One of the fiercest test series in modern-day cricket is the India versus England series. It may not rank at the level of the Ashes or have the hype of an India versus Pakistan but it always delivers on fantastic cricket. The 2012 England’s tour to India when Cook and Pietersen decided to negotiate spin and take the England bowlers to the cleaners is still celebrated as one of England’s most cherished test series wins.
The Rahane century in Lords in 2014 when India won the match in Lords is also one of India’s most delectable victories. With both teams having such big guns and always giving it their all, one would not be surprised to see players heaping mountains of runs.
We look at the top players from both teams who have scored maximum runs over the years.
1.Sachin Tendulkar
The first name on this list should come as no surprise. He has played a total of 32 matches against England at home and away with a massive 2535 runs at a healthy average of 51.73. He has scored 7 centuries against England and 13 50s. His most memorable innings would be the one at Leeds in the 2002 series where he got a 193 in the first innings.
2.Sunil Gavaskar
Close on the heels of Tendulkar is Gavaskar who has 2483 runs from the 67 innings against England. He averaged a solid 38.20 against England. He has 4 centuries against them and 16 half-centuries. He has a double hundred against them when he made 221 in Kennington Oval in 1979.
3.Alastair Cook
A modern-day legend, Cook was the backbone of England’s batting on the 2012 India tour. He made his debut in India, Nagpur. He played a total of 30 matches against India and scored a total of 241 runs at an average of 47 with 7 centuries. His highest score was 294 which he got in the 2011 series in Birmingham.
4.Joe Root
Root has loved batting against and in India. He got two back-to-back centuries in the ongoing series with scoring a mammoth 180* in the second test. Earlier in the year, he scored a double hundred in Chennai and was instrumental in helping England win the test match. As of now, he has scored a total of 2000 runs against India which is only set to grow bigger.
5.Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid made his test debut against England in 1996 with a smashing 95 and it kickstarted one of the brilliant test careers of all time. Dravid has always enjoyed batting against England starting from his debut series to an excellent finish in the 2011 series in England where he finished as the man of the series with three centuries on the tour. He played 37 innings against England scoring 1950 runs at a stunning average of 60.93 and he had hit 7 centuries and 8 half-centuries.
6.Virat Kohli
Virat against England in tests has hit 1784 runs so far at an average of 45.84 in 41 innings against the England side. These numbers are extraordinary considering that he had one of the worst series of his career in 2014 against England when he averaged around 10 and was troubled by James Anderson. Kohli has hit 5 centuries and 7 half-centuries so far against England and his 235 in Mumbai was one of his career’s highlights.
