The year 2017 turned out to be a thrilling year for Indian cricket fans. We witnessed Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepping down from the captaincy of the team after nine years, and passing on the responsibilities to young and dynamic Virat Kohli. Several cricket experts disagreed with this development and doubted Kohli’s leadership abilities across all the three formats. But the team decided to shut all the critics with the performance and not by words.
The year started with a 3-match ODI series against England and since then, the men in blue haven’t lost a single bilateral tournament away or at home. Be it a Test rubber, ODI or T20I, the Indian team outclassed the opponent each time. Meanwhile, the Indian players including Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma have achieved unbelievable milestones in their careers. Especially, the captain who became the highest run-getter in ODI and the number 1 batsman in ODIs and T20Is.
And before the year ends, let’s have a look a the annual performance of the Indian team across all the formats in bilateral series.
India in Tests in 2017:
1. India vs Bangladesh, one-off Test, February 9-13
India won by 208 runs. Skipper Virat Kohli scored a double ton and bagged the man of the match award
2. Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India vs Australia, 4-Tests, February 23-March 29
After losing the first Test of the year, India went on to beat Australia in the 2 more games and won the 4-match series by 2-1. The third test in Ranchi ended in a draw.
3. India tour to Sri Lanka, 3-Tests, July 26-August 16
India whitewashed the Lankans at their home and won the series by 3-0. India became the first nation ever to do so in Sri Lanka.
4. Sri Lanka tour to India, 3-Tests, November 16-December 6
India won the series by 1-0 and Virat Kohli bagged the man of the series award as he scored two consecutive double hundreds.
ALSO READ: IPL 2018: 5 players KKR must retain to maintain a familiar core!
India in ODIs in 2017:
1. India vs England, 3-ODIs, January 15-22
India won the series 2-1. Yuvraj Singh made his comeback in the ODIs with this series and scored his career-best score – 150 runs in Cuttack.
2. India tour to West Indies, 5-ODIs, June 23-July 6
After the first game was called off due to rain, India managed to win the series by 3-1. Ajinkya Rahane bagged the Player of the Series.
3. India tour to Sri Lanka, 5-ODIs, August 20-September 3
India whitewashed the Lankans in yet another series on their home soil. Jasprit Bumrah bagged the Player of the Tournament award.
4. India vs Australia, 5-ODIs, September 21-October 1
India won the series by 4-1. Kuldeep Yadav, the Chinaman bowler, took the first hat-trick of his ODI career in this series. Hardik Pandya bagged the Man of the Series award for his phenomenal batting performance.
5. India vs New Zealand, 3-ODIs, October 22-29
Despite losing the first ODI, which was also Virat Kohli’s 200 ODI, India won the series by 2-1. Kohli also received the Man of the Series award.
6. Sri Lanka tour to India, 3-ODIs, December 10-17
It was the first ODI series for India under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy. Though India lost the first match in Dharamsala, they bounced back in Mohali as Rohit smashed the 3rd Double ton of his career. India won the series by 2-1 and Shikhar Dhawan was the Player of the Tournament.
ALSO READ: What went behind Suresh Raina’s unbelievable transformation for clearing Yo-Yo test
India in T20Is in 2017
1. India vs England, 3-T20Is, January 26-February 1 – India won the series by 2-1. Wrist spinner Yuzvendra Chahal bagged the Player of the Series award.
2. One-off T20I with West Indies, July 9, Jamaica – India lost by 9 wickets. Evin Lewis was the player of the game.
3. One-off T20I against Sri Lanka at Colombo, September 6 – India won the match 7 wickets, Virat Kohli was the man of the match.
4. India vs Australia, 3-T20Is, October 7-13 – Series was drawn 1-1.
5. India vs New Zealand, 3-T20Is, November 1-7 – Series was drawn 1-1.
6. India vs Sri Lanka, 3-T20Is, December 20-24 – India win series. (Currently leading by 2-0 with one game left to be played on December 24)
The above tally shows that India have won 36 international matches (including ICC Champions Trophy matches) in the year 2017 which is the second highest in a calendar year. Australia lead the list with their record of 38 wins in the year 2003, under the captaincy of Ricky Ponting.
After beating Sri Lanka at Indore on December 22, India has occupied the 2nd position in the T20I rankings.
ALSO READ: Rohit Sharma sets 3 world records during 2nd T20I against Sri Lanka. Here’s the list
The above results show the report card of the Indian cricket team in 2017 which is undoubtedly outstanding. However, the players will be actually tested in their forthcoming series in South Africa. India will play the Freedom Series with Proteas which comprises 3-Tests, 6-ODIs and 3-T20Is.
Let’s hope that in 2018, more great things are in store for team India, and they return home with the Freedom Trophy!
