England vs India 2018: 3 players who helped England clinch 4-1 victory over India

England decisively won the five-match Test series 4-1 against India. They outperformed their opponents in all departments and hence deserved to win the series. Their lower order particularly were quite impressive and scored crucial runs which probably decided the series. The surprising inclusion of Moeen Ali in the last two matches certainly went in their favour as he picked up nine wickets in the crucial 4th Test match.

England's seamers particularly Anderson and Broad were at their top form and proved to be too much for the out of form Indian batting order. Only Virat Kohli was able to dominate the English seam attack. Hence, they were one of the key reasons as to why the hosts won the series quite comprehensively.

Let us have a look at the three English players who helped them clinch the series.

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#3 Jos Butler

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Two

Jos Butler was one of the leading run scorers for England in this series. His contribution lower down the order paid rich dividends for England in crucial situations. Despite being in and out of the Test side, Butler showed his composure and proved that he has the technique to play Test cricket and score big runs in future.

In 9 innings, Butler scored a mammoth 349 runs at a healthy average of 38.77. His best score of 106 runs in the series were influential in giving a chance to England to draw the third Test and made the Indian seamers toil for his wicket. From the above stats and description, Butler certainly has a bright future in whites.

#2 Sam Curran

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Five

Sam Curran was a great find for England in this series. He bowled the perfect line and length, swung the ball and created trouble for the Indian batsman throughout the series. His figures of 4/74 at Birmingham certainly showed the class which he possesses.

Curran's contribution with the bat in the lower-order was the difference between the two teams and hence his runs with the bat helped England to get out of tricky conditions particularly in the decisive fourth Test of the series.

With the bat, Curran scored 272 runs in seven innings at an average of 38.85. On the other hand, Curran picked up 11 wickets in eight innings at an impressive average of 23.54 and an economy rate of 3.33. Hence, his performance both with the bat and bowl has given the edge to England over India.

#1 James Anderson

England v India: Specsavers 5th Test - Day Five

James Anderson, in this series again showed his ability to trouble the Indian batsmen with his swing. His bowling performance, especially at Lords helped England to dismiss the Indian top and middle order without doing much damage in most of the matches. The only exception was Virat Kohli, who got lucky a number of times and hence didn't get dismissed even once in this series on Anderson's bowling.

In five matches Anderson picked up 24 wickets at an average of 18.12 and at an economy rate of 18.12. With Shami's wicket in the second innings of the last Test match, he became the leading wicket-taker (564) in Test cricket as a fast bowler by surpassing the great Glenn McGrath. Hence, Anderson again proved that he loves playing India.