Mr Reliable of English cricket team is to the task again. And this time he is on the prowl against India, one of his favourite opponents. He has been India’s tormentor-in-chief and his record against the men in blue proves it. In 13 Test matches that he has played against India he has already hit four centuries and four half centuries.

Last season when India were touring England he was one of the mainstays of England batting line-up and now in India he has smashed two back to back centuries. As a matter of fact, he notched his highest Test score of 294 against India in 2011.

He scored a mammoth 176 in the second innings of the first Test match and in now in the second Test he has scored 122.

If his first Test century was stamped with resiliency and helped England avoid an innings defeat, then his second one has brought England into contention and put his team on course of history.

In a series where most of the English batters have struggled against the conditions, he looked at much ease and his technique and execution has left Indian bowlers clueless.

He has led from the front and led by an example. He has not only set precedent for English batsmen but also for the batsmen world-wide as to how to counter foreign conditions.

For the records, in the 85 Tests that he has played Cook has hit 22 centuries and scored 6894 averaging close to 50.

It was his exploits back in 2010-11 Ashes series where he scored 766 to help England beat Australia to end their 24 years wait to beat the Kangaroos in their own backyard.

His dominance in the longer format of the game is pretty evident from the fact that he has scored so many century in such a short period of time. He marked his arrival into the Test arena in a grand way and scored a century against India on his debut match in India.

He has a slump in form in 2008-09 but that he regained it soon and started tormenting his opponents.

The best thing about him is his hunger for runs and he prizes his wicket immensely. He stays in total control while batting and hardly is seen playing rash shots. He is very patient and it does not take him much time to read the conditions and take the fight to the rival bowlers.

He has helped England win many a matches and now he has put England on course of their first Test series win in India after a gap of 27 years.

He is highly capable of doing so and if he can continue the way he is playing it will not be long that they conquer India in their backyard.

By Indian Sports News Network