5 legends who failed in Test Cricket in India

ricky ponting test match india
Ponting has an average of 26 against India in India

A number of great Test batsmen have tasted success on Indian pitches against a lackluster opposition bowling attack. India has been on the receiving end of various prolific innings and partnerships, especially on the slow and dead Indian pitches.Mahela Jayawardene’s 274, Younis Khan’s 267 and Hashim Amla’s unbeaten 253 are recent instances of the same.However, there have been some legends, who failed in Tests when visiting India. Here are five of them:

#1 Ricky Ponting

ricky ponting test match india
Ponting has an average of 26 against India in India

Ricky Ponting and his travails against the Indian spin attack on their home pitches has been well documented, and his dismal record in India attests it.

He played a total of fourteen matches but went past the three-figure mark only once. The year 2001 series was a forgettable one for him, as he managed a meagre 17 runs in three matches, averaging just 3.4. His series averages steadily increased over the next three tours, but even after scoring a doughty 123 at Bangalore, his average against India in India is 26.

Ponting had a particularly torrid time against Harbhajan, who has dismissed Ponting ten times in Tests, five times in the 2001 series alone. It was a nasty blot on an otherwise brilliant Test career.

#2 Shane Warne

shane warne test match
Warne has only one five-wicket haul on the slow and turning Indian pitches

Shane Warne brought back life in the dying art of wrist spin, becoming the second most successful Test bowler after Muttiah Muralitharan, in a career that lasted exactly fifteen years. He used to get tremendous amount of turn on slow pitches, troubling established batsmen the world over.

Yet, Warne wasn’t exactly as effective in India, despite being their lead spinner in their tours to the subcontinent. In the nine Tests that he played in the country, he took 34 wickets, with only one five-wicket haul.

Often, he wasn’t as effective in his long spells, like the 42-over wicketless spell in Kolkata in 1998, where he conceded 147 runs, or the one in the same ground in 2001, where he bowled 34 overs to concede 152 runs and capture only a solitary wicket. His average of 43.11 was way higher than his career bowling average of 25.41.

#3 Kumar Sangakkara

sanga test india
Sangakkara averaged less than 25 on Indian pitches

Kumar Sangakkara has been a heavy run scorer in the past decade, racking up huge scores, especially in the subcontinent. However, his record in India is far from inspiring.

He played on two tours, averaging below 25 in the first. The second tour, in 2009, was better, where he averaged 48 and scored a century. But looking at his Test average of 57, Sangakkara was expected to fare better than just one fifty-plus score in ten innings.

In the 2005 series, he could muster only 124 runs from five innings, with not a single fifty-plus innings. He had a far better ODI record in India, scoring three centuries and averaging higher than his career average

#4 Adam Gilchrist

gilchrist test india
Gilchrist averaged below 28 in the seven test matches he played in India

Adam Gilchrist blew hot and cold in India. The swashbuckling wicketkeeper, known for his game-changing innings at number 7, scored two centuries in India, but still averaged below 28 over seven Tests.

His scores in the 2001 series were perplexing. He started with a 122 of only 112 balls. Then, the Kolkata Test happened. His subsequent scores in the same series read 0,0,1 and 1.Similarly, he started off with 104 at Bangalore, but couldn’t go past fifty even once in the next seven innings.

With 342 runs from seven matches, Gilchrist’s average in India was twenty units below his Test average of 48.

On a different note, Gilchrist ended his Test, ODI and T20 career against India, and signed off from his first class career with the IPL.

#5 Graeme Smith

graeme smith test india
Smith failed to score a single century in India

Smith was considered one of the best captains of the South African team, as well as a legendary opening batsman. He averaged close to 50 in Tests, scoring more than 9000 runs in a career that lasted twelve years.

However, his stints in India weren’t as memorable. In 11 innings, he couldn’t go past the three-figure mark even once. He got starts, but couldn’t convert them into substantial scores. The 2010 tour was the least prolific when he garnered only 30 runs in two Tests.

He had an ordinary tour in 2008, scoring 246 runs in three Tests. Yet, his average in India was 12 units below his Test average. His tormentor-in-chief was Zaheer Khan, who has taken Smith’s wicket fourteen times in International cricket.

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Edited by Staff Editor