South Africa vs India, Test Series - Combined XI

Before India travelled all the way to the Rainbow nation, everyone expected this series to be the biggest challenge for Virat Kohli as captain. Eventually, all those speculations turned out to be true as India fought hard but bowed down to the Proteas 2-1. The visitors did lose the series, but this has to be one of the finest renditions by any Indian side in South Africa.

Chasing a 208-run target in the first Test, Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave India hope. But a certain Vernon Philander proved to be the game changer, who returned with a 6-fer. The Proteas exhibited an even stronger performance in the second Test, winning the game comprehensively by 135 runs.

Come the final game at the Wanderers, where India had never lost a Test match before, the visitors staged a spectacular comeback. Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar threatened to take the game away, but Mohammed Shami chipped in with a five-fer. This really has been an enthralling series and both sides fought profusely to end up on the winning side. Ultimately, the hosts took full advantage of the home conditions and emerged victorious.

Here’s the combined XI of the series:

Openers – Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar

This really was a no-brainer as all the Indian openers – Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, and Parthiv Patel, failed miserably. Aiden Markram chipped in with a couple of decent knocks, whilst Dean Elgar carried his bat through the innings in the fourth innings of the final Test. To be fair, it was a forgettable outing for all the openers, but Elgar and Markram were the best amongst the choices.

Middle Order – Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli (C), AB de Villiers

Hashim Amla as always was rock-solid with the bat. Touted as one of the finest of the generation, Amla chipped in with some crucial contributions in this series. Although his performance wasn’t at par with the expectations, it was better than his opposite number Cheteshwar Pujara.

Virat Kohli registered the most runs in the series. His knock of 153 runs remains as the only score of 100 or more in three Tests. AB de Villiers also had a wonderful outing and in a series where the bowlers dominated, he was one such player who counter-attacked. He returned as the second highest run-scorer with 211 runs.

Wicketkeeper – Wriddhiman Saha

Saha was actually the best amongst the three wicketkeepers fielded by both sides. Quinton de Kock though supremely talented had a tough time saving the ball against the diverse attack his team fielded. Parthiv Patel spilled a few chances which a keeper at this level should grab any day. Saha managed to take 10 catches in the first Test, before an untimely injury cut short his campaign.

All-rounder – Hardik Pandya

Touted as the future of Indian cricket, there was a lot of scepticism on whether Hardik Pandya would succeed in South Africa. As it turned out, the all-rounder managed to pull off a decent performance overall. His knock off 93 in the first Test will remain at the back of his mind for a long time to come. He was pretty decent with the ball as well and picked 3 wickets.

Fast bowlers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander, Mohammed Shami

Arguably India’s best player in the entire series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar‘s worth has just escalated. People lambasted skipper Kohli for dropping him in the second Test and when he was brought back in the final game, he reverted by picking the player of the match award. Mohammed Shami returned with 15 wickets in the series and he earns a direct entry in this combined XI.

The South African fast bowling duo of Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander were outstanding this series. Not just with wickets, the duo also made crucial contributions with the bat. Rabada and Philander finished with 15 wickets each and had the Indian batsmen in trouble whenever they had the ball in hand. Jasprit Bumrah was decent as well, but Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s all-round excellence pips him out.