India's 5 all-time highest run-scorers vs England in Tests ft. Sachin Tendulkar
India and England are set to lock horns in a marquee Test series of five games, beginning with the first match in Hyderabad on Thursday, January 25. Amidst all the talk about the pitch, the focus will also be on some of the star batters on both teams.
While it is true that the bowlers have to pick up 20 wickets to win the game, the batters too need to put enough runs on the board to give their team the best chance of winning. Conditions in India as well as in England have their own set of challenges that the batters need to adapt to.
There have been some legendary Indian batters, who have not only adapted to these conditions well but have also maintained longevity and consistency in their run-scoring against England. Let's take a look at five such star Indian batters, who seemed to love playing against this particular opposition:
#5 Gundappa Viswanath - 1880 runs
When a legendary batter like Sunil Gavaskar could not stop singing praises of Gundappa Viswanath, you know the latter was a special player even if you didn't watch him play. A gutsy batter, Viswanath was known for the brilliant use of his wrists and his ability to dig deep and churn out big runs.
In 30 Tests against England, Viswanath scored 1880 runs at an average of 37.42 with as many as four hundreds and a highest score of 222. He also scored 12 half-centuries against the particular opposition.
#4 Rahul Dravid - 1950 runs
The current head coach of the Indian team. Rahul Dravid knows a thing or two about scoring runs against England, especially in their own den. He made a mark on Test debut against England at Lord's in 1996 with a fantastic 95 and that was just a trailer of how much he loved to bat in those conditions.
Dravid's solid technique helped him deal with the swing and seam movement in England and also score a truckload of runs. He averaged a staggering 60.93 in 21 Tests against England with seven hundreds to his name.
It was Dravid's highest score against England (217) at the Oval back in 2002 that helped India avoid defeat and end up with an impressive drawn series. He also got his Lord's hundred in his final tour of England back in 2011.
#3 Virat Kohli - 1991 runs
England as an opposition would always remain special for Virat Kohli as he carved out an incredible redemption arc. After a horrific 2014 tour where he couldn't seem to buy a run, an inspired Kohli notched up a staggering 593 runs with two centuries in the 2018 Test series in England.
Kohli also led the Indian team to a 4-0 thumping of England in 2016 at home, with his highest score against the opposition (235) coming at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. Having looked at his best against South Africa, Virat Kohli will certainly be missed by the hosts in the first two games of the upcoming series.
#2 Sunil Gavaskar - 2483 runs
Arguably the greatest Test opener India has produced, Sunil Gavaskar was another batter known for his solid technique at the top of the order. He too loved playing in England, having scored 2483 runs against the opposition in 38 Test matches.
Gavaskar scored four hundreds and 16 half-centuries against England in Tests. He scored an incredible 221 way back in 1979 at The Oval, where India almost miraculously chased down a target of 438. They ended up falling nine runs short as the game ended in a draw.
#1 Sachin Tendulkar - 2535 runs
Like with many batting records in the game of cricket, Sachin Tendulkar tops this chart too, with a staggering 2535 runs against England in Tests. Arguably the greatest batter to ever grace the game, Tendulkar's complete technique helped him score runs all over the world against almost each opposition and England were no different.
In 32 Tests, Tendulkar averaged 51.73 against England with seven hundreds and 13 half-centuries. His hundred in Chennai to help India chase a mammoth 387 in the fourth innings arguably remains his most special knock against England. He dedicated the effort to the innocent lives lost at the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai that year.