By series end, most of the Indians resembled a French Foreign Legion contingent that had marched through the desert for weeks. The tiredness showed and with it came a lack of inspiration and incisiveness that West Indies seized on. The seven matches gave the Indian selectors little by way of fresh insight, though Murali Kartik has clearly put himself into contention as an alternative to Anil Kumble. The established faces had their moments, while most of the new boys thrown into deep waters sank without a trace. A series that started with Great Expectations finished with All Passion Spent. Here, we rate the Indians – the central characters in the drama, and the support cast that changed every so often. 8 Rahul Dravid A consistent performer throughout the series. He has reinvented his one-day batting in recent times, scoring at a run-a-ball, and playing a prominent role in the superb run-chase at Ahmedabad. He captained pretty well in two games, though he could do nothing to stop a rampaging Marlon Samuels at Vijayawada. His glovework still leaves much to be desired.

8 Murali Kartik Suffered a blip in form in the final match but was superb in the three preceding ones, especially at Jodhpur where he wrecked the top order. Unlike some of India's other spinners, he's not afraid to give the ball air, and a good tweak. He's a better batsman than he showed in these matches.

7 VVS Laxman Made lots of runs, but without ever looking as though No. 3 is his natural habitat. His running between the wickets and rotation of the strike is nothing special, while a reluctance to go over the top can cost India in the initial overs. Still much work to do, not least on his fielding which was quite poor at times.

7 Sanjay Bangar Turned out to be India's secret weapon with the bat, unveiling an attacking facet of his game seldom seen before. His bowling was ordinary, except on a bowler-friendly surface at Jodhpur – allrounder tag can wait. Needs lots of time with a fielding coach because he really is a liability in that regard.

7 Sarandeep Singh Got just the one outing and was impressive, but in the present scheme of things, he is unlikely to be anything more than a back-up for Harbhajan.

6 Sourav Ganguly An average five games, if you go by the high standards he has set in recent times. His knock at Ahmedabad was crucial in gaining India parity. As captain, there was little he could do besides call right at the toss.

6 Virender Sehwag Started off like a runaway train but by series end, he had hit the buffers. Blazing away from ball one is well and good, but he can rest assured that other teams would have noted West Indies' clever use of the short-pitched delivery against him. Some time in the nets, or with the bowling machine, should do wonders.

6 Yuvraj Singh An excellent innings at Jodhpur went a long way towards India levelling the series but that apart, was rarely at his best. India also missed a trick by not giving him a go higher up the order. Has to learn that chip shots are best left on the golf links.

6 Ajit Agarkar Being dropped for two games was the perfect prescription for his ills. When he came back, Agarkar bowled a much tighter line and length and looked the part. A 95 when promoted to No. 3 hinted at his batting ability. Forget about pinch-hitting, he can be a handy bulwark in a fragile lower order.

5 Mohammad Kaif After the hype, a mini-slump was inevitable. He was guilty of his fair share of errors in the field, and with the bat, seldom got the opportunity to make an impact. Not the sort of batsman who can start thumping leather from ball one. He's certainly worth a try at No. 3 where he has the chance to play himself in, and rotate the strike cleverly.

5 Javagal Srinath Along with every other bowler in the series, he was tonked around for much of the series. But on slightly helpful tracks at Jodhpur and Vijayawada (early in the game), he proved that he is still India's best bet to share the new ball with Zaheer Khan.

4 Harbhajan Singh Got a good hiding in a couple of games and was well below his best. Seems confused about whether to attack or contain. He looks so much better when he gives the ball a good high arc.

4 Ashish Nehra Must be sick at the sight of Gayle and Hinds, who hammered him mercilessly. The downswing of the last six months continues unabated and is fast becoming a worry. Perhaps Zaheer, who has made such excellent progress, can provide a pointer or two.

3 Dinesh Mongia Batted himself out of contention for New Zealand and, possibly, a World Cup place. A year ago, he was an integral part of the New Wave sweeping Indian cricket, but having lost both form and confidence, he has now been washed ashore into reject country.

3 JP Yadav Discovered that being an allrounder at the highest level is no picnic. Did nothing worthwhile with the bat and was poor with the ball. Time to retreat into the shadows and work on his game.

3 Anil Kumble Two outings to forget for a man who seems to be sliding down India's spin hierarchy. The West Indians showed him scant respect and he was nowhere near as accurate as he can be.

2 Lakshmipathy Balaji Rabbit in the headlights and all that. Had no clue what to do when Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds went after him. Let's hope the one match hasn't scarred him permanently.

2 Reetinder Sodhi The long-awaited comeback ended with a shocking heave-ho that almost cost India the match. If he misses out on a World Cup place, it might be the most expensive shot ever played.

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

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