India were not expected to win in Sri Lanka, so the 2-1 loss shouldn't worry us to death. This was a young and inexperienced side that lost to a better team and there is no disgrace in it. What should worry us is the lack of progress. There has been little joy in writing this report card because this has been a tour without gains. The grades are on a scale of ten and are not based on the Wisden 100 ratings.

Sadagoppan Ramesh - 5.5 out of 10
Ramesh has the amazing ability to guide the ball to slip from the middle of his bat. Even more amazingly, he has a Test average of 37.49, only .21 less than Michael Atherton's. The secret of his success has been a gift of timing and an uncanny ability to put away the bad ball. But he was uncharacteristically subdued throughout the series, and doesn't have the runs to show for his long stints at the crease. Occupation will be tougher in South Africa, and he would do better to fill his boots when bounty presents itself.

SS Das - 6
Technically, he is second only to Rahul Dravid in this depleted Indian side, but Das has acquired a dangerous habit of plotting his own dismissals with sudden lapses of concentration. For a batsman who has the skill to keep out the good ball, it's a waste to give his wicket away to anything that is less than exceptional. Eight scores of 50-plus in 10 Tests is good going, and he was refreshingly positive at Colombo. It's time to start scoring those hundreds though.

Rahul Dravid - 7
Dravid's wicket was the one the Sri Lankans prized the most, and he made them work hard for it. No Indian batsman played Muralitharan with more assurance, though he will reflect with dismay on a couple of dismissals to Murali that cost his side dear. Ganguly's flourish at the end made India's Kandy run-chase look easy, but it was Dravid who had scripted the win: his positive batting on the fourth morning put India on course and he neutralised Murali with a combination of resolute defence and assured strokeplay.

Sourav Ganguly - 4.5
He saved his captaincy and maybe even his place in the side with his matchwinning 98 at Kandy, but his batting awaits a sterner examination in South Africa. He was continuously harassed by Dilhara Fernando, who is quick, but not half as accurate and skilful as Pollock and Co. His leadership remains his strength, but until he can hold his own again with the bat, he will continue to be on probation.

Hemang Badani and Mohammad Kaif - 2
With these two in the side, the Indian tail started at No. 5. Hard to tell who was worse. Kaif looked more assured at crease, but it took only one decent ball to remove him. Badani showed some spark in an innings of 38 at Colombo, but he has rarely looked like a Test batsman so far.

Sameer Dighe - 1
So Sachin and Sourav like him and he even won a Test series for India with a couple of plucky boundaries. But should Sameer Dighe be keeping wicket for India? He is acrobatic, but while reaching the ball might be good enough for a goalie, a wicketkeeper must catch it. He is at his fumbling worst keeping to the spinners and made his Mumbai team-mate Sairaj Bahutule suffer twice at Colombo, missing a stumping against Kumar Sangakkara in Bahutule's very first over and dropping an easy chance from Mahela Jayawardene when he was 24, en route to a hundred. At 32, Dighe doesn't have a lot of time to learn the basics.

Harbhajan Singh - 3
The series was billed as the battle of the offies. It ended as a hopeless no-contest. Muttiah Muralitharan showed himself to be the master he is and Harbhajan Singh wasn't even an apprentice. The Australian series is a happy but distant dream and Harbhajan is fast learning that Test wickets don't always come cheap. Sri Lankans get good practice against offspin in the nets, and Harbhajan was never even a threat. The points are for his batting.

Venkatesh Prasad - 5
Prasad looks a much better bowler when Sanath Jayasuriya isn't batting. He played a big hand in winning the second Test, and had had figures of 3 for 101 in the third when each Sri Lankan wicket cost India 100 runs and one of them, incredibly, was Jayasuriya's. A contentious selection for the tour, Prasad might have prolonged his international career by a couple of series at least.

Zaheer Khan - 4.5
Zaheer's bowling followed a pattern in the series. At Galle, he bowled consistently short, and was mercilessly cut and pulled; at Kandy he nagged away on a good length or just short of it and was rewarded with seven wickets; at Colombo, he strayed too often onto a drivable length and went for 134 runs at nearly five an over, with no wickets. At this rate, he will be dishing out full-tosses at Bloemfontein on November 3.

Sambit Bal is India editor of Wisden.com

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