Five celebrated foreign legends who failed in India in Test cricket
These batsmen didn't find it easy to adjust to the challenging conditions in India.
Ricky Ponting: Matches: 14 Runs: 662 Avg: 26.48 100s: 1 HS: 123
“My arch nemesis when I was playing against India was Harbhajan Singh,” Ponting said in 2016. “I still get nightmares about him.”
That statement by Ricky Ponting pretty much summed up his ordeal in India. One of the greatest batsmen the world has ever seen, easily the greatest hooker/puller of a cricket ball, the second-highest run-getter in world cricket, a batsman who scaled almost every unchartered territory. Well! Except for India. That is not to say that Ponting struggles in general against India.
The former Australian captain played some outstanding innings against the Indians across all formats of the game. Who can ever forget his epic 140 in the finals of the 2003 World Cup? That knock single-handedly crushed the dreams of 1.3 billion Indians. But, despite the nationalities, every single man admired the genius of Ponting.
Who can forget that epic 257 at the Adelaide Oval in 2003; one that was overshadowed by Rahul Dravid’s brilliance [233 & 72 not out]? Barring Indian conditions, Ponting has a penchant for the Indian bowling. In 15 Tests Down Under, the Aussie No.3 racked up a ridiculous 1,893 runs at an average of 86.04 including seven hundred and as many half-centuries.
But, the former Aussie captain, could not repeat those heroics on Indian soil. And, the main reason for his struggles was the presence of Harbhajan. Ponting was one of three victims of Harbhajan’s hattrick at the Eden Gardens on a tour that was the lowest point of his career. The Aussie legend was reduced to a walking wicket in that series, managing just 17 runs across six innings at a damming average of 3.40.
The Turbanator had a wood over Ponting throughout his career, accounting for the Aussie captain ten times. Ponting finally got it right during his sixth tour of India in 2010 where he racked up 224 runs in 2 Tests at an average of 56.00. His overall numbers in India read: 662 runs in 14 Tests at an average of 26.48.
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