India-England Combined XI

India's long tour of England came to a close on Tuesday with a 118- run defeat to the hosts at The Oval that meant they return home having lost this series 4-1.

Despite a terrific rearguard action from KL Rahul and Rishab Pant, who put on 204 runs for the sixth wicket but once both fell, the Indian tail failed to wag and from 298 for 6 at Tea, they succumbed to 345 all out.

Batting right throughout this series was tough thanks to some fine fast bowling as well as hard pitches combining to make life hard for the batters and so it was a difficult choice to decide who fits the bill and hence this XI has been made with players who struggled quite a bait, but shined in the odd innings during the series.

Rahul was spectacular on the last day of the series

Alastair Cook

If you saw Alastair Cook bat in the first eight innings of this series and then saw his name on this list, you would be forgiven to think I was crazy. But Cook redeemed himself in his farewell Test at The Oval, when he made scores of 71 and 147 to help his side take ascendancy in the contest.

It was the kind of performance which Joe Root and his side would have hoped to have seen from Cook for the large part of the series, but it seemed like having announced his decision to retire post this game removed every bit of clutter from his mind and it meant that for one last time the world could witness the best of him.

KL Rahul

Another candidate in this list featuring solely because of his performance in one Test match. Heading into The Oval Test, KL Rahul was a man in search for runs. He had begun the tour with a hundred at Old Trafford, but those days seemed way too far away for him right now.

On Tuesday, he decided to show some form from that day at The Oval with a terrific inning of 149 which kept India in the hunt before he was dismissed by an absolute jaffa from Adil Rashid.

Redemption complete!

Cheteshwar Pujara

A tough choice between him and Moeen Ali, but Pujara got the nod since he played at Number 3 right throughout the series while Ali only batted there for four innings.

After the horrors of 2014, Pujara put in a better performance in 2018, scoring his first ever hundred on English soil at Southampton, an unbeaten 132 that helped India take the lead in the first innings.

He will hopefully carry this confidence into the future overseas tours and put in a better showing there.

Virat Kohli

One of the easier choices to make in this XI. If the world in 2014 was speaking about Kohli and his frailties outside the off-stump, they will now speak of how he overcame them and amassed 593 runs in the series to emerge as the standout performer with the bat from both sides.

India will want more of such exploits when they tour Australia in November later this year.

Jonny Bairstow

Another hard choice, considering how similar his numbers are to that of Ajinkya Rahane in this series. But Bairstow gets the nod because he was part of a victorious England side and they will want him to get back to the run-scoring ways when they tour Sri Lanka and the West Indies in the winter.

Buttler was terrific for England

Jos Buttler

The second highest run-getter and arguably England's best batsman of the series. What stood out from Buttler was situational awareness and his ability to play according to what was happening at that moment in time rather than just go out all guns blazing regardless of where the team found itself in.

On more than one occasion, Buttler came to England's rescue and these exploits make him a good contender for the tour to Sri Lanka.

Ben Stokes

The all-rounder may not have had the series of his life, but his timely contributions, especially with the ball proved to be vital for England. Whenever Root searched for a wicket, the man he invariably he looked to was Stokes and almost always he came to the captain's rescue.

With the bat, the world is known to have seen just a flamboyant version of Stokes, but this series saw a new batsman one who was willing to spend time in the middle and play according to the situation.

Curran made the difference in more than one match of the series

Sam Curran

The find of the series for England. The all-rounder proved to be the key difference in more than one match with the bat and it was no surprise that the Indians voted for him to be the Player of the Series.

England will hope he gets better and makes similar contributions on future tours as well.

Ishant Sharma

India's best fast bowler on show right throughout the series. For far too long, Indian supporters have hoped for Ishant to rise and shine and put in match-winning performances.

While India could not win the series, there was not at any point a lack of effort from Ishant, who ran in innings-after-innings, bustling his way through in the run-up and testing the batsmen over-after-over.

It was a sight for sore eyes to watch him bowl the way he did.

Bumrah was one of India's best performers

Jasprit Bumrah

After having missed a large part of the series owing to injury, Jasprit Bumrah returned to action in the third Test of the series at Trent Bridge and ever since what a difference he made to the side since his arrival.

The slingy action plus the pace proved to be a real handful as the English found it hard to handle him and India will want him fit when they tour Australia later in the year.

James Anderson

The best overall bowler on show. He may have turned 36 in July, but that has not stopped James Anderson from continuing to trouble batsman with the enormous skill that he possesses with the ball.

It isn't sure as to how long he will continue to go on, but for England's sake, they will want him to go on for a few more years before he winds up.