2014 Year End Special: Top 5 moments in Indian cricket this year

As the year is about to end and India are currently on Australia tour we look back and bring to you some of the special moments of Indian cricket this year.

Year 2014 was a mixed bag of gladness and despondency for Indian cricket, both on and off the field. The year started with dejected India’s tour of New Zealand and then team proceeded to play Asia Cup and World T20 in Bangladesh. Midsummer, a second string Team India went to Bangladesh for One-Day International (ODI) series before flying to England for Test and ODI series. India then hosted West Indies at home, who left the tour midway and thus neighbours Sri Lanka filled in the void with another ODI series. As the year is about to end and India are currently on Australia tour we look back and bring to you some of the special moments of Indian cricket this year.

Runner-up World T20: Finishing second is no achievement for a team which is highly talented; moreover when you belong to a cricket crazy nation, but the way India displayed some top-notch performance in the World T20 in Bangladesh it surely was one of the talking points this year. India made it to the end of the tournament after finishing unbeaten in the league and knockout stages, but eventually lost to Sri Lanka in the finals. The performance indeed was significant given India’s history at the tournament. After winning the inaugural World T20 in 2007, India had failed to make it past second round in 2009, 2010 and 2012 editions.

Stuart Binny Bundles Bangladesh: In June Bangladesh hosted India for a short series of three ODIs, sandwiched between Indian Premier League (IPL) and England tour. One up in the series India were staring at defeat after being bowled out for just 105 runs in the second ODI, lowest score against Bangladesh. Playing only in his third ODI right-arm medium bowler Stuart Binny tormented the Bangladesh batting by picking six wickets and thus home team was bundled out for just 58 runs. Binny, who finished with figures of 4.4-2-4-6, registered the best figures by an Indian in ODIs surpassing Anil Kumble’s record of 6-12 against West Indies way back in 1993.

Lords Conquered: India were drubbed 3-1 in the five-match Test series against England, but the lone victory that stood out during the tour was truly a special one, after all it was a win at Lords and that too after the long 28 years. MS Dhoni, who was tactically at his best in that particular game, along with Ishant Sharma scripted one of the best Test wins in the history of Indian cricket. With former’s presence of mind and latter’s 7-74 India clinched the win by 95 runs.

Impressive in ODI’s: After losing Test series Indian ODI unit lived up to the reputation of World Champions and handsomely pounced England 3-1 in their backyard. Next on their list was home series against West Indies, which was reduced to only three ODIs due to weather and West Indies players pulling out due to pay dispute, nevertheless India won two matches out of three. With West Indies leaving the tour midway Sri Lanka flew in to fill in the void, but the visitors were handed an absolute pasting as India defeated them 5-0.

Rohit Sharma’s Gigantic Act: Coming back from an injury Rohit Sharma stunned one and all when he scored a double hundred against Sri Lanka at Eden Gardens. Rohit not only registered the highest score (264) by a batsman in ODIs but also became the first batsman to hit two double centuries.

This year we also witnessed Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s prolific effort both with bat and ball on England tour along with scintillating ton by Ajinkya Rahane at Lords. While Virat Kohli, who had horrid time in England, during the home series against West Indies announced his arrival to form when he smashed his a century and became the fastest to reach 20 centuries in ODIs. Moreover, leading India in the first Test against Australia, he scored back to back centuries at Adelaide Oval on captaincy debut, only to become second captain after Greg Chappell to do so. And yes not to forget Murali Vijay’s revival as a Test opener.