3 players with most Test hundreds against India
Some players tend to perform better while playing against a certain opposition. They either adapt well to the surroundings or develop a liking for the bowlers of that nation. Several batters have scored heavily against India.
India have always been a spin-heavy bowling unit, hence being a good player of spin is essential to succeeding against India.
While there has been an upsurge in India's quality pace attack, the majority of the batters who have performed well against India are excellent players of spin bowling. To evaluate a batter's level of success against a specific opposition, the number of centuries they have is an excellent criterion.
Joe Root now has the most centuries by a player against India in Tests.
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On that note, let's look at the top three batters with the most Test hundreds against the Men in Blue.
#3 Steve Smith (Australia) - 8 centuries
Part of the modern-day 'fab four', Steve Smith has been a revelation for Australia, especially in Test cricket and one-day internationals.
The unorthodox right-hander from Sydney is equally good against spin and pace and has mounted runs all around the globe.
The Indian unit has always found it hard to get the better of Smith, be it in white-ball or red-ball cricket. While he averages 62 in ODI cricket against India, Smith has played some terrific innings in Test matches as well.
No Australian batsman scored a hundred in 2018 Test series against India and No Australian batsman scored hundred in first 2 Test against India in this series - And he came, the best one, Steve Smith and scored a memorable hundred in the new year Test at SCG. https://t.co/ERrNdRfTyk
In 14 red-ball games against India, Smith has scored 1,742 runs at an excellent average of 72.5. The New South Wales cricketer has eight centuries and five half-centuries to his name as well, including a 192 off 305 balls in Melbourne in 2013.
#2 Sir Garfield Sobers (West Indies) - 8 centuries
Another batter with a phenomenal batting record against the Indian side is Sir Garfield Sobers. The West Indian great was a genuine all-rounder who was once described as a 'five in one cricketer' by Sir Don Bradman himself.
With more than 8000 runs and 235 scalps, Sobers is considered one of the all-time greats. In his 20-year-long career, the Barbados-born played some special knocks against India.
Along with his eight centuries, the left-handed batter amassed 1920 runs in 30 Test innings against India, averaging 83.47. His highest score against the Asian giants came during the West Indies tour of India in 1958 when Sobers scored a match-winning 198 in Kanpur.
The other two players who have scored eight centuries each against India are Ricky Ponting and Sir Viv Richards.
#1 Joe Root (England) - 9 centuries
Following his fabulous ton in the recently concluded rescheduled fifth Test match at Edgbaston, Joe Root became the player with the most Test hundreds against India.
The former England captain registered his ninth red-ball hundred against the Men in Blue on Tuesday when he top-scored for England with 142 off 173 in a record-breaking run-chase.
India have been Root's arch-nemesis, having played numerous stupendous knocks on English soil as well as on Indian grounds.
In 25 Test matches against India, the Yorkshireman has amassed 2,526 runs (his most against any nation), with an average of 63 and ten half-centuries as well.
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Perhaps his best innings against the Indian unit came on a blatant Chennai surface, where he showcased his true valor and batting prowess, scoring a majestic 218.
Root has already jotted down his name in the all-time great English Test batters list, having piled up 10,458 runs in just ten years since his debut.