New Delhi:
It has been a breathtaking year for Indian cricket due to the massive wins it has registered across three formats of the game. Memorable performances have been witnessed in Tests where India has carved out a slice of history with its 18 match unbeaten streak.
However, the Indian team has also performed stupendously in both One Day and T20 internationals. MS Dhoni, the world cup winning captain tasted huge success in the shortest format of the game, the T20s.
India sweep the bilateral T20 series in Australia 3-0.
After a disappointing ODI series against Australia, Dhoni and boys gave Australia a taste of their own medicine. India won the fifth ODI after losing four as Manish Pandey hit a sublime century and the Men in Blue chased down a massive target of 331.
Virat Kohli then played some brutal T20 innings and whitewashed the mighty Aussies 3-0 in their own den. Australians were shell shocked and Kohli’s three half centuries witnessed India ending the tour on a high.
India win T 20 series against Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka was India’s second victim of the year as it toured the country in February. Although India lost the first match, they hit back with force to win the last two games and seal the series 2-1.
Splendid tour of Zimbabwe: India win ODIs 3-0, T20s 2-1
MS Dhoni travelled with an inexperienced line up to Zimbabwe in the month of June as stalwarts like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rahane, Ashwin and Jadeja were rested.
However, youngsters like KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, Manish Pandey and Barinder Sran proved their mettle to help India clinch the One Day series 3-0 and T20s 2-1.
Asia Cup triumph
India went unbeaten in the Asia Cup and clinched the continental cup for a record sixth time after beating hosts Bangladesh by eight wickets. Shikhar Dhawan’s sensational 44-ball-60 in a rain-truncated final was instrumental in India’s triumph.
ICC Word T20: India reach semi-finals
India began their World cup campaign on a disappointing note as they lost the first match to New Zealand. However, the team bounced back in style and defeated arch-rivals Pakistan, Bangladesh apart from thrashing Australia in the quarterfinals to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
Virat Kohli was the architect of most of the Indian victories in the tournament and fired in the semi-finals with a knock of 89 as well. But Lendl Simmons blew away the hosts with a brutal assault of 82 runs from 52 balls to take his team to the final. West Indies were the ultimate champions but the way the Indians fought throughout the tournament won the hearts’ of its fans.
ODI series vs New Zealand:
After thrashing New Zealand in the three match Test series, India faced a determined and rejuvenated Kiwi side which gave them tough competition in the ODIs. India and NZ both won two matches to set a thrilling decider at Visakhapatnam. However, the final match was a completely one-sided affair as Amit Mishra took a five wicket haul to help India register a comprehensive 3-2 victory in the series. The series victory also helped India to end 2016 on a high note.
Defending champions India lifted the U-19 Youth Asia cup by defeating Sri Lanka by 34 runs in the final held in Colombo. Himanshu Rana, Shubhnam Gill and skipper Abhishek Sharma were the standout performers for India.
Rana and Gill helped India reach a respectable total of 273 runs and Sharma hit timely blows to the Lankans as he took 4/37 to curtail their chase. In the end, Sri Lanka were all out for 239 runs as India retained the trophy they had won in 2013/14.
Himanshu had fired a thrilling century against Afghanistan earlier to fire India to the Asia Cup final.
Himanshu Sharma, Shubhnam Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Abhishek Sharma were consistent performers for the Indian side and had propelled it to convincing wins over Afghanistan and Nepal earlier.
The Indian colts superb performance augurs well for the country’s future as many of these players are capable of becoming bedrock of the senior national team in the upcoming times.
