India's record in overseas conditions has not always been the best and so every victory that they achieve outside the subcontinent is cherished a lot, irrespective of the opposition. Just yesterday, the Indians completed an emphatic innings victory over the host team in the first Test of their West Indies tour.
While Virat Kohli scored his first double century during the course of the match, it was off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who stole the show with a brilliant all-round performance. Ashwin scored a century in Team India's only innings of the Test and followed it up with a 7-wicket haul in the opponent team's 2nd innings to seal the match.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer's fine display is perhaps the best all-round showing by an Indian in overseas Tests. However, there have been quite a few instances when players from the country have shone with both bat and ball during matches won or drawn by India outside Asia.
Here are the 5 best Indian all-round performances overseas:
5. Harbhajan Singh - Wellington, 2009
Batting - 60 & 0
Bowling - 3/43 & 4/59
Harbhajan Singh earned plenty of laurels for India through his wily off-spin bowling over the years. However, he has often managed to turn the heat on the opposition with the bat as well. While Harbhajan's all-round skills have come to use primarily in home Tests, he has done the job in overseas conditions too.
In a Test against New Zealand at Wellington in 2009, the Punjab cricketer scored a fluent 60 off just 78 balls to help India post 379 runs in their first innings. When he came to bowl, Harbhajan Singh snapped up 3 important wickets of Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and James Franklin as the hosts folded up for 197.
Although the off-spinner could not deliver with the bat in India's 2nd innings, he made up for it by recording figures of 4 for 59 as the Test ended in a draw.
4. Srinivas Venkataraghavan - Port of Spain, 1971
Batting - 51 & 21
Bowling - 4/100 & 2/11
Former Indian cricketer and international umpire Srinivas Venkataragahavan was an off-spinner by trade and played 57 Tests for India. However, he was also capable enough of scoring a few runs whenever required. Venkat, as the offie was fondly known, scored over 700 runs in Test cricket including 2 fifties.
His best all-round performance came about on India's 1971 tour of the West Indies. In the fifth and final Test at Port of Spain, Srinivas Venkataragahavan came up with a resolute 51 to take the Indian score to 360 in their first innings. He also picked up 4 for 100 in the West Indian 1st innings.
The Tamil Nadu cricketer scored a useful 21 in the second innings, too, and claimed 2 wickets in just 5 overs when West Indies batted last. The match, however, ended in an exciting draw as India needed just 2 wickets for a win.
3. Javagal Srinath - Hamilton, 1999
Batting - 76
Bowling - 5/95 & 1/90
Javagal Srinath played the role of India's pace bowling spearhead for a large part of his career and enjoyed considerable success. Apart from being a world-class fast bowler, Srinath was also a handy lower order batsman who scored 4 fifties in his Test career. Perhaps his best all-round performance came in a Test match against New Zealand at Hamilton in 1999.
The Karnataka pacer started off by bagging a five-wicket haul as the Kiwis managed to post a total of 366 in their first innings. With the bat, Srinath scored a fighting 76 off 158 balls and added 144 for the 8th wicket with centurion Rahul Dravid to help the Indians gain a lead. However, the pacer could pick up just one wicket in New Zealand's second innings.
Centuries from Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in India's 2nd innings ensured that the Test ended in a draw.
2. Irfan Pathan - Bulawayo, 2005
Batting - 52
Bowling - 5/58 & 4/53
Irfan Pathan's early years in international cricket saw him play the best cricket of his career so far as he delivered for India with both bat and ball. He scored more than 1000 Test runs at a very decent average of over 31 and claimed 100 wickets between 2003 and 2008. However, it all fell apart for Pathan too soon and he is still struggling to get back into the Indian team.
One of the Baroda all-rounder's finest performances was against Zimbabwe in a Test match at Bulawayo in 2005. In what turned out to be an innings victory for India, Pathan took a five-wicket haul in the Zimbabwean first innings and scored a half-century when he came out to bat during his team's only innings.
The left-arm pacer picked up 4 more wickets in the hosts' second innings as he and Harbhajan Singh folded them up for 185 to complete the win.
1. Bhuvneshwar Kumar - Lord's, 2014
Batting - 36 & 52
Bowling - 6/82 & 0/21
Despite having played 12 Tests for India so far in his career, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not really managed to find a permanent place for himself in the team. Known for his excellent swing bowling and abilities with the bat, Kumar has often used his skills to good effect in the longest format of the game.
During the Indian team's historic triumph at Lord's in 2014, Bhuvneshwar made an important all-round contribution. When Ajinkya Rahane was struggling to find partners in India's first innings, the Uttar Pradesh cricketer stuck around for a vital 90-run partnership. Later, he grabbed a 6-wicket haul to help India dismiss England for 319.
This was followed by a half-century in the Indian 2nd innings and although it was Ishant Sharma who bowled the team to victory, Bhuvneshwar Kumar kept the pressure on the batsman by conceding just 21 runs in his 16 overs.
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