India series averages This was a Test series where India did just enough. They wrapped it up with easy victories in the first two Tests on relaid pitches that were noticeably uglier than the ones they replaced. That said, had West Indies played on the sporting surfaces prepared for the Australia series last year, it wouldn't have made the slightest difference, such was their ineptitude and appalling lack of application at Mumbai and Chennai. India, for their part, did a job, and did it competently, without too many flourishes. Here, we take a look at the 12 men who gave India their first comprehensive Test series victory against West Indies, and mark them out of ten.

8 - Sachin Tendulkar Till the Tendulkar Super Show finally premiered at Kolkata, after 13 years of not finding dates; this was a frustrating sort of series. He got starts in each innings but seldom looked anything like as dominant as he could have been against a run-of-the-mill attack. The attrition game is not for him. But when he bats like he did on the fourth afternoon at the Eden Gardens, you can forgive him pretty much anything. So much for him not making runs when the team needs them.

8 - Harbhajan Singh Entertaining as ever with the bat, even when his stumps went for a double somersault with two pikes. And with the ball, he proved that he is clearly the main man. Had outstanding spells in all three matches, the seven-for at Mumbai as good as anything he produced against Australia, albeit on a pitch that was begging to be used and abused by slow bowlers.

8 - Zaheer Khan A constant threat in the first two Tests, after which he got the R&R he needed. Almost every time Ganguly tossed him the ball, he came up with something special. A magnificent spell midway through the West Indian first innings at Mumbai (Carl Hooper, Ryan Hinds and Ridley Jacobs sent packing) ensured there would be no comebacks, and the deliveries that accounted for Hooper (first innings) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (second) at Chennai deserved to be captured in sepia and framed for posterity. The wonderful thing is, he will get better.

7.5 - Virender Sehwag A scintillating hundred at Mumbai and a cavalier 61 on an uneven pitch at Chepauk were the highlights of his series, but he has to curb a worrying tendency to throw it away when well set. Unfettered strokeplay should still be the name of his game but tempered with caution, he has the potential to be India's answer to Adam Gilchrist, and perhaps more. He also proved to be a partnership-breaker with the ball, and more than competent at short leg. The crowds love him ... understatement of the year.

7.5 - Parthiv Patel Nurdled out over 100 runs with the composure of someone who's been there and done that umpteen times. But that was merely the cream on the cake after some superb displays behind the stumps. The catches he took to send back Ridley Jacobs at Chennai, and a flabbergasted Carl Hooper at Kolkata, hint at a talent that will go the distance, and then some. Ajay Ratra and other glovemen? Well, they could always curse the constellations ...

7 - Anil Kumble He was almost unplayable at times on the dodgy surfaces in the first two Tests, but his performances in the latter half of games weren't even worth writing home on a postcard. Luckless to an extent at Kolkata, but the manner in which the West Indian batsmen went after him is surely cause for some worry. Like Srinath, he's now the best man, not the groom.

7 - VVS Laxman Scored 271 runs, including another big hundred at Eden Gardens. But the flair and fluency that characterised his batting against Australia were rarely in evidence. Putting runs on the board is what he's supposed to do, but some of us would like to see that go hand-in-hand with the artistry and grace that make him batting eye-candy of the highest quality.

6.5 - Rahul Dravid After a gritty century at Mumbai, ended by a painful bout of cramp, dreams of his pulling level with Everton Weekes were shattered by Jermaine Lawson Express Delivery. Thereafter, all he could take out of the series was playing his part in the bigger scheme of things ... and a couple of umpiring decisions that frankly stank.

6 - Sanjay Bangar For a makeshift opener, 192 runs against a new-ball attack comprising Mervyn Dillon and a couple of very promising youngsters was a good effort. Top-scored in the first innings at Kolkata, and while he'll never get the pulse racing with his limited strokeplay, he knows how to stick around. That's half the opener's brief, in any case. On Indian pitches though, the idea of him being even a bits-and-pieces allrounder is a joke. Sourav Ganguly thinks so too, because Bangar got only 18 overs over three Tests.

6 - Sourav Ganguly Hardly put a foot wrong in the captaincy stakes, and might even have got near perfect marks but for the reluctance to set West Indies a target in front of his home crowd. With the bat, he'll want to forget these Tests, and the umpiring of a certain Asoka de Silva, in a hurry. You can't really blame him for advocating the use of technology.

6 - Javagal Srinath Stockpiled plenty of runs, perhaps in anticipation of leaner times, which are bound to be around the corner considering his technique is based on giving the bowler an intimate look at all three stumps. He bowled a couple of excellent spells at Mumbai and Chennai, but overall he's clearly second choice to the ever-improving Zaheer Khan. Kept things tight without being really menacing.

5 - Ashish Nehra A few months ago, he was supposed to be marginally ahead of Zaheer in the queue. Since then, he's seen his rival move ahead, go around the block and out of sight. Did nothing special at Kolkata, and as long as Srinath continues to be Ganguly's second pace weapon of choice, opportunities will be few and far between. Carrying the drinks might be a good thing, though, if it makes him think about where he's lost the plot.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd