The Transition Period Of Indian Cricket:
On the cricket field, the turn of the century brought about a transition in India’s fortune. With Sourav Ganguly‘s fiery and reforming captaincy, India started aiming for glory on foreign soil. India got used to doing well at home in Test cricket in the 1990’s. Yet on the road they struggled miserably, more so on challenging surfaces outside the sub-continent.
But with the historic victory over Australia at home in 2001, when India came back from a test down to scripting a spectacular win, it all started to change. India struggled to win any series for the initial part of the decade outside the subcontinent but they fought hard and won a series after a long break in England and Australia. India also recorded their first victory on West Indian soil for more than a decade and also registered a maiden test win in South Africa, all while continuing to keep their own home, with the only blip coming in 2004 against Australia.
However, the icing on the cake was a maiden series win on Pakistani soil, that charged the country overall. India recorded a series win in England under the captaincy of Rahul Dravid and continued to record impressive performances. As a result, the team eventually reached the top rank in Test cricket for the first time in ICC rankings. Although most of these victories were the product of joint team efforts, batsmen played a crucial role for India as always.
Here’s the list of India’s ‘Fab Five’ batsman who dominated the proceedings with their outstanding batting records between 2000 and 2009, a decade that has seen India accomplish so much in Test cricket.
Virender Sehwag: 6248 runs in 72 matches at an average of 52.50
Sachin Tendulkar: 7129 runs in 89 matches at an average of 58.48
Rahul Dravid: 8558 runs in 103 matches at an average of 54.85
VVS Laxman: 6291 runs in 92 matches at an average of 49.92
Sourav Ganguly: 4780 runs in 81 matches at an average of 39.18
