3. Beats India at home in 2012
Touring Asia is not the most interesting things on the bucket list of a non-Asian skipper. They normally don’t like to get their shirts soiled and dirty on the dusty spinning tracks in the sub-continent. However, Cook wasn’t any normal skipper. He proved that with the right men on your side, you can the opposition in their own game in any playing condition.
England was set to tour India after blanking the 4-0 a year before. However, their recent struggles against Pakistan in UAE and Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka made it clear that they weren’t enjoying playing on spinning surfaces. India had revenge in their minds and the fans were waiting for the home boys to humiliate the Poms.
Unfortunately, that couldn’t happen as the Indians fumbled fatally with Cook making runs and a spin attack featuring Graeme Swann and Monty Panesar. The trio decimated India 2-1 at home their first Test series victory on Indian soil since 1984–85. While Swann and Panesar castled the reputed Indian batting order, Cook made Indian spin attack look like immatures and plundered 562 runs at 80.28 with the help of 3 centuries.