From World Cup heartbreaks to CWG'22 silver medal: Reliving Team India's 2022

2022 is coming to an end. The calendar year has been an eventful one for sports lovers across the globe. The cricketing fans have had plenty to cheer for with a plethora of big events passing by. Talking about the Indian cricket team, it was another action-packed year with plenty of highs and some glaring lows. The calendar year is set to end after a few international assignments left for both senior men's and women's teams. Let's have a quick recap of 2022:

Men in Blue in 2022

The year started with India continuing their tour of South Africa. After winning the Boxing Day Test match, Virat Kohli-led India had a 1-0 lead against Dean Elgar-led Proteas and was aiming for an unassailable 2-0 scoreline, which would've meant their maiden Test series triumph in the African nation. The second and penultimate Test started with skipper Kohli ruled out, due to upper back spasm, and KL Rahul led the side as they lost the match by seven wickets. 

Also read: Pakistan vs England, Rawalpindi run-feast: Most runs scored on a single day of a Test

The same fate followed suit for India in the third and final Test, once again losing by seven wickets, despite Kohli's return. After the series, the 33-year-old dropped a bombshell by resigning as the Test captain. He wrote on Twitter, "It's been 7 years of hard work, toil and relentless perseverance everyday to take the team in the right direction. I've done the job with absolute honesty and left nothing out there. Everything has to come to a halt at some stage and for me as Test Captain of India, it's now."

"There have been many ups and also some downs along the journey, but never has there been a lack of effort or lack of belief. I have always believed in giving my 120 percent in everything I do, and if I can't do that, I know it's not the right thing to do. I have absolute clarity in my heart and I cannot be dishonest to my team," Kohli added.

By then, Kohli's fallout with the top brass at the BCCI had already made the headlines; following the 2021 T20 World Cup and his sacking as the ODI captain in early December. While news channels ran plenty of shows on Kohli vs BCCI alleged spat, Team India embarked upon a new journey under full-time captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid.

With Rohit unfit for the SA ODIs, Rahul led India in three ODIs as the visitors were whitewashed 3-0 with several questions being raised on their outdated approach in the format.

Home comforts

After the miserable SA tour, India switched to home comforts by hosting West Indies in a white-ball series, comprising three T20Is and ODIs each, followed by three T20Is and two Tests versus Sri Lanka. As expected, India stream rolled both the oppositions by whitewashing all four series. Amid injury concerns to Ravindra Jadeja, Rahul, etc., India got busy in preparing a team for the T20 World Cup in Australia. 

IPL 2022

The action shifted to the 15th season of IPL in March-May. While top cricketers such as Virat, Rohit, Jadeja, Bumrah, etc. struggled or didn't perform as per expectations, the likes of Umran Malik, Mohsin Khan, Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, etc. made a mark; spoiling the national selectors and team management with more choices for the T20 WC Down Under.

India host South Africa

After the IPL, Team India captaincy became a game of musical chairs. With Rohit rested and KL injured, Rishabh Pant led India in a five-match T20I series which ended in a 2-2 stalemate. Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, and Harshal Patel were the most impressive.

India tour of Ireland, England

With Rohit and other senior players busy preparing for the one-off Test versus England, i.e. the series finale of the five Tests from the incomplete 2021 tour, Hardik led India in two T20Is against Ireland. Coach Dravid was also involved with the red-ball side, leading NCA chief VVS Laxman to fill in for him in Dublin. India beat the Irish camp 1-0. In the series finale versus England, India was led by pacer Jasprit Bumrah with Rohit ruled out due to Covid concerns.

Under Bumrah, India achieved a sizeable 132-run lead in the Edgbaston face-off, however, failed to defend a challenging 378-run target to lose by seven wickets. After SA, Team India faltered and lost a big opportunity to win a memorable series overseas.

Also read: Queen of women's cricket: Top 6 records held by Mithali Raj

White-ball dominance

After the disappointments of Edgbaston, India played hosts England in three T20Is and ODIs each. The likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik, Rishabh Pant, Bumrah, etc., impressed as Rohit & Co. won both the series 2-1. Post the England trip, India travelled to West Indies with a second-stringed Shikhar Dhawan-led team playing the Windies in three ODIs and winning every game. 

In the five T20Is, Rohit returned and led India to a 4-1 series win. The tour saw impressive performances from Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Surya, Arshdeep Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi. 

Asia Cup

After a short tour of Zimbabwe, where Rahul led India to a 3-0 ODI series win, the dress rehearsal began for the T20 WC. With less than two months left, India entirely shifted to the T20 mode with the continental tournament in the UAE. Winning two back-to-back games, India topped their group and proceeded to the Super Four round. After losing to Pakistan in a closely-fought match, the Men in Blue succumbed to a shocking six-wicket loss to eventual winners Sri Lanka and bowed out of the competition without booking a place in the final. It was a big jolt before the ICC event in Australia.

Once again, home series to the rescue!

The Australia and South Africa home series wins worked as a balm following India's Asia Cup debacle. The three T20Is versus Aaron Finch-led Australia was an intense affair where India emerged on top (2-1). The series win was followed by another top-class performance versus the Proteas, winning 2-1 in three T20Is. India had some inconsistency to address at the top, debates continued with regard to one or two spots but the national side left for Australia as the No. 1 ranked side and a strong contender to end their 15-year-long wait for the T20 WC trophy. Nonetheless, they had lost the services of Bumrah and Deepak Chahar due to injury concerns.

Similar issues push India back in the mega event...

India started the tournament by winning a warm-up game versus hosts and defending champions Australia. Their warm-up game versus New Zealand was washed out. On October 23, Rohit-led India played their tournament opener versus arch-rivals Pakistan. In a nerve-wracking contest at the MCG, Melbourne, the one-time winners India rode on Virat Kohli's masterclass 82 to beat Pakistan on the last ball, chasing 160, with four wickets.

Rohit & Co. comfortably beat the Netherlands by 56 runs before losing to South Africa by five wickets in an intense low-scoring thriller at Perth. This followed with a dramatic and controversial win over Bangladesh, by 5 runs (DLS method), before India thrashed Zimbabwe by 71 runs to top their group and storm into the semi-finals. 

In the semis, India faced eventual winners England who gave them a reality check. Playing timid cricket with the bat, not backing a seasoned wrist spinner in Yuzvendra Chahal (who warmed the bench in the entire tournament), and lacking spice and variety in their bowling attack led to India's exit as they lost to England by ten wickets while defending a moderate 168/6 in Adelaide.

A new dawn with the 2023 ODI WC in mind

After the T20 WC, India toured NZ for three T20Is and ODIs each. While Hardik led the side in T20Is, winning 1-0, Dhawan & Co. lost the ODIs by same the margin which exposed India's lack of extra bowling options and their muddled approach at the top along with several takers for the middle-order spots. Currently, India is in Bangladesh for the three ODIs and two Tests (having lost the ODIs 2-1 and leading the Test series 1-0 with the final Test on December 22).

Also read: India tour of Bangladesh: Full squads, schedule, timings, telecast - All you need to know

Women in Blue in 2022

The senior women's team completely outplayed their male counterparts in the calendar year. India started the year with a tour of New Zealand; a final preparatory series before the 2022 ODI World Cup in the Kiwi land. It was a miserable series with India losing the only T20I and going down in the five ODIs (1-4). 

CWC 2022

In Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami's final WC appearance, India never achieved consistency to go all the way. There were some moments of brilliance met by some below-par performances but the Indian eves' Achilles heel remained their knack of succumbing under pressure; leading to an early exit. India beat the likes of Pakistan, Bangladesh, and West Indies but lost against all big teams such as England, NZ, Australia and South Africa to end in the fifth position.

The big retirement

After the World Cup, it was only a matter of time before Mithali would've hung up her boots. On June 08, she announced her international retirement, bringing an end to a stellar career. 

In her illustrious 23-year-long international career, Mithali ended with the most runs in women's ODIs (7,805). In 89 T20Is, the 39-year-old returned with 2,364 runs and amassed 699 runs in 12 Tests, comprising a double ton. Under Mithali's leadership, India reached the ODI World Cup final in the 2005 and 2017 editions.

A promising first impression in CWG 2022

Cricket was re-included in the Commonwealth Games during the 2022 edition in Birmingham, England. This was the first time that women's teams competed in the mega event where Harmanpreet Kaur-led Indian eves returned with a silver medal. While they once again fell flat in the final hurdle, Harman & Co. impressed enough to end with silver; beating the likes of Pakistan, Barbados, and England but closely losing twice to gold medallists Australia.

Smriti Mandhana, Harman, Jemimah Rodrigues, Renuka Singh, and Sneh Rana were the top performers in India's inspiring campaign.

India create history in England

India toured England for a white-ball series comprising three T20Is and an equal number of ODIs. While the tourists went down in the T20Is, losing 1-2, they created history as the women's team won its first ODI series in England since 1999. Moreover, India went on to whitewash the 2017 champions in their own backyard.

The third and final ODI was, however, marred with controversy as Deepti Sharma running Charlie Dean out became a big talking point. It opened a pandora's box leading to much talk on the spirit of cricket, the laws of the game, etc. Nonetheless, nothing can be taken away from India's clinical performance in the ODIs.

Asia Cup dominance

While their male counterparts failed to even reach the final, Harmanpreet-led India stormed into the summit clash winning six out of seven games. In the final, India thrashed Sri Lanka by eight wickets to win the title for the seventh time. They buried the ghosts of the 2018 edition, in Kuala Lampur, (the only time they missed the glory) to make a strong statement.

Apart from the highs of the women's team and some golden opportunities missed by the Men in Blue, the U-19 boys also shined by winning the ODI World Cup early this year. Overall, it was a mixed bag for the senior men's side along with plenty of highs -- amid the retirements of stalwarts Mithali and Jhulan -- for their women counterparts in 2022.

With some assignments still left, both men's and women's line-ups will hope to end the year on a high as 2023 awaits with a new set of challenges.