Rising against the rivals - Part II

Before the one-day series between India and Pakistan began, the List had looked at players with the best averages in India-Pakistan one-day internationals. Salman Butt, Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh all lived up to their excellent records, while Shoaib Malik failed to maintain his dominance against India. With the Test series starting on Thursday in Delhi, we look at the best performers in India-Pakistan Tests.

Younis Khan had a mediocre one-day record against India before this series - averaging 29 in 22 innings - but he's repaired that to a certain extent by scoring 231 runs at 57.75 in four games on this tour. However, it's the Tests he'll be looking forward to, for he has plundered the Indian attack in the longer format. He has scored 1061 runs in only 11 innings at an average of 106 and all of his three career-highest scores have come against India. On his last tour to India, in 2004-05, Younis scored 267 and 84 in Bangalore to set up Pakistan's series-levelling victory.

Pakistan will be relieved that the Indian selectors have not picked Virender Sehwag for the first and second Tests. Sehwag has an awesome record against them, and his 309 in Multan in 2003-04 remains the only triple-hundred by an Indian in Tests. Since then he has reeled off two more double-hundreds and averages 91.14 in 14 innings against them.

Click here for the full tables.

Sachin Tendulkar had a below-par record against Pakistan in ODIs, averaging 38.58 before the recent series, but 259 runs at 51.80 have pushed it up to nearly 40. He has a poor Test record as well against Pakistan, with an average of 39.91 compared to his career figure of 54.92. It is his second lowest average against a particular country, after his 36.42 in 19 Tests against South Africa.

Two of India's other middle-order batsmen playing in the Tests, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman, also have poor records against Pakistan. Both have never scored hundreds versus them; Ganguly has scored only 368 runs in 14 innings and averages only 17 in his last five games while Laxman has an average of 33.29 after 20 innings.

Click here for the full tables.

Although Javagal Srinath played only three Tests against Pakistan, in 1998-99, he picked up 17 wickets at an average of 20.64, far lower than his career figure of 30.49. His career-best performance came in Kolkata, when a searing new-ball spell helped reduce Pakistan to 26 for 6 before Moin Khan's 70 took them to 185. Srinath finished the match with 13 for 132 but it wasn't enough to prevent India falling 46 runs short of the target.

Click here for the full tables.

Despite a career spanning 14 years, Waqar Younis played only four of his 87 Tests against India. He made his debut in 1989 - along with Tendulkar - and took 4 for 80 in the first innings in Karachi. Waqar however, did not have much success after that, taking two wickets in the second Test in Sialkot. When Pakistan toured India ten years later, he struggled and took only two wickets in 49 overs over two Tests. His average of 48.75 and strike-rate of 80 against India are his poorest against a particular nation.

Harbhajan Singh had a torrid time during his last series in Pakistan, in 2005-06. He bowled 81 overs in the first two Tests, conceded 355 runs, and didn't take a single wicket before he was dropped for the final Test in Karachi. His bowling average against Pakistan before that series was 33.36 but after the first two Tests it shot up to 57.

Click here for the full tables.

If there's a particular List that you would like to see, email us with your comments and suggestions.