England vs India: Best Combined XI of the T20I series

The T20I series between England and India turned out to be an exciting one with the viewers guessing until the last match of the series. Prior to this series, the Men in Blue had not won a T20I series on English soil. It was a tad different this time around as well for the fact that Virat Kohli and co brushed aside the hosts after three riveting encounters in Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol respectively.

Thehosts put forward a comprehensive show in the opening encounter, but Alex Hales’ brilliance ensured that the English team draw level in the series. Nevertheless, the visiting team held their nerves and emerged. As the curtains come down on the series, we take you through the best combined eleven of the series in our article.

Rohit Sharma

He was the Player of the Match and the Series as well as it was justified. He couldn’t find his timing in the first match but built a match-winning partnership with KL Rahul. He made 32 in his partnership of 123 runs with the Karnataka batsman. In the second match, he was nipped out by Jake Ball and could only score five runs at the Sophia Gardens.

In the series decider at the County Ground in Bristol, he came on to his own and plundered 100 runs in a mere 56 balls. He saw his team through to victory and also became the first batsman with as many as three T20I centuries after New Zealand’s Colin Munro. His stand of 89 runs with skipper Virat Kohli somewhat sealed the fate of the contest as well as the series.

Jos Buttler

Jos Buttler was England’s leading run-scorer with 117 runs in three matches. He scored 69 in Manchester in an innings where the rest of his teammates crumbled like nine pins to the guile of Kuldeep Yadav. His strike-rate was also 148, which meant that he didn’t allow the scoring rate to drop. In the second match, he was given a lifeline by Kohli via a drop-catch at mid off.

However, a couple of deliveries later Kohli himself grasped his catch to send him packing. In the end, he perished for 14 runs.  At the County Ground, he blazed away to 34 runs from 21 runs and most importantly, put on a stand of 94 runs in 47 balls to help his team to a blistering start. Siddarth Kaul eventually nipped out his wicket.

KL Rahul

Rahul was India’s second highest scorer in the series with 126 runs. Moreover, he scored at a strike-rate and never allowed the bowlers to settle during his presence on the pitch on the willow. In Manchester, he laid on to the English bowlers and notched his second century in international cricket. He also equalled Rohit in the feat as the Men in Blue won by eight runs.

However, the last two matches in Cardiff and Bristol didn’t pan out to be joyous for the26-year old. He was cleaned up by Liam Plunkett at the Sophia Gardens and perished to Jake Ball after racing away to 19 runs from 10 balls in Bristol. He is also in the ODI squad and would want to contribute provided he gets drafted in the playing eleven.

Virat Kohli (C)

Kohli didn’t do a whole lot in the series but did his task with precision. He scored 20 runs in Manchester at a time when the platform for a victory was already laid by the likes of Rahul. At the Sophie Gardens, his knock of 47 runs pulled the Blue Army out of a rather precarious scenario after they were reduced to 22/3 in 4.5 overs with their top three batsmen back in the hut.

David Willey got rid of the big fish in the death overs. In the third contest in Bristol, he took charge with over 130 runs to be achieved. Rahul and Dhawan were dismissed and the onus was somewhat on the 29-year old to shepherd his team. Kohli scored 43 useful runs in a stand of 89 runs with Rohit. He ended up with 110 runs from three matches at an average of 55, though his strike rate was a tad low at 123.59.

Alex Hales

England’s middle order stuttered throughout the series and Hales was one of their more consistent batsmen. At the Old Trafford, he played out deliveries, but couldn’t connect may balls. He scored eight runs and was got rid of by Kuldeep Yadav when he went for a sweep stroke. Nevertheless, the Middlesex-born batsman played a match-winning knock of 58 runs in Cardiff.

He played the spinners efficiently and saw his team through to victory by scoring 12 runs from the last over of Bhuvneshwar. He spanked a boundary and a four to seal the fate of the match. He was deserving adjudged as the Player of the Match. In the third encounter in Bristol, Hales threatened with a knock of 30 runs but fell prey to Hardik Pandya. He finished with 96 runs in three matches.

MS Dhoni (wk)

Dhoni didn’t have much to do with the willow. In the first match, his chance with the willow didn’t come courtesy of India’s top order. However, he affected a couple of stumpings of Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root in Kuldeep Yadav’s third over. In the second match, he scored 32 runs from 24 balls and provided his team with the much-needed impetus.

In the last over from Jake Ball, he spanked the pacer for four boundaries to notch 22 runs. It helped India past the average first innings T20I total at the Sophia Gardens. He didn’t bat in the last encounter in Bristol as well but made sure that he stood out with the gloves in hand. The 37-year old affected as many as six dismissals, five of them were caught-behinds.

Hardik Pandya

Hardik did his task pretty efficiently as he was the leading wicket-taker of the series with six scalps from three contests. He picked up the wicket of Moeen Ali in the first match at the Old Trafford but went for 33 runs. He was economical in his first three overs but leaked a few runs in the last over. His first chance with the willow came in Cardiff, but could only manage 12 runs from 10 balls.

With the ball, he returned with figures of 4-0-28-1 which included the prized wicket of skipper Morgan. His best performance came in the last match. While bowling, he was taken apart for 22 runs in his first over, however, he came back to pick up four crucial wickets of Hales, Morgan, Ben Stokes and Bairstow. His knock of 33 runs off 14 balls to guide the Men in Blue past the finishing line in Bristol.

David Willey

Willey was the Brits’ leading wicket-taker with three of them. He picked up the wicket of Shikhar Dhawan in the first encounter at the Old Trafford. At the Sophia Gardens, he pinned the Indian skipper at a time when he was set to inject momentum into the Indian innings. In Bristol, he dismissed Dhawan for the second time in the three-match series.

He also tried to contribute his bit with the willow. In the first match, after Kuldeep wreaked havoc, Willey played a decent hand of 29 runs which lifted the Poms to a respectable score. He picked up quick boundaries to propel their score, though it was effortlessly tracked by the belligerent Indian batsmen.

Adil Rashid

Rashid was one of England’s bowlers who didn’t get too many wickets but made sure that he keeps the Indian batsmen in check with his wily leg-breaks. In the first match, he churned out figures of 4-0-25-1 and also got rid of Rohit Sharma. In Cardiff, he again stood tall and finished with impressive numbers of 4-0-29-1 which included the wicket of Suresh at a crucial phase of the match.

He went wicketless in the last encounter at the County Ground in Bristol, but at a time when the Men in Blue maintained a run-rate of over 10 for the chunk of their run-chase, Rashid gave away only 32 runs and did a commendable job. His next task will be in the ODI series which gets underway with the contest at the Trent Bridge in Nottingham.

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep was arguably the most feared bowler in the Indian lineup. In the first match at the Old Trafford, he made a mockery of a power-packed English batting with his bag of tricks. He gave away a few runs in his first over but came back to pick Hales’ wicket, which marked the start of the mayhem he unfolded thereafter. In the next over, he nipped out three of the Brits’ gun batsmen.

He also became the first Chinaman to notch five wickets in a T20 International. Morgan and his players resorted to Merlyn, a bowling machine in order to figure out Kuldeep’s variations. He didn’t pick any wickets in the second match and was surprisingly left out of the playing eleven in Bristol.

Umesh Yadav

Umesh conceded runs at more than eight runs per over, but he also picked up wickets at vital phases of a match to push his rivals on the backfoot. His wicket of Jason Roy in Manchester set the tone for India for a comeback. He also chipped in with Chris Jordan’s scalp in the death overs. His last two overs went for only six runs. In Cardiff, he dismissed both Roy and Buttler in quick succession.

The third match was a tad indifferent for the pacer as he leaked 48 runs but picked up Willey’s wicket. Umesh has also been included in the ODI squad and having shown some impressive performances in the T20I series, he may get his chance in the 50-over matches as well.