It so happens sometimes that a few players take a liking towards a particular opposition team. Every time they turn up against them, these players are in great form. As much as the player deserves credit for repeatedly performing well against a team, the opposition must also take some flak for not cracking the strategy to stop these players from doing well against them. In this article, we take a look at five current players who enjoy playing against India.
1) Joe Root (England)
Test Matches vs India: Matches – 22 || Runs – 2142 || Average – 61.20 || Centuries – 7
ODI Matches vs India: Matches – 18 || Runs – 728 || Average – 56 || Centuries – 3
T20I Matches vs India: Matches – 7 || Runs – 161 || Average – 32.20 || Half-Centuries – 0
Amongst the active players in the game, no other batsman has scored more Test runs against India than Joe Root. In fact, the English captain’s average against India is almost 25% higher than his career Test average. Having made his debut against India in 2012, Root also has a double-hundred against the subcontinent giants. His only fifer with the ball is against India, as well.
Not just that, Root also enjoys an average of 56 against India in ODI cricket. He has not played a lot of T20I cricket, but in the 2017 game at Kanpur, Root anchored a chase and helped his side win the game. Hence, he is one of the players who enjoy playing against India.
2) Steve Smith (Australia)
Test Matches vs India: Matches – 14 || Runs – 1742 || Average – 72.58 || Centuries – 8
ODI Matches vs India: Matches – 21 || Runs – 1123 || Average – 62.39 || Centuries – 5
T20I Matches vs India: Matches – 6 || Runs – 106 || Average – 21.20 || Half-Centuries – 0
Steve Smith has tormented the Indian attack on multiple occasions in the past. In 2014, when India toured Australia, Steve Smith got hundreds in four consecutive Tests. Three years later, when Australia toured India, Smith got three Test centuries. In January this year, too, the former Aussie captain brought up a century against the Indians.
Although he has not been splendid in T20Is, Smith’s best ODI performances, so far, have also come against India. In fact, he already has five centuries against the men in blue, including one in the semi-final of the 2015 50-over World Cup.
3) James Anderson (England)
Test Matches vs India: Matches – 32 || Wickets – 127 || Average – 24.51
ODI Matches vs India: Matches – 31 || Wickets – 40 || Average – 33.50
T20I Matches vs India: Matches – 2 || Wickets – 0 || Average – Nil
James Anderson has picked more wickets against India than any other nation in both ODI and Test cricket. From Team India’s perspective, no other player has picked more Test wickets against them than the English pacer. Even at an age close to 40, the highest Test wicket-taking pacer is still delivering against India.
It is well-known that most Indian batsmen possess weaknesses against the moving ball. Anderson is the best exponent of swing in Tests, and hence, whenever India has toured England, he is amongst the wickets. Interestingly, although he has more than 120 wickets against India, Anderson has not had more than five wickets at once.
4) Aaron Finch (Australia)
Test Matches vs India: Matches – 3 || Runs – 97 || Average – 16.17 || Centuries – 0
ODI Matches vs India: Matches – 32 || Runs – 1460 || Average – 48.67 || Centuries – 4
T20I Matches vs India: Matches – 15 || Runs – 440 || Average – 29.33 || Half-Centuries – 2
It seems like an interesting fact that barring Shoaib Malik, amongst the current players, Aaron Finch has scored the most number of ODI runs against India. In fact, in T20Is, the Aussie tops the list with 440 runs scored against India so far.
After IPL 2020, Finch was struggling for form, but he was in top form against India a month later. He also got a hundred in that series. Australia’s limited-overs captain also has nine ODI fifties, more than against any other opposition for the player. In T20Is, although his record against India has not been great, since he has played a lot of games, he stands at the top of the list.
5) Adil Rashid (England)
Test Matches vs India: Matches – 10 || Wickets – 33 || Average – 35.45
ODI Matches vs India: Matches – 8 || Wickets – 9 || Average – 50.11
T20I Matches vs India: Matches – 11 || Wickets – 4 || Average – 40.14
Adil Rashid is also one of the current players who enjoy playing against India. Although the Englishman does not rank high in records, he has had an impact whenever he played against India. It is only due to a small sample size that we might not find the leggie in the charts.
Rashid has especially been effective against Virat Kohli. In fact, in the total 46 wickets that he has got against India, 9 have been that of Kohli’s. The player has had a short Test career in which he has collected only 60 wickets. However, 33 of them have been against India, which shows his form when he turns up against the nation.
