England vs India 2018: Combined Playing XI

Indian tour to England might have come to a disappointing end with England winning the five match test series 4-1, but as Virat Kohli said during the post-match presentation, "It was a perfect advertisement for Test Cricket".

A series where both teams had their chances in equal number and victory came down to the small margin of errors, one team was left with the feeling of 'what if", "could have" and "should have" and the other team went in with the feeling of joy and success.

Many players contributed in making this series as exciting as it was with some brilliant individual performances. And here we are picking a combined playing XI picking the best performers from both the sides.

---

Openers

Alastair Cook

Cook can certainly leave with his head held high

This series was a nightmare for openers from both the sides till the fourth test match. However, in the last test match of the series and his career too, Alastair Cook showed his class once again and gave a Man Of The Match performance scoring 71 runs in the first innings and a brilliant 147 runs in his last international innings. He also ended up being England's second highest run-getter with 327 runs in nine innings only behind Jos Buttler.

KL Rahul

Rahul showed his class with a brilliant 149

KL Rahul was the only Indian opener who got to play all five matches in the series (albeit, he came one down in the first test).

He too struggled to get going, just like every other opener in the series, but showed his class in the last innings while chasing 464 runs when he gave a master class on batting en route to 149 runs. He just like Cook, ended up being the second highest run-getter for his side.

Middle Order

Cheteshwar Pujara

Solid Pujara needs to be a bit more consistent

Cheteshwar Pujara was dropped from the 1st Test of the series, however, since his return, he played a couple of solid innings including a 72 runs innings in the third Test which India won by 203 runs and bettered it in the next match with a hundred which helped India to take a slender lead in the first innings. He scored 278 runs in the series at an average of just under forty and will take No. 3 spot in the combined XI.

Virat Kohli

Kohli buried all those demons of the past with his emphatic batting

This was an automatic and the easiest of choices as Kohli played as a man possessed, scoring 593 runs in the ten innings at an average of 59.30.

The only innings he couldn't perform was in the last innings of the series where he got out for a golden duck. Otherwise, he was largely responsible to hold an otherwise underconfident Indian batting lineup.

Joe Root (c)

Joe Root led his team fabulously to win the series

Root had an average series by his standards with the bat, however, he still performed well whenever his team required him to. He scored one half-century and a century and ended the series with 319 runs (3rd highest for England). He is also selected as the captain of the side as it was one department where he looked better than his Indian counterpart with regard to team combination or reading the pitches.

Jos Buttler (Wk)

Jos Buttler was certainly the crisis man for England

Jos Buttler had a breakthrough series in a sense as he displayed how well he can handle the pressures of Test cricket batting with the tail. He was England's highest run-getter (second highest among both the teams) having scored 349 runs from nine innings.

He played some brilliant knocks and forged many match-winning partnerships with the tail. He will also keep the wicket for this combined XI as no other keeper could make a mark, except for Pant in the last innings, however, keeping the balance of the team in mind, Pant couldn't make it to this combined XI.

All-rounders

Moeen Ali

India just haven't found a solution for him

Moeen Ali got his chance in the last two tests of the series and played a huge role in England's win in the fourth test which sealed the fate of the series as well.

He scored 119 runs in the four innings he played and picked up 12 wickets as well. He overshadowed India's Ravi Ashwin on a turning track where the Indian was expected to wreak havoc. He will also be the lone spinner in this combined XI.

Sam Curran

Certainly the find of the season!!

Sam Curran is the find for England and if nurtured well the 20-year old looks all set to become one of the greatest all-rounders to have played the game.

He scored 272 runs batting down the order in just seven innings and picked up 11 wickets as well. More interestingly, England only lost one test in which they dropped Curran, clearly highlighting the youngster's contribution. Thus, his selection in this combined XI is a no-brainer.

Bowlers

Ishant Sharma

India's workhorse bowled his heart out

The 30-year old Delhi lad bowled his heart out through the series and finished the series with 18 wickets, second highest among both the sides, only behind Jimmy Anderson.

He was a constant threat both with the new ball as well as the old ball and troubled the English batsmen.

Even when he wasn't getting wickets he kept the end tight to build pressure for others to attack.

James Anderson

The Legend.....keeps growing

Jimmy Anderson is one bowler who will certainly be among most of the "All Time XI", so him making the cut in this playing XI based on a bilateral series was never in doubt.

He picked up 24 wickets at an average of 18.12 and was certainly Joe Root's "go to" bowler. He also became the highest wicket taker among pacers with 564 wickets going past Australian legend, Glenn Mcgrath.

Jasprit Bumrah

India's biggest weapon needs to stay injury free to wreak havoc

Bumrah bowled exceptionally well since his comeback from an injury which kept him out of the first two test matches.

He finished the series with 14 wickets to his name from six innings at an average of 25.93 and can form a lethal partnership with the legendary Jimmy Anderson.

He definitely faced stiff competition from the likes of Stuart Broad and Mohammed Shami to get into this combined XI, however, still emerged to be on top with his better average and economy among the three.