One hears this argument all the time – that India struggle on the bouncy, seaming wickets outside the subcontinent, simply because the batsmen don’t put up enough runs and don’t deliver under pressure. Now, especially in Test cricket, this is not the case. The table below provides a comparison of the runs/wicket scored (S) and conceded (C) by each of the top 8 Test teams in Australia, England, New Zealand, South Africa and West Indies since the year 1990. It shows that India have had one of the better batting line ups in world cricket in those conditions in this period. India have the best runs/wicket record in Australia, England and the West Indies, have reasonable records in New Zealand and South Africa.
What the record reveals more starkly is the poor Indian bowling performances in these nations. They have the worst bowling record bar Sri Lanka or Pakistan (only in SA, elsewhere their record is superb) in each of the 5 countries.
So, it is not the batting which has hurt India overseas, but the lack of fast bowling. The batting has consistently been amongst the best in the world. The story has always been, that in 250 all out conditions, India inevitably ended up conceded 350-400, and in good batting conditions, India always conceded 500+. That left the batsmen with a basically un-winnable situation in almost every test match.
What this line up – with 3 decent pace bowlers (who are at least competitive) in the current team and in recent teams (especially this decade, when India have won 5 Tests in the countries mentioned above, while losing 7), has given India, is the ability to compete on somewhat equal terms with the opposition.
With any other bowling line up, the batting line up available to India in the last 16 years would have featured in many more test wins. That is what has changed this decade.
