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.
#4 AB de Villiers – 630 runs
The only worthwhile knock by de Villiers in Tests in India that comes to mind is his 217* at Ahmedabad in 2008. His run scoring across formats all over the World had not extended to Tests in India. There is the exceptional, career turning double hundred of course, but otherwise, his record here is surprisingly average.
The next highest score he has recorded in the country is an 85 in Bangalore in his 100th Test, a terrific knock that won’t stay in the memory of fans as the match was washed out by rain. The de Villiers the world has come to know, was on full display as he was the only batsman with some idea about how to play the Indian spinners on the day.
An average of 45 in 9 Tests, with a total of 630 runs does not do justice to his abilities as a batsman capable of handling pace bowlers and spinners with equal ease. That said, the last series he played in was on controversial wickets, turning a mile, where even Indian batsmen struggled to play. He had a few brilliant knocks to show for last time in tough conditions against the likes of Ashwin, Mishra and Jadeja.
He has one hundred, the double hundred, and 3 half centuries in the country and Indian fans will be hoping that he comes around one more time to better his record in the nation. That one of the best modern batsmen in world cricket currently struggled to score with the fluency he is known for, underlines India's home domination.
#3 Younis Khan
A Pakistani in this list is a certainty as the neighbouring nation has had a few good series in India. But since the last time they toured India was a couple of years ago, I doubted any current player to find himself in there. But of course, Younis has played enough Tests in the country and possesses the technique to overcome spinners.
Younis, in 6 Tests in India, has scored 768 runs with 3 hundreds and two half-centuries. He has played two Test series against India in India – in 2005 and 2007. A 147 at Kolkata in the first innings could not stop India from steamrolling them courtesy a seven-wicket haul by present Indian coach, Anil Kumble. He quickly made amends in Bangalore in the final Test of the series with two spectacular knocks - a 267 in the first innings and 84* in the second, guiding Pakistan to a win and levelling the series.
He showed his love for Kolkata yet again in 2007 with a 107* in a drawn Test and followed it up with an 80 at Bangalore in another drawn Test.
For a guy with such good instincts against spinners, his record in India is pretty good. An average of 76.80 in India playing against the likes of Harbhajan and Kumble in their prime, does justice to a prodigiously talented batsman.
#2 Alastair Cook – 887 runs
The English captain made his Test debut in India in 2006 and celebrated the debut at Nagpur with a 104* in the second innings, winning admirers for his handling of Harbhajan and Kumble. It was the start of an illustrious career, in which he has piled on runs all over the world.
His second tour in 2008 did not yield as many runs, as he struggled to cope with the square turners on offer at Mohali and Chennai. But he made amends in 2012, as captain of the side, leading his nation to a historic 2-1 series triumph. He led the batting charts in the series, becoming an impenetrable rock at the top of the order.
A fighting 176 in the opening Test at Ahmedabad went in vain as England lost, but he kept the runs flowing in the second Test at Mumbai, notching up another hundred in the first innings, a 122 off 336 balls. He remained unbeaten in the second innings, guiding his team to a series-levelling win.
He wasn't done yet and a 190 in Kolkata in the first innings led England to a seven-wicket win and a series victory. Cook was undebatably the Man of the Series despite the promising show of Panesar and Swann.
This time around in 2016, Cook has a bunch of youngsters to assist him and it remains to be seen if he can notch up 1000 runs in the country.
Presently he stands at 887 runs in 9 matches at an average of 59.13.
#1 Hashim Amla – 941 runs
Not many batsmen touring India have had a better run in a series in India than Amla in 2010. The Indians could dismiss him only once across three innings of 253*, 114 and 123*.
He had shown his adeptness in playing spin in his first tour to the country in 2008, notching up 159 in Chennai, but was overshadowed by Sehwag's 319. In 2010, however, there was no stopping the South African as he piled up 490 runs in three innings.
His last tour to India was a poor one for South Africa and he never came to the fore until the ‘ blockathon’ in Delhi where he stayed put against Ashwin and Jadeja for 244 balls for just 25 runs.
A total of 941 runs, in 10 innings, makes him the current top scorer in India among overseas batsmen, who have found the land impossible to survive in.
An average of 62.73 does justice to his abilities and he will be hoping to cross that elusive 1000 run mark (Only 3 overseas batsmen have 1000+ Test runs in India – Clive Lloyd, Gordon Greenidge and Matthew Hayden) in the nation the next time the Proteas arrive.
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