Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Cuttack: Virat Kohli, the India captain, said 2019 was one of the best years for Indian cricket, following his side's 2-1 series win against West Indies after a nervy victory in the final ODI on Sunday, 22 December.
In the decider in Cuttack, India chased down a 316-run target with eight balls to spare thanks to valuable half-centuries from their top three, and a key 58-run sixth-wicket stand between Kohli (85) and Ravindra Jadeja (39*). This was India's 10th bilateral series victory on a trot against West Indies.
The Indian captain himself had a good year, scoring 2,370 across formats at an average of 64.05. It's the fourth consecutive time that Kohli aggregated 2000-plus runs in a calendar year.
India won seven of the eight Tests they played this year, with one of them ending in a draw. There were 19 ODI wins in 28 matches, and nine T20Is victories out of 16. India also reached the semi-finals of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019.
"2019 has been one of the best years for Indian cricket," Kohli said after victory in Cuttack. "Apart from the 30 minutes [in the semifinal loss against New Zealand] in the World Cup, it's been a great year. We'll keep chasing that ICC trophy, this group deserves it for the amount of hard work we have put in. We have a vision in place."
Kohli lauded his pace-bowling unit, saying they were a key reason for the good year India has had. "Having a bunch of fast bowlers who can bowl out any opposition anywhere – them taking the attention away from the spinners in India is a huge achievement. We feel we have it in us to win series overseas, not just the odd game."
Rohit Sharma, the limited-overs vice-captain, who ended 2019 at the top of the ODI run charts with 1490 runs, said he was keen to keep at the runs next year. "Extremely grateful for the year I've had," he said.
"Personally I've enjoyed batting, but there's no way I'm stopping. There's an exciting year coming up. I understand my batting really well. I want to play within my limits, knowing the gameplan you want to execute is very, very important."
