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| | + | =The year in a nutshell= |
| | + | [https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/sports/cricket/news/2023-a-year-of-what-could-have-been-for-indian-cricket/articleshow/106429565.cms Nitin Naik, January 1, 2024: ''The Times of India''] |
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| − | [[Category:India| CRICKET, INDIA: A HISTORY (2023)CRICKET, INDIA: A HISTORY (2023)CRICKET, INDIA: A HISTORY (2023)CRICKET, INDIA: A HISTORY (2023)CRICKET, INDIA: A HISTORY (2023)CRICKET, INDIA: A HISTORY (2023)CRICKET, INDIA: A HISTORY (2023)CRIC
| + | ''' 2023: A YEAR OF WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN ''' |
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| − | =West Indies (away)=
| + | ’’ Despite Numerous Statistical Highs, Including Being Ranked No.1 In All Formats, The Big Prize In Men’s Cricket Eluded The Indian Team '' |
| − | ==Tests==
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| − | ===A: India wins at Roseau===
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=16_07_2023_029_014_cap_TOI July 16, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| − | Roseau (Dominica): World’s top-ranked bowler R Ashwin was too good for an ill-equipped West Indies batting lineup as his second five-wicket haul of the game set up India’s innings and 141-run victory in the opening Test. After India declared their first innings at 421 for five midway into the afternoon session, an improved batting show was expected from the Caribbean batters but they were simply not up to the task and collapsed to 130 all out in 50 overs to ensure a three-day finish.
| + | How would you sum up 2023 if you were an Indian cricket fan? Two words would do justice. “What if?.” 2023 was a year where the Indian men’s cricket team had two cracks at ending a 10-year wait for an ICC Trophy, but it came up short on both occasions in the WTC final at The Oval and the ODI World Cup final at Ahmedabad. And both times, it got outskilled by a familiar adversary. Australia. |
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| − | Ashwin followed his 33rd five-wicket haul in the first innings with envious figures of seven for 71 in 21. 3 overs, his best in an overseas Test. The result was a foregone conclusion after the West Indies were bundled out for 150 on the opening day. India’s big win was also set up by Yashasvi Jaiswal who made a sublime 171 on debut. Virat Kohli contributed with 76 off 182 but it was not among his fluent knocks as he had to work extremely hard for his runs and was even dropped twice along the way. | + |
What if India had picked Ashwin at the Oval in the WTC final? What if India had tried to bounce out Travis Head earlier? What if Head had nicked one of the many balls he played and missed in the first ten overs of that chase in Ahmedabad? |
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The second and final Test starts in Port of Spain, Trinidad, from July 20. India, who have not lost a Test to West Indies since 2002, will be expected to complete a clean sweep and pick up crucial points in the World Test Championship. The writing was on the wall when the West Indies were reduced to 32 for four in their second innings. | + |
The loss on November 19 in Motera would scar the souls and puncture the spirits of those in the changing room more because India had played a flawless tournament till the semifinal, crushing opponents systematically, but cruelly had an off day in the game that mattered on a curiously prepared pitch that was slow and dry to start with and then changed dramatically when Australia started their chase of 240. |
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With the conditions resembling the slow and dry tracks of India, Rohit Sharma introduced spin as early as the fifth over.
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But to not celebrate the performances of the team, especially in the white-ball format, would be ungrateful.
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| − | ===B: Port-of-Spain: draw; India wins series===
| + | The men’s team played fifty-eight white-ball games (35 ODIs and 23 T20Is) this year and ended up winning forty-two out of them (27 in ODIS and fifteen in T20Is).
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=25_07_2023_018_003_cap_TOI July 25, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| | + | ODIs, a format that is losing relevance, was given a lifeline by the men in blue, especially during a feverish World Cup campaign where captain Rohit Sharma’s thrilling assault on bowlers in the powerplay, captivated fans as it was both effective and selfless.
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| − | Port-of-Spain: An Indian team in transition will feel robbed of an opportunity as torrential rain came in its way of potentially winning the second Test against West Indies and completing a 2-0 series whitewash. Eyeing a clean sweep after their victory inside three days in Dominica, India called the shots here too and set the hosts an imposing target of 365. But the match ended in a draw after the fifth and final day’s play was washed out. Having taken two wickets to leave the beleaguered West Indies trailing by 289 runs by the end of the fourth day’s play, the Indians would have certainly fancied their chances of emerging victorious and grabbing a full 24 points in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. But that was not to be, thanks to the heavy downpour as India concluded their Test campaign with no further gains.
| + | The skipper was unfairly criticized for his stroke in the final off Glenn Maxwell, which was pouched miraculously by Travis Head, but his 47 (31 balls) was exactly how he had batted right through the tournament, in fact right through the year. |
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Brief scores: West Indies 255 (Brathwaite 75, Siraj 5/60) and 76/2). India 438 and 181/2 decl. (Rohit 57, Kishan 52*, Gabriel 1-33).
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With the heartbreak of the T20 World Cup semifinal vs England in Adelaide still fresh in his mind, the skipper had made up his mind that he was willing to buy the idea of India getting outclassed, but would not buy it if India ended up second best for want of intent. And he took it upon himself to not just stat pad but focus on giving the middle-order a cushion of runs so that they can bat deep without feeling the pressure of accelerating.
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| − | ==ODIs==
| + | It was a template that worked perfectly in the marquee tournament. Virat Kohli played the ideal foil for Rohit’s daredevilry, anchoring chases or giving the strokeplayers around him like KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer the freedom to go big without the worries of the team suffering a blowout. He logged six ODI hundreds in 2023 with three of them coming in the World Cup, none more important than the one he scored in the semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium against perennial nemesis New Zealand which made him the lone man to get to 50 ODI tons and surpass the record held by the great Sachin Tendulkar. It was a pity that his 765 runs in 11 matches did not result in a trophy more significant than the player of the tournament prize. |
| − | ===India wins Bridgetown ODI===
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=28_07_2023_027_017_cap_TOI July 28, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| − | Bridgetown: Skipper Rohit Sharma and senior pro Virat Kohli, who have 76 international hundreds between them, decided to give game time to middle-order batters as India beat West Indies by five wickets in the opening ODI, riding on exploits from spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
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The same can be said about the skipper. Rohit was one of four Indian batters to log over 1000 ODI runs along with Shubman Gill (1584), Kohli (1377) and Rahul (1060) and his approach can best be established by the fact that he hit 67 of India’s 250 ODI maximums in 2023 with 31 of them coming in the World Cup, a majority of those hits coming against top bowlers in the powerplay. |
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After Jadeja (3/37 in 6 overs) and Kuldeep (4/6 in 4 overs) set it up beautifully, shooting out the Windies for 114 in 23 overs, Ishan Kishan helped himself to a half-century (52 off 46 balls) in India’s successful chase in just 22. 5 overs.
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How you wish you had an intent meter sometimes. India’s bowlers were not too bad either. How’s this for a factoid? Arshdeep Singh’s 5-37 at Johannesburg against South Africa last month was the eighth instance of an Indian bowler picking a five-wicket haul in 2023. Mohammed Shami, who had a dream World Cup campaign (24 wickets) produced three of them in the tournament. He also bagged one in Mohali vs Australia just before the World Cup started. Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja were the others to make that distinguished list. |
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With 12 ODI matches in hand to find the perfect combination and some pieces of the puzzle still to be fixed before the World Cup, Rahul Dravid and Rohit’s decision to give game time to middle-order batters was a welcome move. While it didn’t exactly go as per plan for Suryakumar Yadav (19), who played a non-existent sweep shot, and Hardik Pandya (5) freakishly run-out at the non-striker’s end, Kishan did his cause no harm with his fourth half-century.
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Siraj produced a spell for the ages in the Asia Cup final vs Sri Lanka in Colombo with his 6-21 including a four-wicket over, a first by an Indian in ODIs. He was also lethal in the World Cup with the new ball, invariably producing an early breakthrough. What if India had not changed their plan and gave him the new ball in the final too instead of bringing him on in the17th over? |
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The chase was never a problem but the wicket did offer a lot of turn apart from bounce, which made life difficult for batters from both sides. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie (2/26 in 6. 5 overs) did ask a few probing questions but the total didn’t allow him to challenge the Indians more.
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| − | For India, skipper Rohit came in as late as No. 7 and Kohli didn’t even come out to bat. The idea was simple. Neither Rohit nor Kohli would gain anything by getting another half-century against a team like West Indies, but giving a chance to check Kishan as the third/reserve opener or Suryakumar as one of the middle-order options, provided Shreyas Iyer fails to recover in time, would give them requisite confidence.
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It was a story of What if for the women too. They choked like they did in the Commonwealth Games final against who else, but Australia in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup at Newlands when skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was run out with her bat getting stuck in the turf. India needed forty off thirty-two balls with six wickets in hand and fell short by five runs.
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With chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar also present, these were some well thought-out moves as often the Indian top three have stacked runs. Also, when batting collapse happened in a knock-out game of a big tourney, the middle-order, with lack of game time, have struggled badly. In the end, Jadeja (16 not out) also got 20-odd balls to bat and Rohit hit the winning runs.
| + | What if Kaur had managed to ground her bat? But Kaur did find some well-deserved cheer later in the year as her team in the inaugural WPL, Mumbai Indians, went on to clinch the trophy. She also captained India to memorable Test triumphs over England and Australia in Mumbai late in the year. While big trophies in white-ball cricket eludes the ladies, they tasted success in the Asian Games, winning the gold medal and the under-19 team led by Shafali Verma clinched the World Cup.
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| − | The ability to experiment with the batting lineup was laudable but one would expect that Rohit and Kohli will bat in their usual positions if India opt to make or is forced to make first use of the track in the next game. This series will be used for experiments and rightly so.
| + | May be the continued growth and success of the WPL, will see more talented players coming through the system. |
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| − | After putting West Indies to bat, Jadeja tightened the noose and Kuldeep went for the final kill in just 23 overs of bowling. Hardik Pandya (1/17 in 3 overs), starting with the new ball alongside debutant Mukesh Kumar (1/22 in 5 overs), set the tone with a tight first spell before Jadeja and Kuldeep finished the innings off in a jiffy.
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''' INDIAN MEN’S TEAM’S SCHEDULE IN 2024 '''
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| − | Skipper Shai Hope’s 43 was the top score for the hosts as only two other batters were able to cross the double-digit mark. PTI
| + | TESTS: 1 vs SA in SA; 5 vs Eng in Ind; 2 vs Bangladesh in Ind 3 vs NZ in Ind; 4 vs Aus in Aus |
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| − | ===Barbados: Rainwashed===
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T20IS: 3 vs Afg in Ind; 3 vs SL in SL; T20 WC in USA and WI
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=30_07_2023_025_007_cap_TOI July 30, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| | + | ODIS: 3 vs SL in SL |
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| − | Barbados: Indian team management’s decision to rest skipper Rohit Sharma and premier batter Virat Kohli badly backfired as none of the World Cup hopefuls could cope with pace, bounce and turn against the West Indies, managing a dismal 180 in 40. 5 overs in the rain-hit second ODI here on Saturday. Losing five wickets for 23 runs in just 7. 2 overs after opening stand of 90 between Ishan Kishan (55 off 55 balls) and Shubman Gill (34 off 49 balls) became India’s undoing after the West Indies skipper Shai Hope opted to bowl.
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| − | The loss of momentum hurt India dearly but more than that, the rationale behind Rohit and Kohli’s forced break with only 10 months left before the big event, didn’t make much sense. Not to forget that the failures left more questions than answers. There were two rain-delays but West Indies bowlers never let their intensity drop in an impressive display.
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While Kishan consolidated his case for selectio n as second wicket-keeper (provided KL Rahul gets fit for World Cup) with a second successive half-century, the same couldn’t be said about Sanju Samson (9 off 19 balls) and Axar Patel (1 off 8 balls). Promoted at No. 3 and 4 to keep the left-right combination going, both players struggled not only against short-ball tactic employed by Jayden Seales (1/28 in 6 overs), Alzarri Joseph (2/35 from 7 overs) and Romario Shepherd (3/37 in 8 overs) but also the grip, turn and bounce that spinners Gudakesh Motie (3/36 in 9. 3 overs) and Yannic Cariah (1/25 in 5 overs) generated. Brief scores: India 181 in 40. 5 overs (I Kishan 55, S Gill 34, R Shepherd 3/37, G Motie 3/36) vs West Indies
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| − | ==T20Is==
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| − | ===Tarouba: 1st, India loses===
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=04_08_2023_031_005_cap_TOI August 4, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| − | [[File: Scoreboard, West indies vs. India, Tarouba, T20Is- 2023.jpg|Scoreboard, West indies vs. India, Tarouba, T20Is- 2023 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=04_08_2023_031_005_cap_TOI August 4, 2023: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
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| − | Tarouba : Tilak Varma looked very much at home on his international debut before India made a mess of a modest run-chase to lose the opening T20 International against the West Indies by four runs here on Thursday. Rovman Powell (48 off 32) played a captain’s knock to take West Indies to 149/6 after the hosts opted to bat at the Brian Lara Stadium. With 37 needed off the last 30 balls and six wickets in hand, India self-destructed to end at 145/9 in 20 overs.
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Jason Holder brought the West Indies back into the game by producing a maiden in the 16th over, when he found the stumps of India skipper Hardik Pandya (19) before Sanju Samson (12) got run out. Tailender Arshdeep Singh (12) made the game more interesting with a couple of fours in the penultimate over, making use of an extra fielder in the circle due to the home team’s slow over rate. Eventually, Romario Shepherd was able to defend 10 runs off the final over.
The sole bright spot of the chase was Varma’s fearless 39 off 22 balls on his maiden outing for India. The 20-year-old southpaw dispatched West Indies’ quickest bowler Alzarri Joseph for back to back sixes over deep square leg to announce his arrival in international cricket. His third and final six came off an aerial drive of pacer Shepherd.
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It was not the easiest of pitches to bat on and most of the Indian batters found strokemaking tough. The opening duo of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill perished cheaply before Suryakumar Yadav (21) and Varma got together. Suryakumar came up with a spectacular cut short off Joseph that went all the way before the star Indian batter was caught brilliantly by Shimron Hetmyer at extra cover.
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Earlier, Powell and the in-form Nicholas Pooran (41 off 34) took the hosts to a respectable total. Besides Varma, pacer Mukesh Kumar, who made his Test and ODI debut earlier on the tour, was also handed his maiden T20 cap. With the new ball not doing much in the Powerplay, the Indian pace duo of Mukesh and Arshdeep Singh was not able to put the West Indies top-order under pressure.
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Hardik introduced spin in the fourth over and Brandon King (28 off 19) made his intentions clear with an inside out six over cover off Axar Patel. Yuzvendra Chahal (2/24) was brought into the attack in the following over and a struggling Kyle Myers (1) missed a slog sweep off the leggie’s googly only to be adjudged LBW. The replays showed the ball was missing the stumps but Myers chose not to review. PTI
“We were right in the chase. We made some errors which cost us, but it is fine. A young team will make mistakes.
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| − | Throughout the game, we were in control. I have always believed that in T20 cricket, if you lose wickets, it becomes difficult to chase down a total.” -Hardik Pandya | INDIA CAPTAIN
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“It’s a very good feeling. We talked about starting the series on a positive note, and we did that today. After watching the Indians bowl, I was thinking if we were a spinner short. But the fast bowlers bowled into the wicket.” -Rovman Powell | WEST INDIES CAPTAIN
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| − | ===Guyana, 2nd T20I: India loses===
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=07_08_2023_025_014_cap_TOI August 7, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| − | Providence (Guyana) : Tilak Varma struck his first international half-century, but it was not enough to prevent India from slipping to a dramatic two-wicket defeat in the second T20I against West Indies in Guyana.
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India struggled to 152-7 after winning the toss and batting first and, in spite of Nicholas Pooran’s 67, appeared to be heading for victory when West Indies lost four wickets for three runs to slip to 129-8.
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However, tailenders Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein kept their cool and slogged the winning runs to see the West Indies home with seven balls to spare. After winning Thursday’s opener in Tarouba by four runs, West Indies take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
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| − | The 20-year-old Varma, who helped light up the IPL with 343 runs for the Mumbai Indians this season, made 51 from 41 balls before clipping left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein to fine leg where Obed McCoy pouched the catch.
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Varma came to the crease in the fourth over after Shubman Gill was caught at third man off Alzarri Joseph and Suryakumar Yadav, playing his 50th T20I, was run out by a direct hit from Kyle Mayers to leave India o n 18 for two. Varma added 42 for the third wicket with Ishan Kishan before the opener was bowled by Romario Shepherd for 27.
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| − | Sanju Samson fell cheaply and after the dismissal of Varma, who hit five fours and one six in his 51, it was left to skipper Hardik Pandya with 24 from 18 balls to drag the Indians towards a half-decent target.
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Brief scores: India 152 for 7 in 20 overs (Tilak Varma 51; Romario Shepherd 2/28, Akeal Hosein 2/29, Alzarri Joseph 2/28) lost to West Indies 155 for 8 in 18.5 overs (Nicholas Pooran 67; Hardik Pandya 3/35) by 2 wickets.
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| − | ===Providence, 3rd T20I: India wins===
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=09_08_2023_027_006_cap_TOI August 9, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| − | Providence (Guyana) : Suryakumar Yadav was back to his disdainful best as India stayed alive in the series with a seven-wicket win over the West Indies in the third T20I. After West Indies opted to bat, skipper Rovman Powell’s whirlwind 40 not out off 19 balls pushed the hosts to 159/5 after Kuldeep Yadav (3/28) stemmed the flow of runs in the middle overs. Debutant Yashavi Jaiswal (1) and Shubman Gill (6) got out cheaply in the run chase but Suryakumar came up with a special 83 off 44 balls to help India gun down the target in a me re 17.5 overs. Tilak Varma (49 not out off 37) was happy to play second fiddle to his senior Mumbai Indians teammate in their 87-run stand. Tilak missed his second straight fifty in the series as skipper Hardik Pandya (20* off 15) hit the winning six.
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West Indies now lead the five match series 2-1 with the next game to played in Lauderhill, Florida.
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| − | Suryakumar, who had a quiet tour up till now, flicked his first ball for a boundary. It is almost impossible to stop Suryakumar when he is finding the gaps at will and that is what the West Indies bowlers had to endure.
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| − | His innings comprised 10 fours and four sixes, with the highlight being the picture perfect straight hit over pacer Obed McCoy’s head.
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| − | After Suryakumar’s dismissal in the 13th over, skipper Hardik and Tilak did the needful. The southpaw, who began his innings with back-to-back fours, once again showed he is here to stay.
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Earlier, Kuldeep got rid of the dangerous Nicholas Pooran (20 off 12) and a well-set Brandon King (42 off 42) in the 15th over to wrest mo mentum from the West Indies.
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In an unusual occurrence, the start of the game was slightly delayed as the 30-yard circle was not marked. After opting to bat, the West Indies enjoyed their best start of the series with King and Kyle Mayers (25 off 20) sharing a 55-run stand. The surface was on the slower side, prompting Hardik to introduce spin as early as in the third over via Axar Patel, who conceded a couple of boundaries.
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Leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, who usually doesn’t bowl in the first six overs, was given that task on Tuesday. But Mayers put Chahal under pressure straight away by sweeping him for a six.
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| − | The third spinner, Kuldeep, initially went for runs but came back as he beat a charging Nicholas Pooran to have him stumped. PTI
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| − | ===Lauderhill, 4th T20I: India wins match===
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=13_08_2023_031_002_cap_TOI August 13, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| − | Lauderhill (US) : Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal gave a glittering manifestation of their talent as India humbled West Indies by nine wickets in the fourth T20 International. India hunted down 179 with full three overs to spare, and the victory helped them to level the five-match series 2-2.
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Coming into this match, India needed some runs from their openers and the two young men did precisely that, with Gill (77 off 47 balls) and Jaiswal (84 not out off 51 balls) slipping into overdrive from ball one and seldom downshifting thereafter. They put on 165 runs together.
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There were apprehensions of the pitch getting slowed down in the second half of the match, as it often happened in the past. But the centre square that was recently refurbished using the Mississippi soil stayed true for the whole course of the match.
Gill and Jaiswal used the wicket’s friendly nature to the hilt as 66 runs cascaded in the Powerplay. The eight fours and three sixes they smoked during that phase underscored their complete dominance.
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Incidentally, all three sixes took birth off Gill’s punishing bat. Gill was the first to stroll past the fifty-run mark, cutting Rovman Powell past the point fielder for a couple. Jaiswal soon joined his partner on that landmark point, and it was achieved in an even more eye-popping fashion.
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Powell tried to go wide of offstump but the left-hander moved across and thumped the ball through wide square leg for a boundary, and celebrated his maiden T20I fifty with unmasked glee.
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| − | Perhaps, it was the first chapter in passing of the baton to the younger crop as far as the shortest format is concerned.
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However, the home batsmen, save Shimron Hetmyer (61) and Shai Hope (45), failed to capitalise on an excellent chance to put on board a bigger total. In fact, the hosts did not manage even a single fifty stand in their innings.
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The West Indies essay revolved around two partnerships — a 49-run stand for the fifth wicket between Hope and Hetmyer and then a 47-run stand for the eighth wicket between Hetmyer and Odean Smith. Arshdeep Singh (3/38) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/26) kept the Windies batting unit on a tight leash.
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| − | ===Lauderhill: 5th T20i, West Indies defeats India wins series===
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| − | [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=14_08_2023_019_001_cap_TOI August 14, 2023: ''The Times of India'']
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| − | [[File: Scoreboard, 5th T20I, West Indies vs India, Lauderhill, 2023.jpg| Scoreboard, 5th T20I, West Indies vs India, Lauderhill, 2023 <br/> From: [https://epaper.timesgroup.com/article-share?article=14_08_2023_019_001_cap_TOI August 14, 2023: ''The Times of India'']|frame|500px]]
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| − | Lauderhill (US) : West Indies defeated India by eight wickets in the series-deciding fifth and final T20 International to win the series 3-2. Suryakumar Yadav made a 45-ball 61 to guide the Indians to 165 for nine against the West Indies in after opting to bat. Tilak Varma made 27 off 18 balls after India opted to bat first. For West Indies, Romario Shepherd (4/31) was the pick of the bowlers.
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Chasing,West Indies rode on Brandon King’s unbeaten 85 and Nicholas Pooran’s 47 to romp home comfortably in 18 overs. Varma picked up one wicket for India giving away 17 runs.
Earlier, the Indian batters fluffed their lines when it mattered most as a determined West Indies handed captain Hardik Pandya his first bilateral series defeat beating the visitors by eight wickets.
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| − | Within 24 hours of producing a batting masterclass on a featherbed, the Indian batters, save Yadav’s scratchy yet effective 61 off 45 balls, posted a sub-par score of 165 for 9 after opting to bat on a used track that had become slower.
On a pitch where stroke-making wasn’t an easy proposition, Surya had to curb his flair a bit but still had enough firepower in his arsenal to hit four fours and three sixes during his knock.
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On same track where the Caribbean bowlers put Indian batters under tight leash, the bowl ing attack looked horribly out of depth barring Kuldeep Yadav (0/18), who delivered yet another steady performance.
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Pooran and King cleverly decided to play out Kuldeep’s spell and attacked others with disdain.Once the West Indies got 60 in the powerplay, there was no looking back as they maintained the tempo with most of the Indian bowlers pitching it short giving Pooran ample time to tonk them in the arc between the long-on and cow corner.
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However it was the batting that became India’s undoing as they never got the desired mo mentum during the middle as well as end overs. Even Surya was a bit subdued by his own lofty standards because the slowness didn’t allow him to play his natural game.
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It was a used track where the ball started gripping from the very first over bowled by leftarm spinner Akeal Hosein (2/24 in 4 overs), who made an impact against the Indian batters throughout the series.
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Between him and off-spinner Roston Chase (1/25 in 4 overs), they bowled eight overs for just 49 runs taking three wickets in the process. Yashasvi Jaiswal (5) started with a reverse sweep but Hosein’s delivery that stopped and turned with a tad extra bounce forced the batter to offer a simple return catch. Shubman Gill (9) was unlucky as he would have survived had he taken a review with TV replays showing that Hosein’s arm ball was drifting down the leg-side.
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Tilak Varma (27 off 18 balls) was at his fluent best taking 19 off the final powerplay over bowled by Alzarri Joseph. But he also fell prey to the slowness of the track offering Chase a return catch. PTI
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| | =World Test Championship= | | =World Test Championship= |
’’ Despite Numerous Statistical Highs, Including Being Ranked No.1 In All Formats, The Big Prize In Men’s Cricket Eluded The Indian Team
How would you sum up 2023 if you were an Indian cricket fan? Two words would do justice. “What if?.” 2023 was a year where the Indian men’s cricket team had two cracks at ending a 10-year wait for an ICC Trophy, but it came up short on both occasions in the WTC final at The Oval and the ODI World Cup final at Ahmedabad. And both times, it got outskilled by a familiar adversary. Australia.
What if India had picked Ashwin at the Oval in the WTC final? What if India had tried to bounce out Travis Head earlier? What if Head had nicked one of the many balls he played and missed in the first ten overs of that chase in Ahmedabad?
The loss on November 19 in Motera would scar the souls and puncture the spirits of those in the changing room more because India had played a flawless tournament till the semifinal, crushing opponents systematically, but cruelly had an off day in the game that mattered on a curiously prepared pitch that was slow and dry to start with and then changed dramatically when Australia started their chase of 240.
But to not celebrate the performances of the team, especially in the white-ball format, would be ungrateful.
The men’s team played fifty-eight white-ball games (35 ODIs and 23 T20Is) this year and ended up winning forty-two out of them (27 in ODIS and fifteen in T20Is).
ODIs, a format that is losing relevance, was given a lifeline by the men in blue, especially during a feverish World Cup campaign where captain Rohit Sharma’s thrilling assault on bowlers in the powerplay, captivated fans as it was both effective and selfless.
The skipper was unfairly criticized for his stroke in the final off Glenn Maxwell, which was pouched miraculously by Travis Head, but his 47 (31 balls) was exactly how he had batted right through the tournament, in fact right through the year.
With the heartbreak of the T20 World Cup semifinal vs England in Adelaide still fresh in his mind, the skipper had made up his mind that he was willing to buy the idea of India getting outclassed, but would not buy it if India ended up second best for want of intent. And he took it upon himself to not just stat pad but focus on giving the middle-order a cushion of runs so that they can bat deep without feeling the pressure of accelerating.
It was a template that worked perfectly in the marquee tournament. Virat Kohli played the ideal foil for Rohit’s daredevilry, anchoring chases or giving the strokeplayers around him like KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer the freedom to go big without the worries of the team suffering a blowout. He logged six ODI hundreds in 2023 with three of them coming in the World Cup, none more important than the one he scored in the semifinal at the Wankhede Stadium against perennial nemesis New Zealand which made him the lone man to get to 50 ODI tons and surpass the record held by the great Sachin Tendulkar. It was a pity that his 765 runs in 11 matches did not result in a trophy more significant than the player of the tournament prize.
The same can be said about the skipper. Rohit was one of four Indian batters to log over 1000 ODI runs along with Shubman Gill (1584), Kohli (1377) and Rahul (1060) and his approach can best be established by the fact that he hit 67 of India’s 250 ODI maximums in 2023 with 31 of them coming in the World Cup, a majority of those hits coming against top bowlers in the powerplay.
How you wish you had an intent meter sometimes. India’s bowlers were not too bad either. How’s this for a factoid? Arshdeep Singh’s 5-37 at Johannesburg against South Africa last month was the eighth instance of an Indian bowler picking a five-wicket haul in 2023. Mohammed Shami, who had a dream World Cup campaign (24 wickets) produced three of them in the tournament. He also bagged one in Mohali vs Australia just before the World Cup started. Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Ravindra Jadeja were the others to make that distinguished list.
Siraj produced a spell for the ages in the Asia Cup final vs Sri Lanka in Colombo with his 6-21 including a four-wicket over, a first by an Indian in ODIs. He was also lethal in the World Cup with the new ball, invariably producing an early breakthrough. What if India had not changed their plan and gave him the new ball in the final too instead of bringing him on in the17th over?
It was a story of What if for the women too. They choked like they did in the Commonwealth Games final against who else, but Australia in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup at Newlands when skipper Harmanpreet Kaur was run out with her bat getting stuck in the turf. India needed forty off thirty-two balls with six wickets in hand and fell short by five runs.
What if Kaur had managed to ground her bat? But Kaur did find some well-deserved cheer later in the year as her team in the inaugural WPL, Mumbai Indians, went on to clinch the trophy. She also captained India to memorable Test triumphs over England and Australia in Mumbai late in the year. While big trophies in white-ball cricket eludes the ladies, they tasted success in the Asian Games, winning the gold medal and the under-19 team led by Shafali Verma clinched the World Cup.
May be the continued growth and success of the WPL, will see more talented players coming through the system.
TESTS: 1 vs SA in SA; 5 vs Eng in Ind; 2 vs Bangladesh in Ind 3 vs NZ in Ind; 4 vs Aus in Aus
