2017-the red-letter year for Indian cricket

Kolkata: “Success isn’t always about ‘Greatness’, it’s about consistency. Consistent, hard work gains success. Greatness will come.” This famous quote by wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson aptly sums up what the Indian team, led by a charismatic and passionate Virat Kohli has achieved in 2017. From Kuldeep Yadav’s hat-trick to Kohli’s back-to-back double hundreds and Rohit Sharma’s masterful third double ton in ODIs-Indian cricket has undoubtedly scaled new heights this year.

Yes, the success came at the cost of some unexpected failures but the team has showed an indomitable fighting spirit and undoubtedly, Indian cricket has scaled new heights in the past 365 days.

Virat Kohli- the man himself has been central to India’s success. Amassing a total of 2818 runs across all formats with three double tons, 11 hundreds and 10 fifties to his name, the talismanic right-hander sits right at the top of the batting charts this year. Relishing new challenges and conquering them-this has been the mantra of the team that has maintained it’s stronghold over the number one ranking in Test cricket, dominated proceedings in the 50-over format and has emerged as a revitalised unit in the shortest version of the game. The numbers prove it. The men in blue have won a total of 37 games this year-a feat which is only second to Australia’s 38 in 2003.

An striking feature of this new team under Kohli has been the young guns who have time and again proved it with their performances that they’re here and are here to stay. Names like Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya have turned out to be huge hits and important cogs in the wheel of Kohli’s India.

The year kicked off with captain, ‘cool’ Mahendra Singh Dhoni stepping down from the helm of affairs of India’s limited overs’ teams. On one hand, this signalled the end of an era in Indian cricket as it has been the sheer genius and calmness of the veteran that handed India two World Cups and a Champions Trophy. On the other, it was the beginning of a new Indian team under the leadership of Kohli and the way he has led the side would indeed live as an example for the years to come.

But what’s a complete year without it’s highs and lows? While there has been numerous moments for the fans to cheer about, the one math that all would like to forget is the Champions Trophy final against Pakistan where favourites India where thoroughly outclassed in all the departments by their arch-rivals, who turned out to be the better team on July 26.

Another forgettable incident that garnered a lot of attention and made the headlines for quite some time was the infamous Kohli-Kumble saga. Reports of a rift between the two emerged early in 2017 where it was learned that the Indian team couldn’t get along well with Anil Kumble’s, “headmaster” style of coaching. Later, Kumble in his resignation letter confirmed that his ‘untenable’ relationship was the reason behind him stepping down from the job of the coach, which was later taken up by Ravi Shastri.

The reason why 2017 was a complete year for Indian cricket is not because the men’s team performed well, but also because of the Indian eves in blue making a mark at the greatest stage. Led by the experienced Mithali Raj, the Indian women’s team put up a show of bravery and class at the Women’s World Cup earlier this year, where they ended up as the runners-up to hosts England by an agonizing margin of nine runs. Had they got those, then perhaps history would have been made but the character and the, ‘never-say-die’ attitude shown by the team drew applause from many and the women’s would be raring to replicate their performance in 2018 too.

Having said that 2017 was a red-letter year for Indian cricket, the challenges in the next 12 months would have a say in how the young team shapes up to be one of the best in the business. Beginning with the tour of South Africa, Kohli and his troops would travel to countries like England and Australia where they would be tested. Kohli, already has shown a lot of promise and this Indian team well and truly isn’t a one to be taken lightly. Can the men in blue break some more records and shine in 2018 too?