England vs India, 2018: Best combined Test XI of the series so far
The England-India Test series has been a hell of an encounter so far. After losing the first Test by a whisker, India had to suffer an innings defeat in the second Test. However, it was not the end of the road for India, as they fought back with grit and determination to come back strongly in the series. India's win in the third Test opened up a lot of positives for them to look forward to for the remainder of the series.
Having completed three Tests in the series so far, we have had some great performances in this series from both the sides. Thus, let us churn out the best combined XI of the series so far.
Openers: Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul
The most under-performing unit for both India and England at this tour has been the opening department. All the five openers, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Alistair Cook, Keaton Jennings, and Murali Vijay, has had their fair share of problems. Thus, selecting openers remains the most arduous job.
Although Cook and Jennings have bestowed good starts to England, it has been the Dhawan-Rahul pair that has been quite good for India in the conditions that were tailor-made for the Englishmen. Therefore, unquestionably, the Shikhar-KL pair has come out as the premier one as compared to the Englishmen.
Dhawan commenced the series on a dismal note with a poor performance in the first test. Consequently, Dhawan got the axing for Lord's Test. Nevertheless, Vijay's sorry performances marked Dhawan's comeback to the playing XI for the third Test. Eventually, tallying 79 runs in the third Test, Dhawan did a satisfactory job for India.
Meanwhile, with some supporting performances, KL has also done a fair job. Although Rahul has made some discrepancies in the series, he hasn't been short on intent and confidence. Because of this, Dhawan-Rahul forms a formidable opening combination for this combined XI.