Months of magic, 30 minutes of misery
India wrapped up a historic first Test series win in Australia in a year of highs marred only by the heartbreak of a World Cup semi-final loss
NEW DELHI: It was only fitting that Virat Kohli provided the final flourish as India signed off 2019 with another neatly executed run chase to seal the ODI series against West Indies in Cuttack
The India skipper was truly Indian cricket’s leader through the year The world’s top batsman was a picture of consistency, finishing as the highest run-getter across formats in international cricket for the fourth year in a row, closely followed by Rohit Sharma
Kohli swears by the Test format, which occupies the pride of place in his cricket India responded to that call as they utterly dominated the format A year that began with Indian cricket summiting their equivalent of Mt Everest was the greatest of their many ascents
The drawn fourth and final Test at Sydney, after Cheteshwar Pujara produced another determined knock to score 193, handed India a 2-1 series win in Australia Steve Smith and David Warner were absent serving bans for ball tampering, but it was a historic moment nevertheless for Indian cricket and Kohli’s men, who won a Test series on that turf for the maiden time in 71 years
From there on in Test cricket, India movedinonlyonedirectiontheysweptall seven Tests played post-australia, taking abigearlyleadintheinauguralworldtest Championship table The series sweeps came against West Indies, South Africa and Bangladesh -- each game dominated, every player shining, underlining their status as No 1 in the world in the format
It was a year of adventure, discovery and re-discovery Rohit’s great run included finding his calling in Test cricket, finally, this time as an opener Almost given up as a Test batsman despite his talent, Rohit’s career seemed to have run aground as he failed to produce big knocks in the middle-order But 2019 was about his magical transformation, at the top of the batting order He is on rapid ascent to make up for lost time, having scored 556 runs as opener in five Tests Three majestic triple-figure knocks saw him average 9266
The other opener, newcomer Mayank Agarwal, was more than just a great ally for Rohit, scoring three centuries, two of them crossing the double century mark (754 runs @6854) Agarwal had already impressed with his technique and positive mindset to hit two half-centuries in Australia last December, after being flown in as a debutant mid-series He could be the big story going into the New Year when he gets a chance in limitedovers cricket
There was another quiet but significant revival Ajinkya Rahane found firm footing again in Tests It started in the West Indies where, at No 5, the vice-captain led the batting fightback after early collapses By the year end, Rahane had piled up 642 runs at 7133 with two centuries
India’s position and progress on the World Test Championship table will be tested when they tour New Zealand (who host India early next year) or any of the other countries that have traditionally troubled India during their overseas Tests But these opponents too won’t sleep easy And the reason for that is India’s pace attack, repeatedly hailed as the best in the world today
Earlier this week, former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar paid the prolific Mohammad Shami the ultimate compliment by comparing him with West Indies legend, Malcolm Marshall, possibly the scariest prospect for batsmen in the 1980s
Shami’s consistency stood out in limited-overs cricket too, his success allied to his conviction that the lines and lengths that work in Test cricket will do just as well in white-ball cricket
Ishant Sharma, the elder statesman in the pace pack, was outstanding in the Tests, in the Caribbean and at home What stood out even more was the depth of India’s pace department As Jasprit
Bumrah sat out the home games after the West Indies tour due to a stress injury of the back, Umesh Yadav eased in, producing consistently brilliant spells Young Navdeep Saini’s hostile bowling, be it bouncers or yorkers in the Cuttack ODI, only boosts the future of India’s pace arsenal
Pace bowlers were the stars in India’s home window of Test cricket, hitherto dominated by spin Ishant, Shami and Yadav accounted for 26 wickets, compared to the 32 claimed by spinners led by R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, in the three-test series against South Africa It made Kohli later say: “Having a bunch of fast bowlers who can bowl out any opposition anywhere - them taking the attention away from the spinners in India is a huge achievement”
The historic first pink-ball Test in Eden Gardens saw Ishant, Shami and Yadav share each of the 19 wickets that fell to bowlers, what with Ashwin and Jadeja hardly called up, marking a transformation that also pointed to more sporting home pitches
TIME TO INTROSPECT
There were enough reasons to introspect too India started the year winning the ODI series’ in Australia and New Zealand, but worries began even before they set off for the World Cup in England The home ODI series defeat to Australia, who were yet to get Smith and Warner back into their fold, in the build-up to the quadrennial exposed middle-order weakness and India’s over-reliance on the openers and Kohli
The Indian team management seemed to experiment for far too long with the No 4 slot—essentially a batsman capable of taking charge if Kohli fell cheaply The controversial late omission of Ambati Rayudu from the World Cup squad, the call up of rookie all-rounder Vijay Shankar, and the eventual slotting of Rishabh Pant in the position didn’t pay off
When New Zealand’s pacers surprised the Indian top-order while defending a modest total in the World Cup semi-final, the hollow in the middle was exposed Though Agarwal had proved his technique, and had been prolific in Karnataka’s Vijay Hazare Trophy win the previous season, he was not thrown into the deep end -- despite being a part of the World Cup squad at that point That may change soon
The national selectors, however, seemed to finally turn the page on Mahendra Singh Dhoni The man who had led India to each of the three ICC majors during his tenure as captain had not lost his uncanny ability to direct bowlers at the death, but the same could not be said about his finishing abilities as a batsman
A formal retirement announcement has not yet come, and coach Ravi Shastri has reportedly left it to the stalwart But with many talented wicketkeepers coming through the ranks, inspired by IPL’S demand for multi-faceted players, India is unlikely to be short of choices
Jadeja, the last man standing in Cuttack on Monday, was the other rejuvenated star With allrounder Hardik Pandya out due to back trouble, Jadeja’s showing with bat and ball has encouraged the team management to rein in their faith in wrist-spinners alone for whiteball cricket
As India head into 2020, the T20 team is still a work in progress, building up to the World T20 to be played next October in Australia With Kohli, India will believe they can chase down any total Building the mindset while batting first, and finding the right man to re-build if the skipper fails, are the targets ahead
Being a man who is used to having the last word on the field, Kohli did well to review what 2019 meant to Indian cricket after the Cuttack tie
“It has been one of the best years for Indian cricket Apart from the 30 minutes in the World Cup (semi-final), it’s been a great year,” Kohli said, before speaking about the future “We’ll keep chasing that ICC trophy We feel we have it in us to win series overseas, not just the odd game”