The calendar year 2018 has been a fantastic one for Indian cricket. They were unstoppable in the shorter formats of the game and in Test cricket they won their first ever Test series in Australia. They learnt from their mistakes in selection and execution in South Africa and England and put that to use in Australia where the team jelled as a cohesive unit and emerged 2-1 victors. In T20Is, they played 6 series and won 5 with 1 series being drawn. Out of the 19 T20Is they played in 2018, they won 14, lost 4 while 1 ended in a no-result. Their Win-Loss ratio of 3.5 in T20Is was the 2nd best after Pakistan (8.5), while Afghanistan were victorious in all 7 T20Is that they played and therefore didn’t have a Win-Loss ratio.
In ODIs, India were clinical and won 3 series and lost just 1 with the solitary loss coming against England away from home. Their stellar year in ODIs included a memorable Asia Cup win in the UAE. In ODIs, their Win-Loss ratio of 3.5 was the best among all teams and they won 14 matches, lost 4, while 2 were tied. They also scored at a run rate of 5.81 runs/over which was the 2nd best among all teams after England who scored at a rate of 6.07. In this Podcast we recap 5 of India’s best wins in 2018 across formats.
3rd Test vs South Africa at The Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg from 24th to 28th January 2018
India won by 63 runs.
India had lost the previous 2 Tests at Capetown and Centurion by 72 and 135 runs respectively and South Africa had taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3 Test series. At the Wanderers, a green pitch greeted both teams and South Africa fielded a 5-pronged pace attack dropping Keshav Maharaj. India also dropped Ravichandran Ashwin and for the first time in their Test history were without a spinner in their playing XI. Kohli won the toss and opted to bat first which was a brave decision considering the state of the pitch.
India were soon reeling at 13/2 with both openers back in the hut. Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli started repairing the damage but could not score at a brisk rate because of the difficult nature of the pitch. Both scored half-centuries and Bhuvneshwar Kumar scored a valiant 30 down the order. However, no other Indian batsman reached double figures and India were dismissed for 187. South Africa’s reply followed a similar pattern to India’s with night watchman Kagiso Rabada and Hashim Amla scoring 30 and 61 respectively. Vernon Philander scored a quick 35 and South Africa were bowled by 194 giving them a crucial 13 run lead. Jasprit Bumrah was the pick of the Indian bowlers taking 5 wickets for 54.
In India’s 2nd innings, Ajinkya Rahane showed that playing Rohit Sharma instead of him in the first two Tests was an error by scoring a valuable 48 and Bhuvneshwar chipped in with a vital 33 as India’s last 4 wickets put on a crucial 99 runs before, they were dismissed for 247, setting South Africa a target of 235 to win the Test. South Africa were coasting at 124/1 and looked set to affect a 3-0 whitewash. However, they collapsed losing their last 9 wickets for just 53 runs with Mohammed Shami running through the Proteas lower order taking 5/28 as South Africa were dismissed for 177. Bumrah’s delivery to dismiss AB De Villiers caught by Rahane at slip tilted the balance in India’s favour and they emerged victorious by 63 runs. Bhuvi was named the Man of the match for his 4 wickets and twin thirties with the bat.
England vs India, 3rd Test, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 18Th to 22nd August 2018.
India won by 203 runs
After India’s comprehensive defeat in the 2nd Test at Lords by an innings and 159 runs, the critics started sharpening their knives and were predicting a 5-0 whitewash in favour of England. India had made a selection blunder in the 2nd Test by picking Kuldeep Yadav when the conditions warranted an extra pacer. Because of India’s meek capitulation in the previous Test at Lords, Joe Root won the toss and elected to field. India were in trouble at 82/3 before their skipper Kohli and vice-captain Rahane, steadied the ship with a century partnership for the 4th wicket. Kohli scored an enterprising 97 while Rahane contributed with 81 before the tail folded meekly but India still managed to post a competitive 329 on the board. England got off to a flier scoring 54 off just 12 overs before Alastair Cook was caught by Rishabh Pant off Ishant Sharma for 29. In this innings it was Hardik Pandya’s turn to come to the party and he sliced through the English batting, taking 5/28 off just 6 overs as England were bundled out for just 161, giving India a first innings lead of 168. In India’s 2nd innings, almost every batsman contributed with Kohli showing his class with a century, thereby quelling all doubts as to his competence in English conditions. Pujara scored a typical workmanlike innings of 72, while even Hardik Pandya scored a run a ball 52 as India declared their innings at 352/7 setting England a target of 521 to win the Test. England were tottering at 62/4 and looked set for a mammoth defeat before Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler gave them a ray of hope putting on 169 for the 5th wicket, until Buttler was dismissed LBW off the bowling of Shami. After that it was a steady procession of wickets and England were bowled out for 317. India won by 203 runs to win the 3rd Test to give themselves an outside chance of winning the series. Kohli was adjudged the Man of the Match.
Australia vs India, 1st Test, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide, 6th to 10th December 2018
India won by 31 runs
For the first time in history, India were considered firm favourites going into the Test series against the hosts on Australian soil. However, the twin Test series defeats to South Africa and England meant that the cynics and pessimists were still to be convinced. It was important for India to win the 1st Test and stamp their authority on the series. Kohli opted to take first strike but a familiar story unfolded and India were reduced to 41/4 and then 127/6 as Australia looked to have seized the initiative. In the past, Pujara had faced a lot of criticism for his slow scoring but in this innings, he ensured that India consolidated after their early setbacks and then accelerated in the company of the tail-enders. India were bowled out for 250 with Pujara contributing nearly 50 % of India’s total with 123 and the total gave their bowlers something to work with. Australia’s batting was severely weakened in the absence of the banned Steve Smith and David Warner and India’s bowlers took wickets at regular intervals. Only Travis Head scored in excess of fifty with 72 off 167 balls as the hosts were bowled out for 235 giving India a lead of 15.
In India’s 2nd innings, Pujara once again was the top scorer with 71 while Rahane marked a welcome return to form with 70 as India batted their way into a good position before a familiar collapse led to them being bowled out for 307. Australia were set a target of 323 to win the match. None of Australia’s top order took the responsibility of steering their team home even though Shaun Marsh played well for 60 and with Australia 187/7 a huge win for India looked on the cards. A familiar bane of Indian cricket in the past, and in the present of letting the opposition tail wag, looked to come back to haunt them with the last 3 Australian wickets putting up spirited resistance. The match was sealed in India’s favour when KL Rahul took a smart catch at slip off Ravichandran Ashwin’s bowling to dismiss Josh Hazlewood and India had won by 31 runs. India had won the first Test of a series on Australian soil for the 1st time and went on to win the Test series 2-1. Pujara was declared the Man of the Match.
India vs Bangladesh, Asia Cup Final, ODI, Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai, 28th September 2018
India won by 7 wickets
For this tournament India opted to rest Virat Kohli and it wasn’t a full-strength India team in ODIs though they were led by Rohit Sharma who had impressed in his few outings as skipper for India and also for Mumbai Indians in the IPL. In this tournament most teams had opted to field on winning the toss and Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to field. Bangladesh sprung a surprise by opening the batting with Mehidy Hasan Miraz, instead of a regular batsman, to partner Liton Das. The duo got Bangladesh off to a rollicking start, putting on 120 for the opening partnership at nearly a run a ball before Mehidy was caught by Ambati Rayudu off Kedar Jadhav for 32. Sadly, the top and middle order failed to capitalize on the good start provided by the openers and committed hara-kiri. Liton was brilliant and scored 121 off just 117 balls with 12 fours and 2 sixes before he was stumped by Mahendra Singh Dhoni off Kuldeep Yadav. Soumya Sarkar was the only other batsman to make a useful contribution before he was run out in the penultimate over for 33. Bangladesh were bowled out for 222, while Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers taking 3/45.
In India’s reply, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan got them off to an electrifying start before Dhawan was dismissed for 15 in the 5th over. The Bangladeshi bowling was tight with both Dinesh Karthik and Mahendra Singh Dhoni unable to score at a quick rate. They scored 37 and 36 respectively as India whittled down the target. The equation came down to 17 needed of 19 balls when Bhuvi clipped Mustafizur Rahman for a boundary to fine leg. However, he was caught behind by Mushfiqur Rahim off Mustafizur’s bowling to bring the equation to 9 off 11 balls with 3 wickets in hand. Kedar Jadhav who had retired hurt earlier on had come back to the crease and scampered a leg-bye of the last ball to take India home. India had been complacent in taking the match down to the wire but the result was all that mattered and they had won a nail-biter by 3 wickets to clinch their 7th Asia Cup. Liton Das was adjudged the Man of the Match and Shikhar Dhawan the Man of the Series.
England vs India, 3rd T20I, County Ground, Bristol, 8th July 2018
India won by 7 wickets.
India opted to field on winning the toss. Jos Buttler and Jason Roy got them off to a flier hammering the Indian new ball bowlers to all corners of the ground. They put on 94 for the 1st wicket in just under 8 overs and a total well in excess of 200 appeared on the cards. However, Yuzvendra Chahal bowled an economical spell, conceding just 30 runs in his 4 overs and Hardik Pandya ran through the middle order to keep England in check. However, England still posted a formidable total of 198/9 off their 20 overs.
Prior to this match, a total of 198 and above had been posted on 65 occasions by the team batting first in T20Is. However, the chasing team had won on only 10 out of the 65 occasions. Therefore, even though India had a strong batting line-up, they needed to be at their best to chase down the English total. Hearteningly for India they had chased down the target on 2 out of the 10 occasions. Rohit Sharma is one of the greatest batsmen in the game in the shorter formats and he went after the bowling from the word go. Even though Dhawan and KL Rahul were dismissed cheaply, India got away to a blazing start and were 62/2 off 5.2 overs. Kohli joined Rohit in the middle and both batsmen went for their shots since the asking rate was hovering around 10 runs an over. Virtually every blade of grass on the ground was singed by their stroke play. Rohit reached his fifty of just 28 balls and it was a pure batting exhibition on show as both batsmen matched each other shot for shot, indulging in proper cricketing shots and not agricultural hoicks across the line. Kohli was caught and bowled by Chris Jordan for 43. Hardik Pandya came in at the fall of Kohli’s wicket. In the 19th over, Rohit took a single of Jordan to reach his 3rd century becoming only the 2nd player to score 3 centuries in T20Is. Pandya sealed the match in India’s favour with a six over long on and India had won by 7 wickets. India had won with 8 balls to spare and in only one of the previous 10 chases had a team won with more balls to spare.
These were 5 of India’s most famous and meritorious wins across formats in 2018.
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