Team India had a decent year in 2023. Despite not winning the prized World Cup trophy, the Indian Cricket team etched several milestones and defeated several top opponents. As mentioned, Team India had a dream run in the home World Cup, in which they won ten matches in a row before losing to Australia in the final.
The Indian team also reached the final of the ICC World Test Championship but lost to Australia by 209 runs in London this year. Though India’s wait for the ICC trophy continues, they did win their eighth Asia Cup title just before the World Cup, beating Sri Lanka by 10 wickets. Also in the Women’s U19 T20 World Cup final back in January, India beat England by seven wickets in a low-scoring match.
Addressing the nation on the final episode of his programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’ for this year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi also acknowledged team India’s performance in 2023. “Indian players won everyone’s heart with their performance in the Cricket World Cup. The victory of our women’s cricket team in the Under-19 T-20 World Cup is very inspiring. The achievements of players in many other sports added to the glory of the country,” he said.
Apart from defeating the likes of Sri Lanka, West Indies, New Zealand and Australia in bilateral series, team India also won historic gold medals in the last concluded Asian Games. Both men’s and women’s cricket teams led by Harmanpreet Kaur and Ruturaj Gaikwad secured gold medals.
Currently, the men’s side is involved in a two-match Test series against South Africa. On the other hand, Harmanpreet Kaur and Co. are facing the Aussies in an ODI series. Both teams will be looking to start the new year with a bang and try to win their first match of 2024 against their respective opponents.
