The end of a wait for a World Cup crown! India could finally call themselves a World Champion after witnessing several near-misses in the last 13 years. They came close to the World Cup glory multiple times in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2022 and 2023 but that World crown eluded the Men in Blue. But not now. India finally got their hands on the T20 World Cup 2024, which saw the nation dive into jubilation.
While the T20 World Cup brought much-deserved joy for the players, especially after the ODI World Cup 2023 heartbreak, 2024 was still mixed with some highs and lows. For say, India suffered their first-ever home series sweep of three or more Test matches in 2024 against a New Zealand side that lost everything left and right to it. Here is a timeline of India's performance in 2024.
India level Test series against South Africa
The year began with India drawing level the two-match Test series against South Africa. After being blown away in the Boxing Day Test in Centurion, India bounced back to level the series with a huge win in the second one in Newlands.
The return of big-wigs in T20Is
India faced Afghanistan in a three-match T20I series in January and the series saw the return of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in T20Is after more than a year. India won the series 3-0, managing to save their unbeaten record in the third game which saw an unprecedented number of two Super Overs taking place. Rohit had also hit a hundred in that game.
India's 4-1 series win over England
England came to India with so much talk going around about how their Bazball approach would turn out. The Three Lions won the first Test after a sensational 196 from Ollie Pope, hailed as one of the best innings in India, but the England batters lacked consistency. Yashasvi Jaiswal did not.
Jaiswal smashed 712 runs in nine innings, the third-most by an Indian batter in a Test series, only behind Sunil Gavaskar's 774 against West Indies in 1970/71 and his 732 against the same side in 1978/79. He was the difference between the two sides.
The T20 World Cup glory
Then arrived the T20 World Cup glory after the IPL 2024. That catch by Suryakumar Yadav, those overs by Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh. That slap to the ground by Rohit Sharma. The Barbados win on June 29 still feels afresh in the hearts of the Indian fans. 30 runs required of the last 30 balls with Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller out in the middle. No one would think India can do it. But they did. With the hearts about to break once again, the Men in Blue staged a comeback for the ages to win the tournament by seven runs.
Easy pickings in Zimbabwe and the Sri Lanka debacle
A young-looking Indian team made light work of Zimbabwe in a five-match T20I series after losing the first T20I. Shubman Gill, who was a reserve traveller for the T20 World Cup, was the captain of the series. The debutant Abhishek Sharma bagged a duck in the first game but showed his power with a century in the second one. Washington Sundar chipped in with wickets. India clinched the series 4-1.
While India won the T20I series against Sri Lanka 3-0, they suffered a shock ODI series loss. In his first tour assignment as head coach, Gautam Gambhir didn't get off to the best of starts. While he helped India win the T20I series, the three-match ODI series had gone Sri Lanka's way 2-0. India were at full strength, barring Jasprit Bumrah, but the batting faltered in the ODIs.
The Bangladesh win and an unprecedented sweep against New Zealand
India started their home Test season with five matches ahead - two against Bangladesh and three against New Zealand. Many thought, India would come out in flying colours with a 5-0 or a 4-1 win in those games. But it was 2-3 against India. While Rohit's men brushed aside Bangladesh 2-0 after an intent-filled batting in the rain-hit second Test, the batting fell apart like a pack of cards against New Zealand.
They not only lost the series but suffered their first-ever home series white-wash of three or more Tests against a New Zealand side that had come into the series after losing 2-0 to Sri Lanka and then went on to lose 2-1 to England later.
The Border Gavaskar Trophy well poised
India are currently playing Australia in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, which is well poised 1-1 at the moment. After a big Perth win of 295 runs, India were handed a drubbing in the second one in Adelaide. The rain came to save India in the third Test at Gabba and with two matches left, the series stays very much alive at 1-1.
