Rare breed of Indian batsmen who have succeeded in England

1. Rahul Dravid:

Rahul Dravid was by far India’s most consistent player in England due to his perfection at facing conventional swing and patience at negotiating the deliveries outside the off-stump. In the 13 Test matches in this part of the world, ‘The Wall’ (as they say) scored 1376 runs at a rich average of 68.8 with six centuries and four fifties in 23 innings. He averaged over 60 in three out of the four tours he was part of between 1996 and 2011.

Dravid made his debut in the 1996 series where he scored 187 runs across three innings including a 95 on debut at the Lord’s. In the next tour in 2002, he scored 602 runs at an average of 102.33 with three centuries which included the scores of 115 at the Trent Bridge to save the game and 148 in the next innings on a green top that set up a series equalizer. Dravid ended the tour with a 217 in the series-decider at The Oval but the game ended in a draw.

Rahul Dravid, the captain, toured England in 2007 and won the series after two decades. However, with the bat, he managed only 126 runs in three matches at a low average of 25.2 scoring only one fifty. In what turned out to be his last tour to England in 2011, Dravid amassed 461 with three centuries despite India went down in the series 0-4 and ended up losing their top rank in Test cricket.

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