Australia vs India: Best XI of the Test series

The Border-Gavaskar series finally came to end and it would be fair to say that it has been a fine exhibition of Test cricket. A depleted Australian side won many hearts with their spirited display while a young Indian touring team showed that they can perform away from home and are not necessarily ‘flat track bullies’.

This series was going to be a make-or-break for quite a few players and the notable among them were KL Rahul and Murali Vijay. Both the openers of India failed miserably and they will be out of the squad for a while, by the looks of it. While many expected Virat Kohli to be the best performer the series, it was their number three, Cheteshwar Pujara who topped the charts and was instrumental in crafting the Indian wins.

The series wasn’t one-sided at all as the Aussies showed some fight every now and then and made sure that series scoreline stood as 2-1 towards the end. It was expected that the Australian batsmen would handle the Indian pace attack better than the Indian batsmen who would go up against a quick and mighty Australian pace contingent. All the four Tests included some closely packed action and made sure that the viewers were glued to their Television sets throughout the series.

It would be unfair to not give any recognition to the performances of these gentlemen and so, we have come up with a combined playing-XI of the Border-Gavaskar series 2018-19.

1. Marcus Harris

Playing his debut series, Harris surely did grab some eyeballs with his elegant and patient stay at the crease. Harris was probably Australia’s best against the new ball and his score of 79 is their highest individual effort in this series. With 258 runs from 8 innings at an average of 36.86, the left-hander was the top scorer for the hosts with the bat.

Marcus registered scores of 26,26 (Adelaide), 70,20 (Perth), 22,13 (MCG), 79 & 2*(Sydney). Harris’ job was to see off the new ball but with lack of support from the other end, the left-hander couldn’t capitalize on his starts and often ended up throwing his wicket away as the pressure was increasing on him all the time. In a series full of negatives for the home side, the 26-year-old might be one of the very few positives for them.

2. Mayank Agarwal

Repeated failures from the willow of KL Rahul and Murali Vijay could only mean one thing and that is louder cries to feature the stylish batsman from Karnataka in the playing XI. Mayank was flown in as an addition to the squad for the last two Tests. Making his debut in Australia in the middle of a heated series was never going to be easy for the 27-year-old but he responded in style and notched up a well-essayed 76 in his first ever innings in the grandest stage of all.

In the two matches that he played, Agarwal featured in three innings, piling up 195 runs at an average of 65. More importantly, he took on Nathan Lyon, who had been dominating the Indian batsmen prior to the Boxing Day Test. His radical style of play not only helped him see off the new ball but forced Australia’s premier off-spinner to bowl more defensive lines, making the run-scoring easier. In the three innings that the right-hander featured in, he had scores of 76, 42, & 77.

Though it’s early to judge a player who is only three innings old, it was the last two Tests that decided the series’ fate and Mayank’s contributions cannot be ignored.

3. Cheteshwar Pujara

It would be a grave sin to not include the Indian number three in the best XI of the Border-Gavaskar series 2018-19. Adjudged as the Player of the series for the first time in his career, Pujara probably batted the best he could’ve in the four matches. He was instrumental in the two victories and it was his patience in the middle that helped the middle-order build upon the platform.

Cheteshwar Pujara not only blunted the new ball but also took time out of the game diminishing any hopes of an Aussie comeback. In 7 innings, he amassed 521 runs at an astonishing average of 74.43, racking up 3 centuries and a half-century. The fact that the second leading run-scorer had 350 runs to his name shows the dominance that Pujara established on the Aussies.

It seemed as if the home side just couldn’t find enough ideas to get him out. Consistent failures of the openers saw him facing the new ball against a quick and fearful Australian pace attack. His grit and patience were the key to India putting up big runs on the board.

Pujara’s strike rate in the series was 41.41 and that’s what helped him succeed on tough batting tracks. This team wouldn’t be complete with him.

4. Virat Kohli (c)

The Indian captain deserves a special mention over here. Kohli had an average series by his standards and he would have probably liked to repeat his 2014-15 heroics. He could only amass 282 runs in 7 innings and had only 1 hundred and a fifty to his name. He had an average of 40.29 at the end of the series, compared to his career average of 53.76 in the whites

What impressed one and all was the drastic change in his captaincy. Barring the treacherous conditions at Perth, Kohli got his team selections right in all the matches and was attacking in his approach right through. He used the sources available to him nicely and never let bowler feel exhausted. As a result, the Indian pace trio shared 48 wickets in the series. He also leads this side as Kohli grew more as a captain over the last four matches.

5. Travis Head

For someone who’s just 6 Test matches young, Head had a pretty good series compared to India’s number 5, Ajinkya Rahane. Travis Head looked good on numerous occasions and looked set for big scores before wasting his well-built starts. His 237 runs in the seven innings ended up being second highest runs for Australia in the series in which the left-hander smacked a couple of half-centuries.

However, he needs to learn the art of batting big in the whites. The 25-year-old is slowly developing into one of Australia’s mainstays in all the three formats of the game and this series must’ve taught him a lot.

6. Rishabh Pant (wk)

The youngest player in the series proved that he is one of the finest and clean hitters in World Cricket at the moment and to everyone’s surprise, Pant had more runs than his skipper with his tally being 350 runs compared to the latter’s 282. He was decent behind the stumps but still needs to work on his wicket-keeping skills. Though the youngster seems to be riding high on his confidence with the gloves which will eventually work in his favour.

Rishabh Pant‘s 159 in the final Test dashed any hopes of an Aussie resurrection and the left-handed batsman had a strike rate of 74 in the series which was the highest. In 9 Tests, Pant averages 49.71 which is quite good as most of his innings have come in England and Australia.

7. Pat Cummins

The Australian speedster had a good outing with both, bat and ball. Pat Cummins finished fourth in the most wickets column with 14 scalps to his credit at an average of 27.79. He was at times even better than the top-order with the bat and by a fair margin, he was the best Australian player in the series. He notched up 163 runs in 7 innings at an average of 23.29.

His spell to the Indian top-order late on the third day won’t be forgotten soon and rightfully returned with the figures of 6/27. The Australian speedster is the key to Australia’s fortunes in 2019 and he needs to be used well in order to have a real crack at the World Cup.

8. Nathan Lyon

Being hailed as the greatest off-spinner of all time, Nathan Lyon had yet another good series against India. He ended up with 21 wickets in the series but 16 of them had come in the first couple of Tests. He was negated nicely by the Indian batsmen in the last two matches and Lyon’s battle with Pujara was the highlight of the series.

Though his 21 wickets couldn’t be demeaned by any means and it was Lyon who allowed the fast bowlers to rest when things were going against the Aussies. The off-spinner is termed as the GOAT in Australian cricket and will remain key to their Test fortunes in the near future and in the Ashes later this year as well.

9. Jasprit Bumrah

If it was Nathan Lyon in Perth, Bumrah’s magic in Melbourne turned the game India’s way. He made his Test debut against South Africa last year and is already leading the pace attack. Capable of clocking an excess of 145+, Bumrah’s unique action and a short run-up make him uncannily deceptive.

Jasprit Bumrah had 21 wickets to his name at an exceptional average of 17 and no doubt, he finished as the leading wicket-taker of the series. Bumrah also bagged the Man of the Match award in the third Test for his match figures of 9/86. In a short span of time, the young fast bowler has quickly risen through the ranks and India’s pace attack seems to be in safe hands.

10. Mohammed Shami

The Indian speedster had a rather controversial 2018 but he never let them affect his performances. Shami has established himself as an integral component of the Indian pace contingent and it’s evident as he is a proven partnership-breaker. He has unique ability to bowl those sharp bouncers out of nowhere, making life difficult for the batsmen.

In this series, Shami finished with 16 scalps to his name at an average of 26.19.  He may be touted as the ‘Silent performer’ of the Indian Cricket team as his contributions often go unnoticed. Shami is the perfect side-kick for someone like Bumrah who is leading the pace attack.

11. Ishant Sharma

From delivering that breathtaking spell to Ricky Ponting in Perth back in 2008, Ishant has certainly come a long way as a bowler. Even though Bumrah has taken over the reins as the leader of the pace attack, Ishant still remains a trusted bowler who can deliver those sharp inswingers every now and then. His height has proved to be his best asset and that’s what helped him succeed in the Australian conditions.

In the 3 matches that Sharma featured in, he picked up 11 wickets at an average of 23.82. However, it must be noted that Ishant was a key bowler with the new ball for India and that has been the trend in the past few years. He was replaced by Kuldeep in the final Test owing to lack of fitness but he has proved to be a valuable weapon to possess overseas, for India. Ishant’s career should only go upwards from here.

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