The Indian men’s cricket team started 2019 with a historic Test series victory in Australia and went on to be one of the most consistent sides right through the year.
As Virat Kohli put it after the West Indies series, apart from 30 minutes of bad cricket on that fateful Manchester day, it was a year to remember. The heartbreaking World Cup semi-final exit, a One-Day International series defeat at home against Australia, and a T20 International series loss in New Zealand were the low points as Kohli and Co did not lose any other series they competed in across formats.
Also read – Decade in Test cricket: Cook, Anderson top the charts as Kohli’s India finishes as the best team
Another big development for Indian cricket this year was the appointment of Sourav Ganguly as the president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The former India captain paved the way for the first pink ball Test in India and has been forthright about his plans to guide the BCCI in the right direction.
The Indian women’s cricket team, too, had a memorable 2019 with some fine individual performances. Veteran’s Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami continued to break records – while Raj became the first woman to score 6,000 ODI runs, Goswami became the first woman to bag 200 ODI wickets.
India’s T20I side went on to earn a 5-0 whitewash against West Indies, with 15-year-old Shafali Verma becoming the youngest Indian to score an international half-century.
The youngster was undoubtedly the breakthrough star of the year for the women in blue. Having made her mark in the IPL challenge and made her debut during the home season, she embarked on a Caribbean tour. At her age, she could be forgiven for being nervous, for taking time to settle in. But in a manner that belies her age and experience a 30-ball half century in her first overseas outing to justify her inclusion at such a young age.
Also read: Shafali Verma, India’s 15-year-old star, needed boy’s haircut to start cricket training
At the men’s ODI World Cup, India suffered a semi-final exit at the hands of New Zealand after what skipper Kohli admitted was ‘half an hour of bad cricket’. The Kiwis then went on to lose the final to hosts England with the boundary countback rule coming into play as both teams’ Super Over scores ended in a tie. In the Ashes series later in the year, Australia’s Steve Smith and David Warner returned to the game after serving a one-year ban for ball-tampering. Smith had a memorable Ashes campaign which also presented world cricket with a potential superstar in the young Marnus Labuschagne.
Also read – Data check for the decade in men’s ODI cricket: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma dominate batting charts
It was also a year when Australia’s Glenn Maxwell put the spotlight on the mental stress that international cricketers endure. He took a break to deal with his mental health issues and found support from all quarters. Kohli was among those who threw their weight behind Maxwell’s decision to take a break.
Also read – Data Check: The decade in men’s T20I saw inconsistent West Indies shine and Kohli find consistency
Back to Indian cricket, Ganguly became the unanimous choice to become the 39th president of the BCCI after three controversy-marred years under the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators.
On the field, there was no stopping Kohli and he was the highest scorer across formats with 2,455 runs – 13 more than his limited-overs deputy Rohit Sharma (2,442 runs), who rediscovered himself as a Test opener with considerable success at home. Rohit also slammed five centuries at the World Cup to underline his status as the most dangerous opening batsman in the white-ball game at the moment.
Also read – Data check for decade in women’s cricket: Australia dominate, Mithali Raj leads the way for India
It was also a year when India’s fast bowlers took center-stage. Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav delivered the goods across formats to establish India as the team to beat, irrespective the venue or the opposition.
As we head into a new year, with the T20 World Cup in Australia round the corner for women (and later for the men), one big question that remains for Indian cricket is the retirement of Mahendra Singh Dhoni. The 38-year-old has been away from the game since the 50-over World Cup but is yet to draw curtains on his illustrious career.
The mystery around Dhoni’s future remains as Indian cricket embarks on a new year with endless possibilities.
(With PTI inputs)
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