Highs and lows of Indian cricket in 2019

From ecstasy Down Under to agony at Manchester, Indian cricket in 2019 has seen it all.

If you look at the overall picture, it was a memorable year for India. They went unbeaten in Tests (seven wins, one draw) and finished number one in the ICC rankings. Further, they have a significant lead in the World Test Championship table as well.

In ODIs, they played 28 matches, winning 19 and losing just eight, with one match being abandoned. The World Cup semi-final loss, of course, sticks out like a sore thumb, and they now have a chance to make amend at the T20 World Cup in Australia next year.

Speaking of T20Is, this is one format where India struggled in 2019. Out of 16 matches India played in the year, they won nine and lost as many as seven. The consistency in their game was clearly missing.

As the year winds down, we look back at the great highs and disappointments that Indian cricket went through in 2019.

Also see - IPL 2020 Teams & Squads

Highs

Historic Test series win in Australia

Team India after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2018-19

The year began with the memorable Test series triumph in Australia, their first-ever, after the New Year Test in Sydney ended in a rain-marred draw. Cheteshwar Pujara was rock-solid with 193. However, it were his hundreds at Adelaide (123 and 71) and Melbourne (106) that mattered more, as both of them resulted in memorable triumphs.

Pujara ended the series with 521 runs at an average of 74.42.

If Pujara did the job with the bat, Jasprit Bumrah put his hand up with the ball. His 21 wickets at an average of 17 went a long way in securing the series for India.

Bumrah ran through Australia with 6 for 33 at Melbourne. He also claimed three wickets in each innings at Adelaide.

Mohammed Shami also impressed, with 16 scalps at an average of 26.18.

Unbeaten run in Tests

Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah

Apart from the draw at Sydney, India won each and every Test they played in 2019. They easily got the better of West Indies 2-0 in the latter’s backyard. At home, they mercilessly thrashed South Africa 3-0, before thumping Bangladesh 2-0.

The year saw the emergence of a new opening pair in Indian cricket. Mayank Agarwal was India’s leading run-getter in Tests with 754 runs in eight matches. His new opening partner Rohit Sharma smashed 556 runs in five Tests.

Skipper Virat Kohli and vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane also scored over 600 runs in the year.

India’s pace bowling, arguably the best in the business, was one of the key factors behind India’s unbeaten run. Mohammed Shami led the way with 33 wickets in eight Tests, Ishant Sharma claimed 25 in 6, and Umesh Yadav 23 in four.

The spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin also chipped in with 21 and 20 wickets respectively to make it a complete performance by the Indian bowlers.

Rohit Sharma’s five World Cup hundreds

India v Pakistan - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019

Indian opener Rohit Sharma had a sensational run at the World Cup with five hundreds, including three in a row. He amassed 648 runs in nine games at an average of 81.

Rohit’s scores in the World Cup read 122 not out, 57, 140, 1, 18, 102, 104, 103 and 1. He would have loved to make another big one in the semis, but the law of averages struck at the wrong time.

Rohit was clearly in a different zone in the tournament, and his record of five World Cup tons will be difficult to beat.

Emergence of Deepak Chahar

Deepak Chahar

While India had a disappointing time in T20Is overall, pacer Deepak Chahar’s emergence was the biggest plus. He picked up 16 wickets in 9 matches at an average of 13, a strike rate of 11.9 and an economy rate of 6.53.

Chahar came up with a sensational effort of 6 for 7 against Bangladesh at Nagpur in the deciding match of the series, the best bowling figures in T20Is. Earlier in the year, Chahar bowled brilliantly for 3 for 4 in a T20I against West Indies at Providence.

He is one to watch out for in the future.

Lows

Shocking loss in World Cup semis

India v New Zealand - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Semi-Final

India’s meltdown in the 1996 semi-final to Sri Lanka is still fresh in the minds of cricket fans from the 90s. The 2019 World Cup semifinal defeat to New Zealand is now a painful chapter for a new generation of fans.

India needed just 240 at Manchester to make it to the final. At the halfway stage of the match they were favourites.

However, minutes into the chase, they crumbled to 3 for 5, and all of India’s hopes were dashed. Rohit Sharma, with hundreds in his last three games, was caught behind off Matt Henry for 1. Skipper Virat Kohli was trapped lbw, playing across the line, by Trent Boult. KL Rahul also fell to Henry for 1.

Despite Ravindra Jadeja’s counter-attacking 77, India still fell short by 18 runs.

T20I and ODI loss to Australia at home

Glenn Maxwell

Australia visited India for a two-match T20I and five-match ODI series, and gave the hosts a rude awakening. Australia won the T20Is 2-0 as Glenn Maxwell was unstoppable, smashing 56 from 42 and an unbeaten 113 from 55 in the two games.

The Aussies then recovered from a 0-2 deficit to clinch the ODIs 3-2. Opener Usman Khawaja was the standout performer in the hat-trick of wins, with scores of 104, 91 and 100.

In a series dominated by batsmen, Ashton Turner famously raced away to an unbeaten 84 from 43 balls as Australia chased down a mammoth 359 in 47.5 overs to win the fourth ODI at Mohali. The match also saw Peter Handscomb scoring 117 from 105, as India’s bowlers seemed clueless.

First Loss to Bangladesh in T20s

Mushfiqur Rahim

Going into the first T20I of the three-match series at the Feroz Shah Kotla (now renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi, India had a flawless record against Bangladesh in the format. That changed on 3 November 2019.

Batting first, an unsettled India battled their way to 148 for 6. Shikhar Dhawan top-scored with 41, but it came off 42 balls. Another home boy, Rishabh Pant’s 27 also consumed 26 balls.

In response, the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim flayed the Indian attack, as his unbeaten 60 came from only 43 balls. With support from Soumya Sarkar (39), and Mohammad Naim (26), Rahim led Bangladesh to a first-ever T20I triumph over India - by a comprehensive margin of seven wickets.