Year Ender 2023: A Year of Highs and Lows for Indian Cricket Team and What’s Next To Look Forward to in 2024

Indian Cricket team is one of the most followed and cherished sports teams in the world. The Asian giants also have conquered foreign soil, making them a formidable force in the sport. But as they say, ‘nothing is permanent and change is inevitable’, the high-flying Indian team also had their lows in 2023. Team India started the year 2023 against Sri Lanka and played in a total of 12 international tournaments across the globe. The team’s performance was mesmerizing throughout the 59 games played in these tournaments. The Men in Blue won 43 games (72.88% win ratio) clinching multiple series and tournaments but also had heartbreak in major finals like the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 and ICC Test Championship game. An interesting fact about losing both prestigious honors is that Australia defeated India on both occasions while the latter have had three series wins against the Aussies in the year 2023. Indian Cricket Team Schedule in 2024: List of Series, Tournaments to be Played by Men’s National Side Including ICC T20 World Cup.

With only those two agonizing defeats and also a T20I series loss against West Indies, the Indian cricket team has been very authoritative and dominating in the world of cricket. Their 2023 year began with a series win against Sri Lanka (2-1 T20I, 3-0 ODI) and New Zealand (2-1 T20I, 3-0 ODI) in January. Then mighty Australians were humbled in the Test series (2-1) at home in February. Making timely changes in the squad, a mix of experienced and budding stars won  India series against West Indies and Ireland in the monsoon season. India also clinched Asia Cup in September, with four wins in the tournament. And now in December, India already has a T20I series trophy, shared with host South Africa. KL Rahul-led India then went on to secure an ODI series victory over the Proteas in their backyard, as well.

While the team has been in a great run of form throughout the year, we will highlight some of the major achievements of Team India and Indian players, as we salute the sporting heroes for the immense efforts they put on the field.

Highs:

Numero Uno Across Formats: After the team’s consistent performances throughout the year and even in earlier years, team India secured the top ranking in all formats of the game on September 29, 2023. India became only the second team to achieve this feat after the 2012 South African team.

Domination in Asia Cup, ICC World Cup:   India had a terrific run in the Asia Cup as well as the ICC World Cup, winning one and falling short in the last hurdle, on the other. The Men in Blue were dominant in the Asia Cup and the highlight of their campaign was how they won the final of the tournament, brushing aside co-hosts Sri Lanka in a match that finished in very little time. In the ICC World Cup, a similar run followed with India winning 10 matches on the trot. But there was heartbreak in store in the final hurdle when India were defeated in the summit clash by Australia, a result which continued the ICC trophy drought for the Men in Blue. India vs Pakistan ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Match to be Held in New York: Report.

Asian Games Gold: Cricket made a comeback to the Asian Games and the Indian men's team, a second-string one with most of the big names engaged in World Cup preparations, managed to win the gold medal. Harmanpreet Kaur and her India women's team also bagged the gold medal with the dominance of the Indian cricket teams, clearly highlighted in the continental event.

Virat Kohli’s 50 Centuries:  2023 was a year that Virat Kohli dominated and ODI cricket, a format of which he is considered the master, saw the best out of the 35-year-old. As if racking up a record 765 runs in the World Cup, a feat no one ever achieved before was not big an achievement, Kohli also went past his idol Sachin Tendulkar to become the first man to score 50 ODI centuries. Fans would never forget the emotional tribute he paid to Tendulkar when he completed the feat with the Master Blaster lauding him from the stands. This has to be mentioned in the achievements as former India captain overtook master-blaster Sachin Tendulkar’s record of most centuries in one-day internationals. The feat is even monumental as Kohli came back from a bad patch to silence his critics with massive innings in big games.

Border Gavaskar Trophy Success:  India reigned supreme in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which they hosted earlier this year. Rohit Sharma and his team were clearly the more dominant side in comparison to Australia, who struggled to compete on the spin-friendly tracks. The series ended 2-1 in India's favour and remains one of the major highs for the Men in Blue in 2023.

Lows: 

Indian cricket surely witnessed some real highs this year but there were considerable low moments as well, which fans would want to forget.

ICC World Cup 2023 Heartbreak: Having won 10 matches on the trot and finished unbeaten in their run to the final, almost everyone expected India to go all the way and win the World Cup, after a gap of 12 years. But that was not to be. Rohit Sharma and his team had one bad game in the whole ICC World Cup and unfortunately, it was on the day of the final. The top order failed and the middle-order could not score the way it did all the tournament. The Indian bowlers also had a forgettable day, defending 241 as Australia, who had lost their opening two matches, went on to win a record-extending sixth World Cup title.

WTC Final Defeat: The defeat in the ICC World Cup 2023 was not the only time that the Indian cricket team experienced a low this year. Months before, it was once again Australia who pipped India to win the WTC title in England. India were thoroughly outplayed in the final and Australia wrapped up proceedings early on Day 5 with a dominant display. It was the second time that India had made the WTC final and failed to win the title.  Year Ender 2023: From Pat Cummins to Virat Kohli, a Look at Best Cricketers This Year.

Big Loss in Centurion: As the year came to a close, many had pinned their hopes on Rohit Sharma and his team to do well in the Test series against South Africa with the first of those matches played at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. It was a forgettable display as India were defeated by an innings and 32 runs in a span of three days.

Having had a year of highs and lows, what can fans look forward to in 2024?

Well, 2023 is done and there's plenty to look forward to for Indian cricket team fans in 2024. Coming up first is the second Test against South Africa and India will hope to win that to draw the series. A T20I series against India will follow and subsequently, the IPL will follow. A big and probably the most important assignment for India in 2024 is the ICC T20 World Cup in June. It will be interesting to see if the BCCI decides to pick a team full of young stars or if it falls back on the experience of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.

In all, the Indian cricket team’s fans would be pleased with their heroes and team’s achievements in the year 2023, as they prepare for some of the exciting games ahead including ICC T20 World Cup 2024.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 31, 2023 05:57 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).