In stats: Most Test runs by an Indian captain in a away series

Mohammed Azharuddin of India
Mohammed Azharuddin, Indian Skipper, India tour of England 1990

Playing away is always challenging when it comes to cricket. Winning overseas is even more challenging. For any team to be formidable, a right combination of solid batsmen and attacking bowlers is required. But, the most important role is of the captain of the team. If the leader leads from the front, it sends a strong message to other players to play tough. Setting an example for their teams, here is the list of Indian captains who have scored most Test runs on an away tour.


#5 Mohammad Azharuddin, England, 1990

India toured England in 1990, with a quite younger team as compared to their previous successful tour of 1986. India had won the Test series in 1986 2-0 but hadn't won a single away Test since then. With the likes of Gavaskar and Amarnath long retired, the batting responsibility was on the then Indian skipper Mohammed Azharuddin and the 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar.

The first Test was at Lord's. In a Test match which is known for Graham Gooch's 333, Azhar scored a brilliant hundred in the first innings and topped the Indian scorecard. With India facing the threat of follow-on, he played attacking shots, against a quality bowling unit and completed his century off just 87 balls. He topped the Indian scorecard with his score of 121. In the second innings, he scored a fighting 37 runs as India lost the match by 247 runs. But, had it not been for Azhar's innings, the defeat would have been quite worse.

Moving on to Manchester, Azhar scored 179 in the first Innings, leading India from the front. An innings full of compassion, grit, class, was however followed by a poor 11 in the second innings. In the third Test at Oval, Azhar scored a solid knock of 79, followed by the centuries of Ravi Shastri and Kapil Dev. India was able to draw this Test, however, losing the series 1-0.

In the 5 innings of the three Tests, Azhar scored 426 runs with 2 centuries and 1 fifty. He averaged 85 in the series and was India's leading run-scorer. Later on, that year, he went on to become the Wisden cricketer of the year.

#4 Sunil Gavaskar, Pakistan, 1982-83

SUNIL GAVSKAR AGAINST ENGLAND
Sunil Gavaskar, Indian Skipper, India tour of Pakistan, 1982-83

During the 1982-83 season, India toured Pakistan and played 6 Test matches. Sunil Gavaskar was the Indian skipper on the tour.

In the first Test at Lahore, Sunny scored 83 runs helping India reach a respectable total of 373. He also became the first batsman to score 7000 Test runs in the same match. In the second Test at Karachi, India bundled out against the Majestic spell of Imran Khan and went to lose the Test by an innings. Imran Khan destroyed the Indian batting line-up with an 8-for in the second innings. Gavaskar scored 8 and 42 runs respectively in both the innings.

Pakistan won the third match quite comprehensively by 10 wickets, however, a fighting 127 runs from the Indian skipper in the second innings ensured Pakistan came out to bat again. At Hyderabad, in the fourth Test, Sunny scored 17 and 60 in both the innings. In a washout Test at Lahore, Sunny had just 13 runs in his account. In the second Innings of the sixth and the final Test, he scored a solid 62 runs to help India draw the Test match.

India lost the series 3-0, which made the 434 runs from Indian skipper go in vain.

#3 Virat Kohli, Australia, 2014-15

Australia v India: 3rd Test - Day 5
Virat Kohli, Indian Skipper, India tour of Australia 2014-15

This tour marked the retirement of MS Dhoni and the arrival of Virat Kohli in world cricket. MS Dhoni was the captain of Indian side for this series, however, he missed the first Test due to injury and retired after the third Test, making Virat Kohli captain for two out of the four Tests.

In his very first match as the Indian Test skipper, Virat Kohli went to score centuries in both the innings. With the likes of Mitchell Johnson and Peter Siddle in the Australian bowling line-up, the Indian team was trailing the huge total of 517. The captain joined Cheteshwar Pujara in the middle and played a champion knock of 115 in the first innings. Chasing a total of 363 in the fourth innings, Virat Kohli scored his career-defining innings of 141 runs. Although, India went on to lose the test by 48 runs, Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay's partnership almost snatched away the victory from the Aussies. Kohli, himself has marked this innings of 141 as his best Test innings ever.

After the third Test at Melbourne, MS Dhoni retired from Test cricket with immediate effect, making Virat Kohli the permanent Test captain of the Indian side. Virat scored 147 runs at the SCG, becoming only the second captain to score three consecutive centuries in his first three innings as a captain. Continuing his tremendous form, this batting sensation scored 46 runs in the second innings ensuring a draw for the Indians.

He scored a whooping 692 runs in the series; with his two Tests as the captain accounting for 449 runs in just 4 innings with 3 centuries and an average of 112.

#2 Rahul Dravid, West Indies, 2006

Second Test: India v England - Day Two
Rahul Dravid, Indian skipper, India tour of WI, 2006

India had not won a single Test series in West Indies for the past 35 years when India toured WI in 2006. With Sachin missing the series due to the tennis elbow injury, the responsibility of Indian batting was in the hands of the, then, Indian skipper, Rahul Dravid.

Right from the Test 1, The Wall took the burden of Indian batting on his shoulders. He scored 49 and 62 runs in both the innings respectively, giving India a good total to bowl the hosts out in the final Innings. However, India was not able to take the final West Indian wicket, and the match ended as a draw. In the second Test, Dravid hit a century alongside Mohamed Kaif and Virender Sehwag, that helped give India a formidable total.

The score of 146 in the second Test by Dravid was followed by 22 and 68* in the third Test. As the series went to the low-scoring decider at Jamaica, the Indian skipper scored more than 50% of the team's runs in both the innings. He scored 81 and 68 in both the innings helping India win their first Test series at West Indies after three and a half decades.

In the seven innings of the four-match series, Rahul Dravid scored 496 runs with one century and four fifties. He was the top scorer in the series, as well.

#1 Virat Kohli, England, 2018

England v India: Specsavers 4th Test - Day Four
Virat Kohli. Indian Skipper, India tour of England, 2018

Virat Kohli entered the series with the persistent talks of not being able to score runs in India's previous tour to England. With the challenge of winning the series in England, he also had a personal challenge of scoring runs in England and shutting up the critics.

In the very first match itself, Indian batsmen were struggling to play against the likes of Anderson and Broad. With almost negligible support from the opposite end, Virat went on to score his first Test century in England, fighting the battle as a lone warrior. He scored 149 runs in the first innings and a crucial 51 in the second, however, he was unable to take his team through. In a high rain-affected match at Lord's, Virat was unable to make an impact and scored only 40 runs in both the innings combined as India went on to lose the Test by an innings.

India bounced back in the third match by winning it and making the the series 2-1. Virat scored a brilliant 97 and 103 runs in both the innings respectively, grabbing the Man of the Match award. In the fourth Test, Virat was unable to convert his starts into big scores in both the innings as he scored 46 and 58 respectively. However, his 58 in the second innings was an innings full of commitment, consistency and class, as he topped the Indian scorecard. Unfortunately, none of the lower-middle order batsmen played their role and India went on to lose the match, trailing the series by an unassailable 3-1.

Out of the 4 Tests played so far, Virat is the leading run scorer from both the teams, with his predecessor Jos Buttler scoring half the runs he has scored. Uptil now, he has scored 544 runs in 8 innings with 2 centuries and 3 fifties.

*Stats updated till the fourth Test, 3-9-2018.

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Edited by Sarah Waris