2017 saw a dawn of new era in Indian Cricket under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. Unlike many other years, it wasn”t ups and downs but only and only ups! India did not lose a single bilateral series in 2017.
Let”s take a look at top 6 of the many highs:
– by Atharva Apte
1) Rohit Sharma 118 of 43 against Sri Lanka at Indore on December 22, 2017
After becoming the first batsman to score 3 ODI double hundreds, Rohit Sharma followed it up by becoming the first Indian to score 2 T20I hundreds after a breathtaking 118 off 43 balls. His hundred off 35 balls was also the joint fastest in T20I cricket with David Miller. Rohit also became first Indian batsman to score 10 sixes in ODI as well as T20I innings.
2) Rohit 208* vs Sri Lanka at Mohali on December 13, 2017
Being handed over the captaincy for the first time, Rohit led from the front in his second game as captain after a disastrous start to his captaincy career. On his second wedding anniversary, Rohit gave Ritika, perhaps the best gift a husband can give to his wife. He became the only man on the earth to score 3 ODI double tons. It was also his 50th score of 50+ for India in ODIS. He finished on 208* off 153 balls with 13 fours and 12 sixes.
3) Virat Kohli”s back-to-back double hundreds vs Sri Lanka (213 at Nagpur and 243 at Delhi)
Virat Kohli”s wedding bells ring on December 11, 2017. But his run-scoring bells are always jingling. A week before his wedding, the skipper became first Indian captain to score back-to-back double hundreds in test cricket. A 213 in Nagpur was followed by his highest test score 243 at his home ground Delhi. It also propelled him to No.2 in ICC Test Rankings.
4) Ravi Ashwin”s 300 test wicket mark
Ravichandran Ashwin became the fastest to pick 300 test wickets against Sri Lanka at Nagpur on November 27, 2017. He achieved this feat in 54 tests, 2 less than the previous record holder Dennis Lillee who did the same exact 36 years ago (November 27, 1981). Earlier this year, Ashwin had also become the fastest to 250 test wickets.
5) Kuldeep Yadav”s hattrick against Australia at Kolkata on September 21, 2017
Indians haven”t been great takers of hattricks. There had been only 2 in tests and 2 in ODIS till Kuldeep knocked over Wade, trapped Agar in front and got the nick off Pat Cummins” bat. Kuldeep was having a bad game till then, turned the table with his hattrick. India won by 50 runs. It was also the first ever hattrick by an Indian spinner in ODI cricket.
6) Indian Women”s Team”s world cup performance
We keep talking so much about men that sometimes we fail to realize that 2017 has seen the beginning of a new era in Women”s Cricket. Team India, who were underdogs in the tournament, made it to the final of ICC Women”s World Cup 2017. It was a collective team effort and will surely push the administrators to think about Women”s IPL.
Some of the highlights of the tournament were Smriti Mandhana”s hundred against West Indies and 90 off 72 against England and Harmanpreet”s scintillating 171 off 115 against Australia in the semifinal. Also not to forget Ekta Bisht”s 5/8 which helped India beat arch-rivals Pakistan.
– by Atharva Apte