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England has often been a tough place to tour for India. Several legendary Indian batsmen have struggled to play against the constantly swinging Dukes balls and left the English shores with meager returns.
Even modern-day great Virat Kohli endured a horrific experience during India's tour of England in 2014, averaging just 13.50 across 10 innings. Later in 2018, the Indian skipper managed to redeem his record in England by accumulating a mammoth 692 runs in five matches.
Nonetheless, the subcontinent players find the English conditions challenging, and Team India will face the challenge yet again when they take on New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton, starting today.
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While the likes of Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, and Ravindra Jadeja have played enough Test cricket in England, Indian openers Rohit Sharma (one Test) and Shubman Gill (0 Tests) have zero to limited experience of playing on English soil.
On that note, let's revisit the past and reminisce about the highest scores by Indian batsmen in England.
#1 Virat Kohli - 149 at Edgbaston in 2018
Virat Kohli has a penchant for raising his performance levels when things get tough. This trait of him was on full display during India's tour of England in 2018. Kohli endured his worst Test series ever against England in 2014, but four years later, he made an emphatic comeback and scored a marvelous century in his first Test on England soil since 2014.
The skipper arrived at the crease in the first innings of the first Test when India were 54-2 in 14 overs. His arch-nemesis James Anderson gave him a warm welcome with some sumptuous swing bowling as the England pacer continuously tested Kohli's patience by bowling at the fifth stump. Despite having a few lifelines, Virat Kohli maintained his composure and fought vehemently against a world-class bowling attack to help his team post a decent first innings total.
Even though wickets kept tumbling regularly at the other end, Virat continued to play positively and hit one of the best hundreds by a foreign batsman on English soil. Shikhar Dhawan's 26 was the next best score on the scorecard, showing the kind of impact Kohli's knock had in the context of the game.
The indian skipper's magnificent knock comprised of 22 fours and a solitary six. He eventually got out as the last wicket of the innings. In an attempt to score quickly, he cut a ball from Adil Rashid straight into the hands of Stuart Broad.
Following his departure, the Edgbaston crowd gave Kohli a standing ovation for his exemplary knock.
#2 Cheteshwar Pujara - 132* at Southampton in 2018
After getting dropped for the first two Tests during India's tour of England in 2018, Cheteshwar Pujara had to make a strong statement with the bat to re-establish his spot in India's playing XI. He replaced Murali Vijay in the third Test, but failed to score significantly.
But in the fourth Test at Southampton, Pujara showed his class by playing a gritty Test match knock to save his team from trouble in the first innings.
When the wickets kept falling around him, Pujara was indomitable at the other end and remained unbeaten on 132* at the end of the innings. Due to his heroics, India managed to take a lead of 27 runs. Pujara's splendid 257-ball knock comprised of 16 boundaries.
#3 Rishabh Pant - 114 at the Oval in 2018
Rishabh Pant hit his maiden international century during India's tour of England in 2018. It was also the first instance of an Indian wicket-keeper passing the three-figure mark on English soil. In the fifth Test at the Oval, on the back of Alaister Cook's splendid century (147) in his farewell innings, England set India a daunting target of 464 runs.
Team India's chase got off to the worst possible start as they lost Dhawan (1), Pujara (0), and Kohli (0) with just three runs on the board. Rahane (37) and KL Rahul (149) then tried to steady the ship, but Moeen Ali prized out the Indian Test vice-captain to deepen the visitors' troubles.
Rishabh Pant joined KL Rahul at the crease following Hanuma Vihari's departure. The duo stitched together a 204-run partnership to give India slim hope of an improbable win.
Pant played in his trademark fearless and aggressive manner, scoring 114 runs off just 146 deliveries. His enticing knock comprised of 15 fours and four sixes. However, India were eventually bowled out for 345, losing the match as well as the series.
#4 Ajinkya Rahane - 103
The calm and understated Ajinkya Rahane has always stood up when India have needed him the most. Be it Melbourne (112) in 2020, Johannesburg (48) in 2018, Wellington (118) in 2014, or the twin-hundred in Delhi in 2015 on a viciously turning track, Rahane has almost single-handedly saved India from tough situations on multiple occasions.
More often than not, when Rahane plays a crucial knock, India do end up on the winning side. It was the same case at Lord's in 2014.
In the second Test of India's tour of England in 2014, the home team got off to an ideal start on the green pitch as the Indian batsmen struggled. Rahane (103) was the only Indian middle-order batter to stand tall and countered the persistent challenges thrown by the English bowlers.
Rahane, who forged a fruitful 90-run partnership with Bhuvneshwar Kumar to take India to a decent first innings total of 295, scored a century in his maiden outing at Lord's. His majestic 154-ball knock comprised of 15 fours and one solitary six.
India eventually won the match comfortably by 95 runs due to stellar contributions from Ishant Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Rahane. Intriguingly, this was the only match on the list where India emerged victorious.
Among others, Ravindra Jadeja has the highest score of 86* (at the Oval in 2018), while Ravichandran Ashwin has 46* as his best score on English soil. Rohit Sharma has played only one Test in England so far. The elegant right-handed batsman scored 28 and six at Southampton in 2014. His opening partner Shubman Gill is yet to play a Test in the country.
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