Many may be surprised by the title. India won the T20 World Cup in Barbados on June 29 this year under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. A few days ago, Suryakumar Yadav-led India crushed South Africa in Johannesburg. India crossed 200 thrice in four innings.
Actually speaking here about the performance of India's ODI version. Those who keep track of cricket, the date 19 November should not be forgotten by them. On November 19, 2023, Australia lifted the title by making India cry in the ODI World Cup final. Australia cheered to win the ODI World Cup for the sixth time, stunning more than 1 lakh spectators at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Since that final, India have played 6 ODIs and won only 2 matches.
India dominated last year's ODI World Cup at home from the start. After 9 matches of the round robin league, Rohit-Virat Kohli reached the final after winning 10 matches in a row. India had a great performance in all the three categories of batting, bowling and fielding. At a press conference on the eve of that final, Australian captain Pat Cummins boasted that he would silence the 100,000-plus crowd in Ahmedabad. So in the final after losing the toss and batting first, they scored 80 runs for 2 wickets in 10 overs, but then India saw Sarsheful in their eyes. India scored 240 runs after losing all the wickets in the allotted 50 overs.
Down to a target of 241 runs, Australia lost 3 wickets for 47 runs and was under pressure at the beginning. However, when Travis Head started hitting from one end, the Indian bowlers could not find direction. As soon as Head's sixes fell into the gallery, the spectators at the Ahmedabad Stadium clapped their hands. The Australian left-handed batsman won the man of the match award with a brilliant century (137 runs off 120 balls). Australia's celebration started when Glenn Maxwell took 2 runs by pushing Mohammad Siraj to mid-wicket.
The opposite picture was seen in Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium. From Rohit, Kohli to Jasprit Bumrah, Shubman Gill, Kuldeep Yadav – everyone has a look of disappointment on their faces. Even though Kohli was the best player of the tournament breaking the record books, there was no smile on his face. Rohit has understood what it feels like to come close to the title and not touch it. At the end of the final, the then head coach of India, Rahul Dravid, was very emotional after seeing the disciples crying in the dressing room.
The ODI series was won by 2-1 against South Africa after the Ahmedabad tragedy. India went to South Africa in December 2023 to play with youngsters without star cricketers like Rohit-Kohli. Eight months after winning the Protea series, India toured Sri Lanka. Rohit gave an aggressive start in every match but Kohli-Shreyas Iyer couldn't sustain it later. India lost the 3-match ODI series by 2-0. Lankan spinners picked up 27 of India's 30 wickets in the series. In which Premadasa of Colombo came close to victory in the first ODI of the series but the match ended in a tie.
In 2024, India is not getting a chance to play another ODI. The Asian team therefore has to finish the year winless in this edition. However, in T20 this year, India played with power. Played 26 T20 and won 24 matches. Lost 2 matches. India won two of them in super overs. In the test against England and Bangladesh, despite playing with power, they were defeated by New Zealand. India were thrashed 3-0 at home by the relatively less experienced Kiwis in the Test. Where the Blackcaps humiliated India by bowling out 46 runs at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.
