England vs India, ODI series - Combined XI

England made a stunning comeback after being 0-1 and won the three-match ODI series rather comfortably in the end. They were thoroughly clinical in the two matches which they won and didn’t give India any chance. With a resounding series victory, they have strengthened their top position in the ODIs and their opponents are six points behind at second.

The visitors, on the other hand, have ended up creating more problems for themselves ahead of the World Cup next year in the same country. The number 4 riddle remains unsolved with KL Rahul and Dinesh Karthik failing to shine in a solitary opportunity. MS Dhoni’s form is an added concern with many scrutinising his inability to rotate the strike often and the lack of backup resources for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah must have increased the headache for the skipper and the team management.

Though the fans witnessed some superior brand of cricket over the three One-Day Internationals. There were some stupendous performances by the players from both the sides.

Here we bring you the combined XI of the series:

Openers (Jonny Bairstow, Rohit Sharma)

Jonny Bairstow has been in superb form for England in the last few months. In all the matches, he managed to get his team to quickfire starts. He owned the powerplay overs with his clean strokeplay and went on to score 106 runs with a strike-rate of 134.17. Bairstow should’ve converted one of those knocks into a big one but he will only get better in the lead up to the World Cup.

Rohit Sharma displayed his prowess with the willow on this tour. He was India’s second best batsman in this series with 154 runs in 3 outings. However, 137 of those came in the first match itself when the men in Blue chased down 260 with utter ease. He brought all his classy shots to the fore at the Trent Bridge and won the match single-handedly. But he failed to continue in the same vein in the following two matches which deprived India of a good start.

Middle Order (Joe Root, Virat Kohli, Eoin Morgan (c), Jos Buttler (wk))

Joe Root was absolutely class apart. His backfoot punches and front foot drives were superb as he controlled the sinking ship of England in the must-win encounter at Lord’s. His tally of 216 runs in three matches is a testimony of the effect he’s had on the series. The way he fared against the spinners of India defined the contest for the hosts as the decider proved to be a cakewalk for them in the end.

Virat Kohli, as usual, at his best once again. But the superior bowling attack in their own conditions didn’t allow him to score centuries which he did with ease against South Africa. He ended the series as the second highest wicket-taker with 191 runs and got out in the 70s twice. Both his dismissals proved to be the turning point of the match as England dominated easily since then. Moreover, Kohli getting out to the spinner in all matches proves how well the home side’s tweakers bowled to him.

Eoin Morgan will lead this side without any doubt. He managed to lift his team up after an hiding they got in Nottingham. He brought the stability at number 4 for his team every time he came out to bat and as the series progressed, he looked assured in his footwork against the spinners. His form must be a pleasing sight for the team management as he will have to lead from the front next year as they chase their maiden triumph in the 50-overs format.

Jos Buttler didn’t have much to do in this series with the bat but his wicketkeeping notched a level higher. The way he took the low catch of KL Rahul by leaping to his left was the best of the lot. He scored a half-century in the first game and led the fightback when all other batsmen collapsed against Kuldeep Yadav. There was also a talk of him batting at 4 to tackle the spinners but as it turned out, he wasn’t required later in the series thanks to Root’s exceptional batting.

All-Rounders (Hardik Pandya, David Willey)

Hardik Pandya was not entirely at his best and if India are thinking of eking out 10 overs out of him, then the youngster has to improve a lot. He also had a great chance to take the onus on himself with the bat but he shelved the opportunities on both the occasions. He is supremely talented and will definitely learn from the failures in this series.

David Willey endured his best series as an all-rounder. His 31-ball half-century propelled England to a formidable total at Lord’s and then used the new ball beautifully in the damp conditions at Headingley. He picked 5 wickets in 3 matches and most importantly conceded runs only at an economy of 4.7 which must have satisfied his skipper.

Bowlers (Kuldeep Yadav, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood)

Kuldeep Yadav began the series with a bang and tumbled records. His figures of 6/25 tormented the hosts like anything and has earned a place in the Test side on the back of 9 wickets in this series. However, his mystery was solved by the time he bowled in the deciding game. He couldn’t pick a single wicket in Leeds and this is where the home side won the game and the series.

Adil Rashid will be the most satisfied cricketer after producing his best performance against the side who are considered as the best players of spin-bowling. He got better of Virat Kohli twice and the ball which turned from leg-stump to uproot his off stump was absolutely pleasing to the eyes of a leg-spinner. He has certainly improved his bowling and with 6 wickets in the series has proved the same.

Mark Wood picked only 2 wickets in three encounters but he has been included in this line-up only for the way he bowled in the decider. He troubled the batsmen with his pace and made use of the bowling crease beautifully. Wood returned with the figures of 1/30 in 10 overs and helped in restricting the visitors to an under-par total.

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