The Indian cricket team enjoyed a dominant 2021 as they secured awesome wins in England, Australia, and now South Africa despite a loss in the ICC World Test Championships.
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The year 2021 can be summed up as the Indian cricket team’s greatest year of dominance. Their record in overseas Tests has reached a zenith. The comforting factor for Indian cricket team fans will be that all of their wins have come outside of Asian countries. The fact that India registered wins in Australia, England, and South Africa is an indication that Virat Kohli’s team dominates everywhere. The nature of the wins is also a testament to India being the West Indies team of the 80s and Australia of the 90s.
The Indian cricket team has won at venues that were deemed as the opponent’s fortress in the past. Australia had not lost in Brisbane for 31 years but India managed to end their unbeaten streak in 2021. India had not won at The Oval for close to 50 years. But they managed to pull off a memorable win as well as at Lord’s against England. The year ended in grand style when India became the first Asian nation to win in Centurion.
With so much success in 2021, things can only get better for India in 2022. India is on the cusp of joining Australia, England, and the Proteas as the only nations to win everywhere. Here is a look back at India’s dominance in 2021 through these unbelievable numbers.
Read | Indian cricket team end dominant 2021 with wins in Brisbane and Centurion fortress
8 – Number of Test wins by India in 2021 which is their best since 2010. Even in that year, they had won eight Tests but most of them had come in the subcontinent. The only notable win was in Durban. The other wins were in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh as well as whitewashing Australia 2-0 at home.
4 – The number of overseas wins for India in 2021, which equals their best which was in 2018. But, unlike 2018, overall results have been positive. In 2018, they lost series in South Africa and England but won in Australia. The situation in 2021 has seen India win a series in Australia, on the cusp of ending 14 years of pain in England as well as winning a series in South Africa for the first time.
906 – Number of runs scored by Rohit Sharma in Tests in 2021. This has been his best year considering he missed most of the overseas tours either due to injury. Rohit finally broke his overseas jinx when he scored a century at The Oval to give India a famous win. In Australia, he entered into an elite list of batters who had hit 100 sixes combined in all formats against one opposition.
0 – Number of centuries for Virat Kohli in the calendar year for 2021. For the second straight year, Kohli has not hit a century in any format. The staggering fact is – ever since the coronavirus pandemic, Kohli has failed to score a century in any format.
54 – Number of wickets by Ravichandran Ashwin in the calendar year. This is the most by any bowler and it cements is legacy as one of the best in the world. Ashwin went past Harbhajan Singh to become the leading offspinner in the history of Indian cricket during the series against New Zealand.
5 – Number of five-wicket hauls in Test cricket in 2021 and it is not Ashwin. Axar Patel has been a dominant force at home as he took five five-wicket hauls and one 10-wicket haul in 2021. At an average of 11, Axar Patel is the third spinner in the line of Ravindra Jadeja and Ashwin that makes the Indian bowling potent.
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