Cricket in India is some sort of religion with millions of fans glued to it keeping tab off all the action on the field. It is rightly branded as the number one sport in India and cricketers enjoy some sort of demi-god status. So how exactly has the team performed in the year that is coming to an end and what are some of the talking points. Our highlight package of the Indian Cricket team of the 2018 season looks to capture the essence of India ’s showing throughout the year. Cricket Controversies in 2018: From Virat Kohli's 'Leave India' Comment to Steve Smith's Ball-Tampering Scandal, Here Are All Incidents That Rocked Gentleman's Game This Year!

India’s tour of South-Africa: At the start of 2018, India travelled to South-Africa which was always going to be an extremely tough battle. Virat Kohli led India lost the opening two Tests in Cape Town and Centurion as the hosts took an unassailable lead in the series. The faltering Indian batting was the root cause for both defeats. Batting fourth proved to be a disaster for the team as they fell like nine pins. In the third Test at Johannesburg, Virat Kohli’s men showed spirit when things were not going well. Chasing a target of 241 runs, South Africa looked like they were all set to coast to victory with Hashim Amla and Deane Algar at the crease. But Mohammed Shami scalped five wickets as he scripted India’s 63 runs win. India lost the first Test series of the year 2-1.

Post the three-match Test series, India moved to the ODI series which became a platform for Virat Kohli to showcase his greatness.

The Indian skipper scored a mammoth 558 runs as the visitors decimated the hosts 5-1. The bowlers, particularly, the spinners performed well as India showed the world it was a power to reckon with in the shorter format of the game. The games were so one-sided in nature that South-Africa was made to look ordinary. The T20I series was no different either with India taking home a 2-1 win by clinching the final game at Cape-Town when the series was poised at 1-1.

Nidahas Trophy: Sri Lanka hosted a tri-nation T20 series involving India and Bangladesh which gave a chance to BCCI to rest key players like Virat Kohli in order to keep them fresh. Rohit Sharma was made the captain and he tasted defeat in the very first game against Sri Lanka as they chased down India’s score of 174 with ease. A couple of easy victories in the next two games put India in the finals where the Bangla tigers awaited. The final in Colombo turned out to be one of the great T20 games of all time as Dinesh Karthik’s heroics in the last two overs meant the Men In Blue snatched a win from the jaws of defeat. The KKR skipper smashed a last-ball six to take India home, arguably the most iconic moment of India cricket in 2018.

India’s tour of England: England has been a formidable challenge for any touring Indian side and for Virat Kohli’s men the challenge at hand was huge. The tour started with a three-game T20 series which India did well to capture 1-2. The ODI series bore a similar margin of victory only this time it was in favour of England. India had won the opening one day match at Nottingham but the hosts showed tremendous fight back to take the next two games. The decider at Leeds, the visitors could only manage 256 batting first which England chased down with ease. Throughout the series, MS Dhoni’s slow batting became the talking point. Year-End Special: From AB de Villiers to Gautam Gambhir, Here’s the List of Cricketers Who Retired in 2018.

After the shorter format of the game was done away with India were ready to lock horns in a testing five-match Test series. But there was not much change in India’s performances with the bat as they went down without a fight in the first two Tests at Birmingham and London. The pace and swing of James Anderson and Stuart Broad were troubling India and denied them the freedom to score. India did manage to pull one back with a 203-run win in Nottingham to breathe life in the series. But any hope of a comeback was dashed quickly with yet another defeat. Batting last has been a problem for India in Tests and England capitalised on it with a 60-run win in the fourth test.

In the fifth and final test, Indian wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant and K L Rahul batted with resilience as India batted fourth yet again. They almost got India home with centuries but James Anderson proved to be the nemesis as India were battered 4-1 in the Test series.

Asia Cup 2018: Immediately after the disappointment of the England series, Indian team travelled to UAE to take part in the Asia Cup 2018. Virat Kohli was rested and up stepped his deputy Rohit Sharma to lead the side. In the very first game against Hong Kong, they were given a scare when their opponents threatened to chase down their total of 287. Honk Kong failed but it was a warning for India to improve. That improvement came about against Pakistan, a tie in which India lost Hardik Pandya to a serious injury yet steamrolled the Green Shirts. In the Super Fours, they met Bangladesh and Pakistan and won the matches easily. But the final against Bangladesh was a cliffhanger in which a meager total of 222 went right down to the wire in the Indian chase. Thanks to some super effort by Kedar Jadhav who battled severe hamstring trouble to take his side home.

West Indies tour of India: West Indies visited India in October for a month-long tour in which they were scheduled to play two Tests, five ODI, and three T20 games. The first Test saw Prithvi Shaw shine and score a hundred on debut and starred in India’s huge win by an innings and 272 runs. The second Test was equally one-sided as well as the home side blanked West Indies 2-0. In the ODI series, it was Virat Kohli who stepped up to the mark once again scoring centuries for fun. West Indies did show some fight in the second and third ODI coming away with a tie and a win respectively but India managed a 3-1 series win. They also blanked visitors 3-0 in the T20 series under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.

India’s tour of Australia: The long Australian summers for India started with a three-game T20I series in which they dominated every game only for rain to play spoilsport and the helped the Oz. The first game it was DL method that resulted in India’s loss while in second Australia were in deep trouble only for the game to be washed out. They needed the calming influence of Virat Kohli in the third game to square the series at 1-1.

This was India’s performance in 2018 (with one Test to go) which is a mixture of hits and misses. Test cricket is a problem for India where it has failed overseas and the series in Australia which is underway is currently tied at 1-1. In the shorter format, the team has done well and has come up with the goods.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 22, 2018 12:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).