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The India-Australia rivalry has been one of the fiercest battles fought on the cricket field over the years. There have been several memorable encounters between these two sides in the 21st century.
India and Australia, since the start of the 21st century, have faced each other in 10 series, with India winning five and Australia four, and one series ending in a draw.
The combined XI in this write-up consists of some of the best players who have played for these two countries. Also, they have made some valuable contributions to their respective sides against each other.
Let us have a look at the strongest combined India-Australia XI of the 21st century in Test cricket.
Openers
Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden is one of the most dominating openers in the history of Test cricket. Once settled, he used to look unstoppable and went on to score big hundreds for Australia.
He alongside Justin Langer formed one of the most formidable opening pairs in the world. Being a tall left-handed batsman, Hayden was powerful both on the off-side as well as the leg-side. He was also one of those rare Australian batsmen who could play spin quite well on typical sub-continent tracks.
In 53 matches, Hayden scored 8625 Test runs at a brilliant average of 50.73. Overall in Test cricket, he received the Player of the Match award ten times and was adjudged the Player of the Series four times.
#2 Virender Sehwag
Virender Sehwag was one of the most destructive batsmen in Test cricket. He would make even the world's best bowlers fret in the opening overs of a Test match due to his ability to strike the ball all over the park on the word go.
He was a fearless cricketer who had minimal feet movement but batted with full strength and strong hand-eye coordination. Sehwag's ability to score hundreds even in overseas conditions gave rich dividends to the Indian team.
In 104 matches, Sehwag scored 8586 runs in red-ball cricket at an average of 49.34 which included 23 hundreds and 32 fifties. He is also the only Indian batsman to score two triple hundreds in Test cricket.
Middle-order
#3 Rahul Dravid
Rahul Dravid, known as The Wall, was a technically solid batsman who probably had the best defensive technique in his era. His patience, determination to remain at the crease, and to play every ball on its merit frustrated even the best bowlers in the business.
Due to his humble disposition and ceaseless professionalism, he was revered endlessly by his compatriots.
Dravid scored a mammoth 13288 runs in 164 Tests at an average of 52.31. He was also an excellent slip fielder and holds the record for the most catches by an outfielder (210).
#4 Sachin Tendulkar
Many pundits and cricket fans consider Sachin as one of the greatest batsmen of the game. He is often compared with the great Don Bradman of Australia. Being an elegant batsman, he scored runs at home as well as in the difficult conditions outside the sub-continent.
Sachin Tendulkar is currently the leading aggregate run scorer in Test cricket, having scored 15921 runs in 200 matches at an average of 53.78.
Even the great Shane Warne found it challenging to control Sachin due to his ability to take him on and not let him settle into a rhythm.
#5 Ricky Ponting
Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting was one of the best players of short pitch bowling. He had the rare talent of pulling the ball on the front foot.
Furthermore, his ability to flick the ball as well as play comfortably on the back-foot helped him dominate the opposition spinners on typical subcontinental pitches.
He was the captain of the Australian team which had reached its peak and was almost unbeatable in the early 2000s.
In 168 Tests, Ricky Ponting has scored 13378 runs at an impressive average of 51.85. His highest score of 257 came against India at Melbourne on 26th December 2003.
#6 Steve Waugh (C)
Steve Waugh, a gentleman of the game, rarely let his emotions get the better of him through the length of his illustrious career. Being a tall player, Waugh was technically solid, proficient in playing the cover drive, and exhibited calm and composure on the cricket field.
Being regarded by many as one of the greatest captains of Australia, he was much revered by his teammates for his matchless decision-making abilities.
In 168 matches, Waugh scored 10927 Test runs at an average of 51.06. Along with Ponting and Allan Border, he is the only Australian batsman to score more than 10,000 runs in the format.
Wicket-keeper: Adam Gilchrist
Adam Gilchrist is probably the most gracious cricketers to have played the game of cricket. He was among the few batsmen who walked back to the pavilion without waiting for the umpire's decision if he had edged the ball.
Being regarded as an aggressive batsman, he was quite influential on the off-side, went after the bowler from the word go and was excellent at slog-sweeping the spinners to the fence. He was also Australia's vice-captain for years galore.
In 96 matches, Gilchrist has scored 5570 Test runs at an average of 47.60. As a wicket-keeper, he was quite agile and took some exceptional catches behind the stumps.
In his Test career, he claimed 379 catches and affected 37 stumpings. Only Mark Boucher went ahead of him in the format and holds the record for most catches by a wicket-keeper in Test cricket (532).
Bowlers
#8 Shane Warne
Shane Warne is widely regarded by many as one of the best spinners in Test cricket. When he was in his prime, his leg-spin troubled many world-class batsmen across the globe.
Warne also had subtle variations in his armoury that made him an unpredictable bowler. His ability to pick up wickets in English conditions earned him recognition from cricket fans all over the globe.
A stupendous delivery he bowled, which got Mike Gatting out in the 1993 Ashes, is regarded as the ball of the century.
In 145 Tests, Warne took a phenomenal 708 wickets at an impressive bowling average of 25.41 and an economy rate of 2.65.
#9 Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble is probably the best spinner India has ever produced till date. His subtle variations, right length, and unique action helped him to get the better of several batsmen world cricket.
He also could pick wickets outside the subcontinent. Kumble is only the second bowler in Test cricket history to pick up all ten wickets in an innings of a Test.
In 132 matches, Kumble has taken 169 wickets with the red ball at an average of 29.65 and an economy rate of 2.69. He is also the all-time leading wicket-taker for India in Test cricket.
#10 Brett Lee
Brett Lee is considered by many as one of the best speedsters of modern day cricket. In his prime, his scintillating pace rattled the feathers of several great batsmen.
Lee's ability to surprise the batsman with a toe-crushing yorker out of nowhere was one of his greatest skills, more so in the longest format of the game.
In 76 Tests, Lee has taken 310 wickets at an average of 30.81 and an economy rate of 3.46. His contests with Tendulkar were a delight for cricket aficionados of the time.
#11 Glenn McGrath
Glenn McGrath is one of the greatest fast bowlers to have ever played the game. His accurate bowling and great lengths fetched rich dividends for Australia.
He was one of the rare bowlers who troubled Tendulkar and got him out numerous times across all formats of the game. McGrath also helped Australia to many Ashes victories.
In 124 matches, McGrath has taken 563 Test wickets at an average of 21.64 and an economy rate of 2.49.
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