Indian cricket in 2014 - A Review

It’s that time of the year when the clichéd New Year resolutions are elaborately being planned out, albeit in a fruitless cause, with the hope that the unfulfilled promises of the departing year find a new meaning in 2015.2014 will always be remembered by the Indians for the mercurial emergence of the dynamic Narendra Modi as he “orange-washed” the country in the Lok Sabha elections. The successful launch of India’s first Mars orbiter Mangalyaan and the conferring of the Nobel Peace Prize on K. Satyarthi for his struggles against children labour turned out to be the highlights of the year. While the nation exulted in these historic feats, a sense of void and helplessness seemed to have crept into the hearts of cricket fanatics. The year will be best defined as a year of missed chances for MS Dhoni’s boys with on-field successes being few and far between.

#1 The Indian team in numbers

In the 10 Test matches played, the Indian team could salvage only 1 win and 3 draws, losing 6 games – 3 against England, 2 against Australia in the ongoing series and a loss at the hands of the Kiwis earlier in the year.

While the performance in the longer format was disappointing, to say the least, the LOI shows did manage to offer some respite. Out of the 27 ODIs played, the team emerged victorious on 14 occasions, losing 9, with 3 games being called off. One against New Zealand ended in an enthralling tie. The team failed to reach the finals of the Asia Cup, losing to Sri Lanka and arch-rivals Pakistan in the group stages.

MS Dhoni’s men were unbeaten in the T20 World Cup, held in Bangladesh, in the run up to the finals, but eventually had to settle for the second spot as a result of a loss against Sri Lanka in the summit clash.

#2 Murali Vijay solves India\'s opening woes

“Hardships maketh or breaketh a man.”

3 foreign tours in a calendar year are not easy by any standards. It is tough, very tough. Tours to New Zealand, England and the ongoing series Down Under had plenty of challenges to overcome for Dhoni’s team. It is in these moments of adversity that boys become men and carve out their own niche. Sparks emerged from the Indian camp as Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay came to their own in the three tours; however, once the trio was doused, India were reduced to a plethora of ashes, crumbling one by one without putting up a worthy fight.

After the axing of senior openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, Vijay has made the opening slot his own by accumulating 773 runs in 9 games, including two centuries and two nineties. Vijay, coming off an indifferent New Zealand tour, silenced all critics with a resolute 146 in the 1st Test against England, seeing off the new ball with ease. He amassed 323 runs in the first 4 innings against Australia and became only the first opener since Sunil Gavaskar in 1977 to score a century at Brisbane.

#3 Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ajinkya Rahane come to India\'s rescue

Ajinkya Rahane brings calmness to the middle-muddle: Apart from Vijay, Ajinkya Rahane and Virat Kohli have been the only other Test batsmen who are worth writing about. Jinks, as he is popularly called, by scoring three centuries in New Zealand, England and Australia, looks set to fill in VVS Laxman’s boots as a middle order player. He has shown promise in ODIs as well following his promotion to the opening spot, scoring two centuries in the year.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar swings it India’s way: A special mention is reserved for seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was a revelation in the tour to England picking up 19 wickets in the 5 Tests. While Mohammad Shami faltered, Bhuvneshwar lived up to his reputation of being a genuine swing bowler, troubling Alastair Cook’s men consistently. Injury prevented him from taking the field in the first 3 Tests in Australia, and needless to say, his absence is being felt as the visitors dish out listless bowling performances one after the other.

#4 Virat Kohli: The biggest positive for India

Need a man to take the attack to the opposition?

Need someone to play a big knock under pressure?

Need a batsman to occupy the crease to help India save the blushes?

Look no further than the 26-year-old Virat Kohli, who has scored 852 runs in 10 Tests and 1054 runs in ODIs this year.

The nightmare of a series that he had against England, where he managed only 134 runs at a dismal average of 26.8 in five Tests, proved to be a one-off show as he bounced back with elan against the Aussies, scoring back-to-back hundreds at Adelaide.

Given the captaincy of the team during the Asia Cup and the 5-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, Kohli’s aggression and fighting spirit rubbed onto the team. After Dhoni was ruled out of the first Test in Australia, India, under the Delhiite, came out all guns blazing chasing 364 in the 4th innings, but a late collapse meant they lost by 48 runs after being in a commanding position.

Kohli’s ability to get under the skin of the rivals got him a world of praise.. His batting exploits and captaincy stints make him the biggest success for India in 2014.

#5 Rohit Sharma and Stuart Binny

Rohit Sharma, with a record 264 in an ODI match against Sri Lanka at Kolkata, and Stuart Binny, with bowling figures of 6/4 against Bangladesh – the best ODI bowling figures by an Indian, also had their moments last year.

Consistency has been Rohit’s primary concern, and without the knock of 264, he has managed a mere 314 runs in 11 games at an average of 28.54 and a strike-rate of well below 65. Questions are bound to rise over his ability to keep the scoreboard ticking, more so as an opener, and it is time that the “talented” Rohit becomes consistent away from home.

Suresh Raina made a brilliant comeback with a century in England during the ODI series that India won quite convincingly. Having been dropped from the Asia Cup squad, the left-hander was back with a bang handling the short pitched deliveries – his nemesis for long – with ease, which helped him earn a Test call-up after 3 years.

In the ODIs, the team lost 4-0 to New Zealand, with one match ending in a tie. The disappointment of missing out on the the Asia Cup was made up for in the T20 World Cup which followed, with the team reaching the finals.

Victories recorded in England need to be applauded. However, one must not ignore the flatness of the pitches, which will be a far cry from the bouncier, livelier wickets on offer in the 2015 World Cup.

#6 MS Dhoni\'s failures as a Test captain

Our overseas Test performances were relatively better this year; however, if you compare anything to a series of whitewashes suffered in the previous seasons, it will obviously be. India lost 6 out of the 10 games played, managing only a solitary win against England at Lord’s.

The team yielding at the mere mention of the word ‘pressure’, the inability to last the full quota of 5 days on most occasions and allowing the oppositions to get back into the game after having them on the mat – all these became a familiar sight for Indian fans as the year progressed.

The baffling selections from Dhoni and the national selectors, be it choosing Stuart Binny on a Test tour to England or playing Ravindra Jadeja as a specialist spinner, didn’t help, either. In addition to all these, his defensive tactics did not inspire confidence and rather showed signs of a lost man.

#7 The Indian bowlers lose the plot

It won’t be unfair to suggest that the bowlers, on whom high expectations had been bestowed upon, failed and failed miserably.

Mohammad Shami’s reverse swing was expected to be a perfect compliment to Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s accuracy, but after a dream debut in Kolkata last year, where he picked up 9 wickets, the Bengal seamer seems to have lost the plot. He did pick up 10 wickets in the 4 innings in New Zealand, but soon his international performances took a dip. He could only manage 5 wickets in the first 3 games in England, and that led to his removal from the team for the last 2 games; an unimpressive 1st Test at Adelaide paved the way for Umesh Yadav in his place at Brisbane, before he was brought back again at the Gabba.

The bowling attack as a pack floundered when it mattered the most. Apart from a historic triumph at Lord’s, guided by Ishant Sharma’s 7/74, the bowlers have looked largely unimpressive. Despite playing in supporting decks, they have allowed the opposition to score more than 500 runs six times in the year. What is more dismal is that as many as 26 times has a bowler conceded 100 plus runs in an innings, breaking the record of England bowlers, who was at receiving end of it 17 times way back in 2002. The inability to clean up the tail continues to haunt India.

#8 Off-field controversies plague Indian cricket

While MS Dhoni’s team failed to inspire confidence with their on-field performances, off-field controversies continued to plague Indian cricket as well.

The Supreme Court named ICC President N. Srinivasan in the contentious Mudgal Report where it accused him of a conflict of interest. The names of Dhoni, Sunil Gavaskar, Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri were also dragged in by Srinivasan to defend himself from holding multiple positions, and we are yet to hear the last on this issue.

Sachin Tendulkar, known for keeping a safe distance from controversies during his illustrious 24-year-old career, was in the news for the wrong reasons during the launch of his autobiography “Playing it my Way”. Spilling the beans, the Mumbaikar revealed former Indian coach Greg Chappell’s intentions to “rule Indian cricket” during Rahul Dravid’s tenure as captain. Not surprisingly, this did not go down well with the Australian media.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni did his reputation no good as he continued to build a wall of silence around himself on issues involving him – be it his shares as an owner in Indian Cements or the IPL spot-fixing controversy.

The Ravindra Jadeja-James Anderson ‘pushgate’ scandal during India’s tour to England’, the alleged Shikhar Dhawan-Virat Kohli spat after the loss at Brisbane and reports of Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli behind MS Dhoni’s Test retirement were issues that were unnecessarily blown out of proportion.

The omission of the 2011 World Cup heroes Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan from the 2015 World Cup probables list made the headlines as well, raising debates about their form and fitness. Although Yuvraj answered back with 3 centuries in the Ranji Trophy, the return does look improbable.

However, these controversies do not, in any way, take the limelight from the poor performances on the 22 yards where the team continued to succumb, dropping to a lowly number 7 in the Test rankings.

#9 MS Dhoni\'s shock retirement from Test cricket

India succumbed to yet another Test series loss when the team drew the 3rd match against Australia at Melbourne in the ongoing India-Australia series. Already trailing 0-2 in the 4-match series, the equation was simple for India: go for the kill or perish in the process.

Dhoni, however, showed no intentions to take the match forward, delaying taking the new ball on the start of Day 5. India, despite a few early jitters, managed to hold on as the Australian captain Steve Smith finally decided to settle for a draw, with Dhoni unbeaten on 24.

Not many would have guessed that that knock would be the last time one would see India’s most successful captain in the whites.

In a surprising press release, a few hours after the match, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on its official website, confirmed that Dhoni has decided to retire from Test cricket with immediate effect, with Kohli taking over the reigns of captaincy for the final Test of the series in Sydney.

Dhoni’s batting in Tests and his wicket-keeping skills have been deteriorating in the past few years, and with a batting average of 33 in 17 innings in 2014, his spot would have been under the scanner if he wasn’t at the helm.

His captaincy lacked the aggressive punch, and the results were a reflection of that. A mere 2 wins in 22 Test matches overseas since 2011 undoubtedly made this the worst phase for the 33-year-old.

At the same time, he captained India to 27 Test wins in 60 games, giving him the dubious distinction of being the most successful Indian captain as well as the only leader with 15 losses to his name.

He scored 4876 runs at an average of 38 in 90 games in addition to affecting 294 dismissals, and his retirement might just as well be a blessing in disguise for a beleaguered Test team.

He did guide India to the numero uno spot in Test cricket, and despite his failures as captain, Indian cricket will forever be indebted to “Captain Cool”.

#10 Looking forward to 2015

Can the defending champions defy the odds in an unfamiliar territory against in-form teams like Australia and New Zealand to reach the pinnacles of success? An individual with even an iota of cricketing knowledge will think twice before answering in the affirmative, considering the recent performances of the team. However, the Men in Blue have showed the knack of coming to their own when pushed against the wall.

The triangular series involving India, Australia and England scheduled to start after the Border-Gavaskar Trophy will give us a clear idea of how India will fair in the marquee event.

With a bilateral series against Pakistan scheduled in the late August, things, indeed, look exciting for Indian cricket in the upcoming year. And let’s not forget the beginning of the Kohli-era in Test cricket.

“Adversity is a soul sister to success”, and the 1.2 billion Indians wait with bated breath for William Shakespeare’s prophecies to come true. The year ends with the hope that the cricketing misfortunes seen in the last year can pave the way for a successful 2015.