Until the start of this year, Cheteshwar Pujara had made just four overseas hundreds, two of them in Sri Lanka, in 21 Tests. He had never made more than one century in a series away from home. Whispers about him being a hero at home alone were beginning to gain ground, but the Saurashtra batsman didn't speak a word in anger.

Instead, over the last 12 months, he has allowed his bat to do the talking for him. In 10 Tests in South Africa, England and Australia in 2018, he has notched up three tons, and aggregated 706 runs at 39.22. Additionally, he also has three half-centuries overseas, each of them coming in a winning cause [Johannesburg, Nottingham and Adelaide].