Highs and lows of Indian cricket in 2019

Lows

Shocking loss in World Cup semis

India v New Zealand - ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 Semi-Final

India’s meltdown in the 1996 semi-final to Sri Lanka is still fresh in the minds of cricket fans from the 90s. The 2019 World Cup semifinal defeat to New Zealand is now a painful chapter for a new generation of fans.

India needed just 240 at Manchester to make it to the final. At the halfway stage of the match they were favourites.

However, minutes into the chase, they crumbled to 3 for 5, and all of India’s hopes were dashed. Rohit Sharma, with hundreds in his last three games, was caught behind off Matt Henry for 1. Skipper Virat Kohli was trapped lbw, playing across the line, by Trent Boult. KL Rahul also fell to Henry for 1.

Despite Ravindra Jadeja’s counter-attacking 77, India still fell short by 18 runs.

T20I and ODI loss to Australia at home

Glenn Maxwell

Australia visited India for a two-match T20I and five-match ODI series, and gave the hosts a rude awakening. Australia won the T20Is 2-0 as Glenn Maxwell was unstoppable, smashing 56 from 42 and an unbeaten 113 from 55 in the two games.

The Aussies then recovered from a 0-2 deficit to clinch the ODIs 3-2. Opener Usman Khawaja was the standout performer in the hat-trick of wins, with scores of 104, 91 and 100.

In a series dominated by batsmen, Ashton Turner famously raced away to an unbeaten 84 from 43 balls as Australia chased down a mammoth 359 in 47.5 overs to win the fourth ODI at Mohali. The match also saw Peter Handscomb scoring 117 from 105, as India’s bowlers seemed clueless.

First Loss to Bangladesh in T20s

Mushfiqur Rahim

Going into the first T20I of the three-match series at the Feroz Shah Kotla (now renamed as Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi, India had a flawless record against Bangladesh in the format. That changed on 3 November 2019.

Batting first, an unsettled India battled their way to 148 for 6. Shikhar Dhawan top-scored with 41, but it came off 42 balls. Another home boy, Rishabh Pant’s 27 also consumed 26 balls.

In response, the experienced Mushfiqur Rahim flayed the Indian attack, as his unbeaten 60 came from only 43 balls. With support from Soumya Sarkar (39), and Mohammad Naim (26), Rahim led Bangladesh to a first-ever T20I triumph over India - by a comprehensive margin of seven wickets.