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Cricket Players'Season of a lifetime': Head coach Ravi Shastri lauds Team India's series wins against Australia and England
Between November 27, 2020, and March 28, 2021, India played six series across formats and won five of them.
Between Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons 2020 and 2021, Team India took part in two tours against two of the best teams in the world. They toured Australia for 4 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 3 T20s and hosted England for 4 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 5 T20s. Between November 27, 2020, and March 28, 2021, India played six series across formats and won five of them. Upon realizing the sheer magnitude of India's success over the last few months, India's head coach Ravi Shastri hailed his team's effort, calling it "a season of a lifetime."
After India beat England by 7 runs in third ODI to seal the series 2-1 at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Sunday, Shastri took to Twitter to heap praise on his boys and congratulate them on what turned out to be a memorable season. His tweet read: "Congratulations Guys for holding up and having a season of a lifetime in toughest of times across all formats and hemispheres against 2 of the best teams in the world. Take a bow. #TeamIndia #INDvsENG."
It all began in Sydney in November 2020 when India took on Australia for the first ODI. The visitors lost the first two games and clinched a consolation win in the third. That was their only series loss of the season. India followed it up with 2-1 victory in the T20I series. What happened after that is something cricket fans are probably going to remember for their lifetimes. After an embarrassing defeat in the first Test, which included a 36 all-out, India staged one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the sport to bag the Test series 2-1. It also included handing Australia their first defeat at their fortress, the Gabba, in 32 years.
Fast forward to the first game of the home season, the first Test between India and England. The Men in Blue were humbled as they suffered a 227-run defeat. However, the visitors' joy was short-lived as the hosts responded strongly by winning the remaining games to take home the series 3-1.
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The world's largest cricket stadium, the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, hosted two Tests and the entire T20I series. England and India traded blows in the first two games before the former inched ahead 2-1 by winning the third game. Indian skipper Virat Kohli has often mentioned that his team is at its best with its back against wall. That's exactly what happened. Needing to win the remaining two games to win the series, Kohli and Co. delivered and sealed a remarkable come-from-behind 3-2 series win.
The last leg of England's 52-day tour culminated in Pune. For a change, India won the first game and England levelled the series in the next. The decider turned out to be a last-over thriller, with India pipping England by seven runs to complete a trifecta of series victories over them.
Another astonishing aspect of the entire season was the way every debutant put their hand up and produced some great spells and innings. Be it Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Siraj, T Natarajan in Australia or Ishan Kishan, Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, and Axar Patel in India, the newcomers absorbed the pressure of international cricket instantly and made impactful contributions.
This bears testament to India's bench strength and the cricketing system in place. A truly gifted set of players, this.
