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Indian cricket in 2024

From putting an end to the ICC trophy drought to getting absolutely battered by the hands of the touring and a rather just par New Zealand side in a Test series, the Indian cricket team went through a range of emotions in 2024.

On the back of the World Cup final loss against Australia at home, the Indian side went to South Africa with a reignited hope of getting a series win in South Africa that has eluded them since 1992/93.

However, the hopes came crashing down with a Boxing Day loss in Centurion and the win at Cape Town to start off 2024 was only enough to salvage a tie of the series. 

India backed up the win in the new year’s Test with a 4-1 series win against England at home where Yashasvi Jaiswal rose up the ranks with a 712 run series which included a double-ton, putting India in a pole position for the World Test Championship final spot.

Key Transformations for Indian Cricket In 2024

The teams went into the T20 season with the World Cup approaching in the States and the Caribbean which had India’s name written all over it. Led by captain Rohit Sharma with the bat and Jasprit Bumrah with the ball throughout the tournament, India pulled off a win from the jaws of South Africa to put an end to an 11-year ICC trophy drought.

Everything seemed to be going well with an incredible win in Kanpur Test against Bangladesh where they got a result on the final day of the rain-affected Test in an unprecedented fashion but then came the Kiwi side, on the back of suffering a whitewash in two Tests in Sri Lanka.

India only needed a series win to strengthen their position in the WTC. However, all hell broke loose when India’s own approach of preparing rank-turners backfired and they capitulated to lose 0-3 at home for the first time ever. This also marked India’s first series loss at home since 2012/13.

Suddenly, the places of the old guard are being questioned with the WTC final looking a far-fetched goal. Glaring issues against spin were exposed as the team headed to Australia in pursuit of retaining BGT.

With a Test and an innings left and the series levelled at 1-1, the big captain hasn’t turned up in the series. Kohli, despite a century has not looked good either and the over-reliance on Bumrah alongside the rise of unexpected heroes in KL Rahul and Nitish Kumar Reddy is on display. 

Indian Cricket In 2024 Has Been Endlessly Interesting, But What’s Up Ahead?

With a fresh World Test Championship cycle approaching, some ‘big decisions’ are to be made after R Ashwin already hanging up his boots. Is this the time for a big transition for Indian cricket is something that will be known in the coming days.

On the other side of the spectrum, the women’s side has also been in agony and ecstasy. They started off the year with a loss in both ODIs and T20I series against Australia but then got some momentum with a Test win against South Africa where Sneh Rana showed her excellence in the longest format once again with 8/77 and 2/111 in two innings while Shafali Verma scored a double hundred.

Smriti Mandhana Has Sparked, Brightened Indian Cricket In 2024

Smriti Mandhana who has looked leaps ahead of her teammates across formats with the bat also got a 149 in the win. She also scored two centuries and a fifty in the 3-0 ODI series win. India then managed a series tie in the T20Is as they prepared for Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup.

The team reached the final of the Asia Cup undefeated before they were hit by Chamari Athapaththu who stood tall between India and the Asia Cup alongside Harshitha Smarawickrama who both scored 60s.

Moving into the T20 World Cup, questions were already being asked about Harmanpreet Kaur’s leadership after the Asia Cup and it looked pretty evident right from the word go that India was not ready for the T20 World Cup with an absolute thrashing of 58 runs from New Zealand and the way India approached a 108 run chase against Pakistan.

India crashed out of the tournament by finishing third in the group stage and despite winning 15/23 games in the year, India managed to lose three absolutely crucial ones in Asia Cup and the World Cup. However, no immediate changes were made and nobody took the accountability as they later won an ODI series 3-0 against West Indies in the latest news.

2025 is another crucial year for women’s cricket with the home World Cup approaching. The stakes will be high and 8/13 wins in ODIs will give the team a glimmer of hope to pull up the socks and bury the ghosts of 2017 where they agonizingly fell short from the title despite being in the winning position.

(note men’s cricket image source– Sporting News, women’s cricket image source- Female Cricket)

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