Top 5 current overseas batsmen with most Test runs in India
Such has been India's dominance in Tests at home that England are the only side to win a series in the country in the past ten years. Cricketers world over know the conditions and pitches in India like the back of their hand thanks to the IPL.
Despite exposure on these 'demonic' wickets, there aren’t many current batsmen who have scored heavily in Tests in India consistently. Of course, the heroics of Matthew Hayden in the 2001 series and Michael Clarke's nimble feet in the 2004 series victory are fresh in the minds of cricket fans.
Foreign batsmen dominating in Indian conditions are few and far between, but there have been a few who have impressed in the spin-friendly tracks in India.
Here are five of those:
#5 Darren Bravo – 504 runs
Darren Bravo has a unique record for batsmen – his record in away Tests is better than at home. Bravo’s average in Asia is exceptionally high after his brilliant knocks against Pakistan in UAE recently.
The Trinidadian has scored 504 runs in India in 5 Tests and most of these runs came in two back to back innings', albeit in different Tests, in 2011.
A second innings 136 at Kolkata in the 2011 series was followed by a terrific 166 against Mumbai in the first innings, which helped West Indies to 590 in the first innings and eventually lead the Test to a thrilling draw, despite Windies succumbing to a paltry score of 134 in the second (Bravo again top scored with 48) and setting India a target of 243.
Apart from these two innings, Bravo's record in India does not stand out. The 50.40 average here mostly stems from these two knocks and he does not even have another half century to show for in India. He had a dismal tour in 2013, when India were celebrating Tendulkar's farewell Test series, scoring 23, 37, 29, 11 in the two Tests.
While his overall average in Asia is a staggering 57.95, it can be safely said that his record in India is not too exceptional, once again proving India's dominance over overseas batsmen at home.