortable in the first innings, making a valuable 42. Though, he was undone by Ashwin in the second innings for 8. 

Joe Root (7): With the bat, England skipper Joe Root wasn't up to his best, scoring a total 94 runs in the match. He though, did score a valuable 80 in the first innings which helped England close to the 300-run mark. But his captaincy took the limelight for once. Root handled his bowlers extremely well, and made the right bowling changes. His handling of Ben Stokes was particularly brilliant, especially in the second innings.

David Malan (4): Malan had a match to forget, both with the bat and in the field. The left-hander scored a mere 28 runs in the Test match, but also had butter fingers when his team were bowling. He dropped three catches in the match, which included two of Kohli in the first innings.

Jonny Bairstow (7): If there is any batter in the world who can claim to be in unstoppable form, it is Jonny Bairstow. He was the highest run-getter for his team in the Test (98 runs). But his approach is what was commendable. In the first innings, he came at a time when England were in a spot of bother. Yet, the 28-year-old kept on playing his shots, which put India's plans to bed.

Ben Stokes (8): The 'Big Ben' proved the world why he is so important for England. The all-rounder may miss the next Test, and many more, but he had a huge role to play in his side's memorable win. Stokesy wasn't amongst the runs, putting just 27 on the board in the two innings. Though, his bowling was second to none. A haul of six wickets in the match, which included the prized wicket of Kohli in the second innings, won England the match.

Jos Buttler (4): A Test to forget for the in-form Buttler. The wicketkeeper-batsman struggled against the Indian bowlers in pacer-friendly conditions. He played a mere 4 balls in the two innings, scoring just one run. 

Sam Curran (10): India were preparing for the likes of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Alastair Cook to shine, but Sam Curran came out of the syllabus. The young 20-year-old put in a match-winning all-round performance, something no one had expected. He ripped apart the Indian top-order in the first innings, ending with four wickets, before claiming one more important wicket in the second innings. With the bat, he was the third highest run-getter of his team with 87 runs, which included a stunning 63 in the second innings. A truly memorable performance!

Adil Rashid (6): There was a lot of controversy regarding the inclusion of Adil Rashid for the first Test. The leg-spinner, chosen as the only spinner, failed to do wonders at a pitch where his counterpart Ashwin wrecked havoc. Rashid ended the match with three wickets, but he was disappointing on most occasions, bowling loose deliveries every now and then.

Stuart Broad (7): Broad will look at this Test as a tale of two different innings. In the first, he looked well past his prime, failing to take a wicket in his 10 overs. But in the second innings, the fans saw the Broad of old. His line and length was impeccable, as he dismissed the Indian openers to begin his team's charge towards the victory.

James Anderson (7): The Test match was billed as India vs Anderson. England's leading wicket-taker in Test took some time to warm up and get going. But once he did, there were times he was unplayable. Ando grabbed four wickets in the match, though, he created numerous opportunities, and also saw a few dropped catches of his bowling.

India

Shikhar Dhawan (3): The Gabbar of Indian cricket was surprisingly selected, given his shocker of a display in the tour match. But Dhawan failed to justify his inclusion, scoring 39 runs in the Test. The left-handed batsman looked brisk in the first innings, before Curran sent him back to the pavilion with a brilliant swinging delivery. And in the second innings, it was a similar delivery by Broad which proved to be the end for the batsman.

Murali Vijay (2): India's Mr. Dependable also failed, proving how he is very susceptible against swing bowling. Vijay scored 26 runs in the Test, one-third of what his opening partner managed. But unlike Dhawan, the right-hander never looked settled at the crease in either of the innings.

KL Rahul (2): So much was expected of Rahul when he was included in the playing XI for the first Test. Chosen ahead of Cheteshwar Pujara, Rahul failed to get runs, with his poor shot selection coming under the scanner. Expect him to make way for Pujara in the next Test.

Virat Kohli (10): One could have given Kohli 100/10 for his performance in the first Test. The Indian skipper has moved on from his shocker in the 2014 tour, and proved why he is the best in the world. Kohli scored exactly 200 runs in the Test, which included a sensational 149 in the first innings. Well, the rest of the Indian team scored 236 runs amongst them!

Ajinkya Rahane (4): One of the rare players who has a brilliant record away from home, Rahane seemed a player out of form. He made just 15 in the first innings, before a mere 2 in the second. Much more needed from a player whose ability is unquestionable.

Dinesh Karthik (4): How would things have been had Wriddhiman Saha been playing? This is what many Indian fans would be thinking following the mediocre display of Karthik in the first Test. He got out for a duck in the first innings, before dispersing for a score of 20 in the chase. Even his wicketkeeping looked susceptible, as he dropped a catch.

Hardik Pandya (6): If India went in with Pandya as a batter, then he did some justice to his role, with 53 runs. But the problem is, he is an all-rounder, and needs to deliver with the ball as well. In the first Test, Pandya looked promising with the bat, but his bowling was horrible in the first innings, so much so that Kohli decided to not use him at all in the second innings.

Ravichandran Ashwin (8): A few runs with the bat and many wickets with the ball, Ashwin showed why he is the undisputed No.1 spinner for his country. The tall off-spinner ended with seven wickets in the match, which included the twin dismissal of Cook with two absolutely peach deliveries. There is hardly anything more Ashwin could have done for his team.

Mohammed Shami (6): Shami was under the scanner prior to the match for his fitness and off-field issues. But the fast-bowler put everything behind and bowled extremely well in the first innings, grabbing three wickets. Though, he went under the radar when England batted for the second time, going wicketless.

Ishant Sharma (7): Just like Broad, Ishant seemed to be two different person in the two innings. In the first innings, he toiled hard, but only got one wicket. But in the second innings, the Ishant of 2014 returned, as he demolished the hosts' batting line-up with a fifer.

Umesh Yadav (5): The least effective of the Indian bowling unit, Umesh has three wickets to show for his exploits, though, he barely looked threatning.