India-South Africa combined all-time Test XI

Many talented batsmen like Graeme Pollock miss out due to a short Test career India are set to host South Africa for a Test series comprising of four matches making our memories fresh about the healthy rivalry between the two teams. There will always be a great balance between bat and ball when they play against each other. Both are the status quo teams of the world cricket and have produced some of the greatest cricketers ever to have graced the field of play. The class and elegance of these players have given enough strength to Test cricket to survive amongst the other entertaining shorter formats. Players from both teams have made a number of huge records which are almost impossible to surpass.The Test career of many great South African batsmen were cut short due to the nation’s exclusion from the sport for nearly 20 years. So a combined XI made between the two teams does make for some interesting reading but still have many superstar cricketers.

#1 Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar became the first batsmen in Test history to score 10000 runs way back in the eighties, thus creating a legacy. He opened the batting for India for more than a decade and stood unbent against some of the most fierce bowlers in cricket history. The ‘Little Master’ can be considered as India’s best ever opening batsman in Test cricket.

The other players from India and South Africa who can be compared with Gavaskar for the No.1 position are Virender Sehwag and Graeme Smith and the latter does make an appearance in the team.

	As opener		Overall
	Runs	Avg	Runs	Avg
Sunil Gavaskar	9607	50.3	10122	51.1
Graeme Smith	9030	49	9265	48.2
Virender Sehwag	8207	50	8586	49.3

Sehwag definitely created impact in Test cricket, but the factors which differentiate Gavaskar from him are the consistency and reliability. In addition, Gavaskar averages better in away matches, including an average in the seventies against the then most fearsome attack of West Indies.

He was the best player the team during his time and lead the team in some of their most famous victories. He held the record of most Test centuries (34) for almost two decades before Sachin Tendulkar overtook him.

#2 Graeme Smith (Captain)

The previous slide shows that Sehwag has an edge over Smith. But, the captaincy and left handed batting style paves a way for Smith. One more difference between them is the away record where Smith has shown his strength to rule the bowlers on any pitch.

	Away		Home
	Runs	Avg	Runs	Avg
G Smith	5279	55	5279	54.9
Sehwag	3930	44	3930	44

The other options for captaincy would be MS Dhoni and Sourav Ganguly. However, they cannot beat the impeccable captaincy record of Smith and doesn’t fare much better with their batting in Test matches. He holds the record for playing as well as winning the most number matches as Test captain.

	M	W	L	Win %
Smith	109	53	29	48.6
Dhoni	60	27	18	45
Ganguly	49	21	13	42.8

#3 Rahul Dravid

Nicknamed ‘The Wall’, Rahul Dravid is a unanimous choice for No. 3 position. His class and charm entertained fans while the poise and patience frustrated many world class bowlers. He was a saviour for India in many matches.

The versatility to adapt to any conditions is the key skill required at no. 3 and Dravid possessed it in abundance, right from his debut. He more often than not ended up facing the might of the green grass and the new ball whenever the openers failed as well as facing spin assisting balls in the other case.

He is only behind Sangakkara at the second place for the highest number of runs at No.3 in Test cricket. Also, he is one of the few players who have scored more than ten thousand runs in both the Test and ODI formats.

	Inns	Runs	Avg	100s
Overall	286	13288	52.31	36
At No. 3	219	10524	52.88	28

He has contributed in fielding too with a record 210 catches which is the most by any player (other than the wicketkeeper) in Test cricket.

#4 Sachin Tendulkar

Sachin Tendulkar trademarked the number 4 position in Test cricket with his fluent and flawless batting. The only player who is comparable to him at this position is Jacques Kallis. Both were the best batsmen of their team. But, the records made by Sachin are unbeatable and he is ahead of Kallis by a great margin.

**Stats for No.4 position**
	Inns	Runs	Avg	100s
Sachin	275	13492	54.4	44
Kallis	170	9033	61.87	35

Importantly, Sachin scored better against strong opponents like Australia and also scored with a better average in away matches than home.

#5 AB de Villiers (wicket-keeper)

AB de Villiers

A perfect wicketkeeper like Mark Boucher would be a fantastic choice, but AB’s batting abilities make him the best option. Though he has abandoned keeping wickets in Test cricket due to the physical stress on his body, he can still be counted as one of the best wicketkeeper-batsmen.

The versatility and ability to adapt to any condition makes him the best batsman at No. 5. He can accelerate the scoring if the top order has laid the foundation and ca also bat along with the tail if required. He holds the record of the fastest century by a South African and at the same time once scored 33 in 220 balls to save a Test match against New-Zealand.

The only player from both the teams having better records than AB at no. 5 is Mohammad Azharuddin, but De Villiers’ all-round abilities give him the edge. MS Dhoni could also be a good choice, but AB’s Test average is way ahead of him. Same is the case about Sourav Ganguly, who played the majority of his Test matches at No.5.

	Inns	Runs	Avg	100s
AB DeVilliers	162	7606	52.1	21
M Azharuddin	147	6215	45	22
MS Dhoni	144	4876	38	6
S Ganguly	188	7212	42	16

#6 Jacques Kallis (All-rounder)

Though Jacques Kallis can’t get his favourite position No. 4 in this XI, he would be an invaluable asset to any squad. He can be counted as one of the best all-rounders of all time. He maintained fitness to such an extent that he could bowl a good number of overs in Test matches as well as bat at number 4.

Importantly, Kallis is one of the very few South African players who tackled spinners very well. India was his favourite opposition and scored at an average of 69 against them.

Kallis is the only player to have scored more than ten thousand runs and taken 200 plus wickets in both ODIs and Tests.

Test Stats: Inns – 280, Runs – 13289, Wickets – 292

#7 Kapil Dev (All-rounder)

Kapil Dev can be called more of a bowling all-rounder and he became the second player to take 400 wickets in Test cricket. He was an expert in bowling unplayable swinging deliveries which troubled the batsmen. He dismissed Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards, two of the greatest batsmen of their times, on eight and seven occasions respectively.

He was a useful middle-lower order batsman who had the ability to play with the tail. He once played a knock where he hit four sixes against England to avoid the follow on in 1990. Only MS Dhoni and Mark Boucher are the players from both teams having more runs at No. 7 than Kapil Dev.

#8 Shaun Pollock

Shau Pollock

Shaun Pollock was one of those rare bowlers who used to bowl a consistent line and length to dominate the batsmen. He, along with Allan Donald, made the South African bowling at the time a lethal and complete unit. He is amongst the very few bowlers who took 400 plus wickets in Test cricket.

He was more than a handy batsman in the lower-order as well. In the majority of the matches, he played at 8th position and still managed an average of 32. Interestingly, Pollock contributed a lot in South Africa’s victories as 223 of his 421 wickets were in winning causes.

Test Stats: Inns – 156, Runs – 3781, Avg – 32.32, Wickets – 421

#9 Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble

Anil Kumble is one of the greatest bowlers of all time. The spin, bounce and googly – he had all the qualities of a leg spinner to deceive any batsman in the world. He sits at number 3 for the highest number of wickets in Test cricket. He is also only the second bowler to take 10 wickets in an innings after Jim Laker.

Kumble was an intelligent bowler and created pressure on the batsmen with his accurate bowling. The space variation was the main technique he used and got many of his wickets in the form of LBWs.

He was a good lower order batsman too and has a Test century to his name. Hence, he could perform the role of a night-watchman whenever required.

Test stats: Inns – 173, Runs – 2506, Wickets – 619.

#10 Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn has proved the worth of pace bowling in the era of flat pitches and conditions assisting primarily the batsmen. He has successfully carried on the legacy of the likes of Shaun Pollock and Allan Donald helping South Africa to the No 1 spot in Test cricket. He is third fastest to reach 400 wickets in Tests.

He has been the spearhead of the South African bowling attack in the last few years and has always dominated the ICC rankings. He was at the number one ranking from 2009 to 2013 and after some gap, he has regained the top spot where he still continues to reign.

Steyn is a bowler who can single-handedly win you matches and it’s hard to find a similar bowler from the two teams.

Test Stats: Inns – 149, Wickets – 402, Avg – 22.49

#11 Allan Donald

Allan Donald beats the likes of Makhaya Ntini and Harbhajan Singh to the last spot in this XI, in spite of the pair having better numbers than him. The class and pace he had was a threat to any opposition. He lead the bowling unit when South Africa was still young in International cricket.

Donald bowled around 90 mph which makes him one of the fiercest bowlers of all time. He has an average in the 20s for both away and home games and the fact that he made his debut at the age of 26 played a huge role in his comparatively lesser wicket haul.