India wrapped up a near-perfect 2023 in one-day internationals with a rare series triumph over South Africa. It could have been really perfect had they managed to win the ODI World Cup last month but take nothing away from the team’s stunning run of 10 successive wins.
India needed to be at their best this year. A World Cup at home after 12 years. The stakes were higher than ever. Back in 2011, India had become the first host nation to win an ODI World Cup before Australia and England joined them in elite club by 2019. Now, the onus was on India to do it again. This time, the concept of home advantage had faded away given how the sheer number of international cricketers who have played the Indian Premier League here.
At the start of the year, India were battling a few concerns. In the December of 2022, India had been handed a shock series defeat by Bangadesh, Virat Kohli’s form was still unstable, Rohit Sharma himself was trying to be a trend-setter up the order while Rishabh Pant was ruled out indefintely after a car accident. To make matters complicated, India would be without KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer for months – they were added to the squad days before the Asia Cup with no evidence of form in top-drawer cricket.
Critics were far from impressed with the fact that India rarely played their best XI for the better half of the year. Yet, they blanked Sri Lanka and New Zealand in back-to-back series before losing one to Australia. The victory over the West Indies told us little simply because they had failed to even qualify for the World Cup.
However, the Asia Cup changed the outlook. India handed Pakistan a monster defeat in a rain-truncated Super Four match and days later, Mohammed Siraj destroyed Sri Lanka in the final.
The World Cup was so much about Virat Kohli. He broke Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI hundreds with an unforgettable No.50 at the Wankhede Stadium and finished the tournament with a record-breaking tally of runs. Mohammed Shami was a late addition to the playing XI but he ended up as the leading wicket-taker in the World Cup. Rohit Sharma threw caution to the wind and laid down the marker for his side to bat aggressively. India were brilliant. They were invincible and no one would have wagered a bet on India not lifting the trophy eventually. But Australia had other plans on the night of November 19.
The ODI series in South Africa lacked context but it also offered a few of India’s fringe players an opportunity to stand out. And nobody grabbed their chances better than Arshdeep Singh, who picked a 5-wicket haul in the first ODI and followed it up with a four-four in the third. Sanju Samson, by the way, finally scored an ODI hundred in the series-decider as India erased the memories of a listless performance on South African shores two years back.
It was a special year for India. It could have been much better but the future is here. India now have the answers to a lot of what ifs.
Shubman Gill finished as the leading run-scorer in 2023, Shreyas Iyer was outstanding in the World Cup while the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh have convinced the skeptics that the future is in pretty safe hands.
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