5 top Test knocks by England batters in India ft. Kevin Pietersen
England have arrived on the Indian shores again for a Test series, this time consisting five games and set to begin from the first encounter in Hyderabad on January 25.
The visitors won the first Test of the previous series in Chennai but lost the remaining three with questions raised over their batters' temperament and technique. England will be expecting turning tracks once again and their batting will need to step up to challenge a quality Indian team in their own den.
The visitors can still take inspiration from the fact that they were the last team to beat India in a Test series on Indian soil, way back in 2012 when Alastair Cook and his men won 2-1. Whenever England have done well in India, their batters have stepped up and provided the platform in testing conditions.
On that note, let's take a look at five of the best performances by an England batter on Indian soil in the longest format:
#5 Alastair Cook - 122, Mumbai, 2012
England had lost the first Test of the series in Ahmedabad and India unleashed a rank turner in Mumbai to compound the problems for the visitors. However, it was captain Alastair Cook, who led by example and showed incredible technique against the spinners.
He scored 122 off 270 deliveries and showed his teammates that if they apply themselves, there can score big even in testing conditions. It was a hundred that set the tone for England's comeback, not just in the Test, but also in the series.
#4 Joe Root - 218, Chennai, 2021
India have lost just three Test matches at home in the last decade and one of them was courtesy a sensational knock by Joe Root. The then-England captain was coming into the Test series with runs under his belt in Sri Lanka and he ensured he made full use of his purple patch.
Batting first in Chennai, Root smashed 218 runs in a gigantic performance from the visitors where they posted 578 in the first innings. The hosts were always playing catch-up from that point and ended up losing the game by 227 runs.
#3 Mike Gatting - 207, Chennai, 1985
Another instance where England batted India out of a Test match in Chennai came way back in 1985 with the hosts were at the mercy of the great Mike Gatting. India's 272 all-out was overshadowed by a mammoth 652/7 from the visitors, thanks to double centuries from Gatting (207) and Graeme Flower (201).
India gave a spirited response in the second innings with 412 runs, thanks to a fine 95 from Mohinder Amarnath and a hundred from Mohammad Azharuddin. But the hosts could only set a target of 33 runs which the visitors knocked off comfortably.
#2 Alastair Cook - 190, Kolkata, 2012
The momentum was with England after leveling the Test series 1-1 in Mumbai and they ensured they took full advantage of it. Once again, it was captain Alastair Cook who floored the hosts with a marathon knock.
Although Cook got run out while taking evasive action for a throw from Virat Kohli, his 190 runs had ensured that his team were favorites to take the Test. Ravichandran Ashwin's 91* did help the hosts avoid an innings defeat, but the target of 41 was just too small for them to defend successfully.
#1 Kevin Pietersen, 186, Mumbai, 2012
Alastair Cook's 122 gave England a platform in the Mumbai Test, but it was Kevin Pietersen's 186 that turned out to be one of the greatest knocks played by an overseas batter on Indian soil. His 186 came off just 233 balls and the mammoth partnership of 206 runs with Cook got the visitors in the ascendency.
Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar ran riot in the second innings with a six-fer as a strong Indian batting lineup crumbled for just 142. He picked up a total of 11 wickets in the game as the visitors cruised to a 10-wicket win by chasing a modest target of 57.