In the end, the series scoreline was an unflattering 2-0 against England, and while the performances of the spinners and several of their batsmen was disappointing, there were other aspects that were right out of the top drawer: James Anderson and Stuart Broad were outstanding, while their captain led from the front almost every time he walked out to bat. Alastair Cook started the series with a double-century, then passed 50 once in each of the other two Tests, and also had a 49. In all, he faced 950 deliveries in the series - 25% of the total balls faced by all England batsmen - and underlined yet again why he is one of the best overseas Test batsmen to have ever played in Asia.

Cook's numbers in Asia are phenomenal: in eight series there, he has averaged more than 50 five times, and over 60 four times. His aggregate of 2252 is the highest in Asia, almost 200 runs better than the next best, and he isn't done yet. Batting in Asia requires a monumental amount of patience and temperament - apart from fine technique against spin - and Cook has shown those qualities in ample measure, becoming the first non-Asian batsman to face 5000-plus deliveries in the continent. In this series alone he played 950, which is the third-highest for an England batsman in a series of three or fewer Tests in Asia (among series where balls-faced data is available). In the 2012-13 four-Test series in India, he faced 1285 balls, scoring 562 runs in eight innings.

Alastair Cook fell to Yasir Shah at short leg for 49 Getty Images

In 21 Tests in Asia, Cook's average is 60.86, which is among the best for non-Asian batsmen who have scored 1000-plus runs in the continent. His average outside Asia is 44.54 in 101 Tests, which is similar to his home average of 43.51 in 68 matches, but in Asia he has taken his batting to another level, and he has done it consistently, series after series.

Alastair Cook, in Asia and outside Asia Region Tests Runs Average 100s In Asia 21 2252 60.86 8 Outside Asia 101 7528 44.54 20

Most Test runs for non-Asian batsmen in Asia Player Mat Inns Runs Average 100s Alastair Cook 21 41 2252 60.86 8 Jacques Kallis 25 44 2058 55.62 8 Ricky Ponting 28 48 1889 41.97 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul 27 47 1850 48.68 4 Allan Border 22 39 1799 54.51 6 Graeme Smith 21 35 1728 49.37 4 Hashim Amla 20 33 1710 61.07 7 Mathew Hayden 19 35 1663 50.39 4 Clive Lloyd 20 31 1629 62.65 4 Andy Flower 21 38 1614 53.80 5

In 41 innings in Asia, Cook has eight hundreds, including one double and three other scores of more than 170. His rate of a century every 5.13 innings is fifth among all batsmen who have scored five or more hundreds in Asia; among non-Asians, only Hashim Amla, with seven hundreds in 32 innings (excluding the first innings of the Mohali Test) has a better conversion rate. Cook's century rate in Asia is even better than those of Kumar Sangakkara and Sachin Tendulkar, which indicates how comfortably he has handled these conditions.

Least inngs per 100 in Asia (Min 5 Test hundreds) Player Inns Average 100s Inngs per 100 Cheteshwar Pujara 24 76.57 6 4.00 Vijay Hazare 20 69.56 5 4.00 Hashim Amla 32 60.75 7 4.57 Younis Khan 129 57.92 26 4.96 Alastair Cook 41 60.86 8 5.13 Brian Lara 26 58.84 5 5.20 Mohammad Yousuf 87 58.12 16 5.44 Mohammad Azharuddin 87 52.97 16 5.44 Kumar Sangakkara 165 61.54 30 5.50 Jacques Kallis 44 55.62 8 5.50

One of the most impressive aspects of Cook's batting in Asia is the manner in which he handled the spinners. While many other non-Asian batsmen tend to go hard at the ball and commit to the front foot, Cook has tackled the spinners with soft hands and played the ball late, a technique which has allowed him to cope with the vagaries of turn and bounce more successfully than most other batsmen. Among the 26 non-Asian batsmen who have faced at least 1000 deliveries in Tests against spinners in Asia since 2002, only two - Stephen Fleming and Amla - have faced more deliveries per dismissal than Cook. Cook's average is 151.5, which means he faced 25.1 overs per dismissal against a spinner; Fleming faces 30.3 overs, and Amla 28.3.

Alastair Cook finally fell for 263 Gareth Copley / © Getty Images

In terms of averages against spin too, only three - Fleming, Amla and Ricky Ponting - have done better than Cook. (These are stats since January 2002, so they exclude Ponting's horror series in India in 2001.)

Balls per dismissal v spin - overseas batsmen in Asia (Min 1000 balls since Jan 2002) Batsman Ave Balls/ dis Stephen Fleming 88.66 183.00 Hashim Amla 70.80 170.87 Alastair Cook 67.71 151.52 Ricky Ponting 72.09 135.18 Jacques Kallis 59.10 123.47 Shivnarine Chanderpaul 56.00 118.26

The table below shows Cook's Test stats in Asia against spinners who have bowled at least 100 balls to him, plus Yasir Shah. Yasir didn't play in the first Test of this series, when Cook got his double-century, but returned for the next two Tests and dismissed Cook three times in four innings. The only other bowler who dismissed him in the series was Shoaib Malik. Zulfiqar Babar bowled 290 deliveries at him without any success.

Saeed Ajmal has had some success against him in the past, as has Mohammad Hafeez (2 for 29 in 93 balls), but Cook has won his battles against some of the top spinners - he averages 55 against R Ashwin, 117 against Harbhajan, and 43 against Rangana Herath, while Muttiah Muralitharan and Anil Kumble haven't dismissed him once in 380 balls.

Cook v spinners in Tests in Asia Bowler Runs Balls Dismissals Average R Ashwin 221 510 4 55.25 Yasir Shah 48 98 3 16.00 Shoaib Malik 70 176 2 35.00 Saeed Ajmal 55 175 2 27.50 Pragyan Ojha 147 317 1 147.00 Harbhajan Singh 117 291 1 117.00 Rangana Herath 43 119 1 43.00 Abdur Razzak 73 114 1 73.00 Zulfiqar Babar 132 290 0 - Muttiah Muralitharan 88 240 0 - Anil Kumble 51 140 0 -

Along with Amla and AB de Villiers, Cook is clearly one of the best overseas batsmen to have ever played in Asia. All three have remarkably similar numbers in the continent: barely a run separates their averages, while Amla's century rate is marginally better than Cook's. Cook did all he could, and yet couldn't prevent a series defeat in the UAE; it's now up to Amla and de Villiers - with ample support from the rest of their team-mates - to ensure that South Africa leave India with a better series result.