All-time combined India-Australia Test XI
India first played a Test match against Australia in November 1947 in Brisbane where they lost by an innings and 226 runs. Since then, there have been a lot of historic clashes between the two sides; as of the current date, they have locked horns in 90 games out of which India have won 24 and drawn 25. There was also a tied Test between the two outfits.
Over the years, the Indo-Australian rivalry has witnessed some incredible talents in the game who have gone on to become legends. Be it the Tendulkars or the Warnes, the players of these two teams have always put their best foot forward against each other. And then there have been skippers like Steve Waugh and Sourav Ganguly who have led their respective sides with aggression and flamboyance.
With the Border-Gavaskar trophy beginning from February 23rd, we have put together the best ever players from both sides to form a combined XI.
#1 Mathew Hayden
He was tall, powerful and fearless. These qualities helped him shrug off his technical deficiencies as he rose to become one of the finest openers ever. Hayden did not caress deliveries to the ropes; he would batter them with force.
Be it the pull, the hook, the cut or the cover drive, Hayden excelled in all of them and he was a widely feared batsman. He was also one of those few Australian batters who could play spin well. He used his height to great advantage to get to the pitch of the ball and then hoick it into the stands.
In his Test career spanning over 15 long years, Hayden scored 8625 runs from 103 games at an average of 50.73. En route, he scored 30 tons and 29 fifties with a highest score of 380. To top it all, Hayden was a brilliant slip fielder.