Kohli's men script a new high in India's Test Cricket history
It was left to the cricketers to give that final glitter to all the sporting achievements that India recorded in 2021. Its debatable if Indian Test cricket has ever seen as many highs as it did in the year that went by. If winning a series in Australia was a delight then proof of the Indian abilities again bloomed in England in the away series and then in India. Thereafter New Zealand became the next victim in the home series in early December in what seemed India's relentless pursuit of success. And now at the fag end of the year the series in South Africa has started on a bright note with India winning the first Test in Centurion and the record book has it that this was the first time an Asian country had broken the fortress in Centurion. So plaudits in various hue had kept courting the Indian cricketers during the year and it would their look out to pocket the Test series comprehensively and give Indian cricket the kind of boost in the New Year even as it pursues the coveted title of a World Champion in due course.
In fact if there had been a hiccup here or there in the success run, then it has to be the fall to New Zealand in the inaugural World Test Championship final held in Southampton in England in June last year not to forget the unexpected early exit in the T20 World Cup held in the UAE thereafter in October. The loss to Pakistan in the latter event in the Gulf and then the tumble thereafter looked a horrendous moment that thankfully did not last long. As things panned out, the proceedings thereafter in particular the longer format of Test cricket, Kohli's men could present their best.
What is more, today the Indian team is considered the most balanced side with a sound reliable batting line up and a more than capable pace-bowling pack in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Add to that the wiles of spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and the Indian arsenal is complete. Nothing best reflected this truth than the latest performance at the Centurion. Hopefully this would inspire more gains as the tour proceeds in the New Year.
But then who would have thought at the start of 2021 that Indian sports in general would look so healthy in terms of performances. The pandemic had laid its hand tight on anything and everything not just in India but every place in the Globe. Sports seemed the last thing to talk of in these life-challenging times. But Cricket kept the doors of sporting distraction open for a major part, with India starting off scripting inspiring victories in Australia. More importantly some of the blue riband world level events of the year could go on even if with strict regulations.
The Olympics, the Para Olympics, the world U-20 athletics championship and world badminton among others were held and it was striking that there was an Indian success story in each, bringing all round joy. What is more, the Tokyo Olympics and Para Olympics brought forth India's best ever performances till date in terms of medals won. None personifying the big moments better than Neeraj Chopra, the country's first ever gold medal winner in athletics. Where the legends Milkha Singh and P.T. Usha were unlucky in their time to have missed an Olympic medal by fractions of seconds, this Haryana champion achieved not just a medal but the gold with a metre to spare! May be not to that level but similar such tall stories abounded for the first time in Indian sports.
There is more in store in 2022. Asian Games and Commonwealth games are the key ones that immediately come to mind. Hopefully there will be success stories there too. Then of course cricket will continue to flow in plenty. It was a bit ironical that a team that has been doing so well should still have the stigma of a controversy around it! The Kohli captaincy issue simply blew out of proportion with BCCI giving one version and Kohli another. Thankfully all this has not made any inroads into the team performance. On the other hand, the collective will of the team members seem to be helping in erasing that little blot with the bat and the ball!
Already with 40 wins to his credit, Kohli is India's most successful Test captain and just fourth in the world list behind Graeme Smith of South Africa and Australians Ricky Ponting and Steve Waugh. Perhaps the only worry for Kohli is his batting form which somehow has failed to touch his known best. Critics point to captaincy pressure as the reason for his batting slip but then it was as captain only that he has scored seven double hundreds in Tests, the most by an Indian player. Also his highest Test score (254) is against South Africa in 2019. So who knows in the fresh year and against the same opponent, Kohli may re-discover his form and silence all his critics once and for all! The new Coach Rahul Dravid, a once big run-getter, himself believes a big score from Kohli is round the corner.
There is then so much more to look forward to in 2022. New hopes, aspirations and fresh highs in performances!