Yearender 2023: How did Indian cricket team fare across formats?

2023 will largely be remembered by a majority of Indian cricket fans as yet another calendar year which saw the Indian team fail to get its hands on an ICC title but that doesn't take anything away from the dominance that the Men in Blue displayed in the 50-overs format during the entirety of 2023 while locking horns with a host of opponents.

In addition to the ODI World Cup title, India also rued the missed opportunity that came their way to win their maiden ICC World Test Championship title and just like the ODI World Cup final, India went down to the Aussies in the summit clash at The Oval.

However, the Indian players can hold their heads higher after the conclusion of 2023 as their overall performance across formats, particularly in white-ball cricket was something to proudly reflect upon. Here's how India have performed across formats in 2023:

Tests:

The Rohit Sharma-led side started their Test campaign in 2023 with a four-match Border Gavaskar Trophy in their backyard. The series went 2-1 in their favour after the final Test of the series at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad ended in a draw.

The two teams then squared off against each other in the WTC final at The Oval in June where India emerged as runners-up and lost the contest by 209 runs. 

In a bid to kickstart the WTC cycle 2023-25 in style, India toured the West Indies and claimed the two-match series 1-0 after the rain-truncated game in Port of Spain ended in a draw. The final Test of the year ended in a losing cause as the two-time WTC runners-up were outplayed and lost the contest in Centurion by an innings and 32 runs.

ODIs:

The Men in Blue got their ODI campaign underway with a 3-0 whitewash against Sri Lanka at home in January and finished it impressively with a 2-1 (3) win over the Proteas on South African soil. However, the highlight of India's performance in the ODI format was their near-perfect run at the ODI World Cup.

Rohit and his men won ten games on the trot to give themselves the best possible chance to win their third ODI World Cup title but a poor showing on November 19 in Ahmedabad saw them remain contend with the runners-up tag.

The Men in Blue played 35 ODIs in 2023, won 27, lost seven and one game couldn't yield a result.

T20Is:

In a year where there wasn't a major T20I tournament to play, India rested and rotated their players and gave opportunities to many young faces. With Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav among others leading the side across various series, India won 15 out of the 27 T20Is they played and tasted defeat in seven games. Just like the one-dayers, one game failed to produce a result.