"He's now very much in a class of his own and is easily the most destructive player in the game today," New Zealand batting great Martin Crowe wrote in Mumbai tabloid Mid Day.

"Given his innings in Test cricket, triple hundreds, exploits in Twenty20s and, obviously, one-dayers, he continues to defy really what batsmen have been trying to do for ages," the former New Zealand captain wrote.

Photographs and Text: Reuters