Hardly a month into the new year, Indian cricket fans have been treated to some poetic results and fixtures that have gripped the nation. After the heartbreak of the ODI World Cup, and what seemed like something that would haunt the Indian psyche for a while to come at the very least, the Indian faithful have witnessed some jaw-dropping moments of cricketing action including a Test that ended before the close of Day 2 and a T20I that extended beyond the day it began.
Newlands Quickie:
Team India kicked off the year 2024 with a series-levelling win over South Africa at the Newlands Stadium, that will be remembered for the length of its runtime, or the lack thereof.
Having lost the boxing day Test against the Proteas to concede a 1-0 lead to the hosts, India turned things around at the start of the year as they registered a 7-wicket win over the South Africans at the Newlands Cricket Ground in Cape Town.
The match was notable not just for the fact that it was Protea Test legend Dean Elgar’s final outing in whites, but also for the incredibly short duration the teams spent on the field.
South Africa, who were led by the outgoing Elgar on his final bow, opted to bat first after having won the coin toss. But little did they expect to be bowled out for a paltry 55 runs as Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj wreaked havoc on the Protea batting lineup.
Siraj scalped 6 Protea wickets and was complimented by Jasprit Bumrah and Mukesh Kumar, who dismissed 2 batters apiece.
In reply, India posted a total of 153, thereby establishing a 98-run lead over the hosts, all within the end of the first day’s play. Virat Kohli top-scored for the visitors in the first innings with 46 runs, while Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill put up 39 runs and 36 runs each.
What was rather appalling was how the Indian tail-enders succumbed to SA bowling as the tourists lost six wickets in the span of 18 deliveries.
South Africa began their second innings in an attempt to cut down on the lead and posted a total of 176 runs, thanks to Aiden Markram’s resilient ton while the Indian pacers once again worked their magic bundling out the entire lineup within the end of the 37th over.
And before you knew it, and before the end of the second session on Day 2 of the Test, which was supposed to last for 5 whole days, India coasted to a victory as they chased down the target of 78 runs for the loss of three wickets to draw the curtains of the shortest Test match.
Chinnaswamy Epic:
Just when you thought you had seen everything the game had to offer as a Test concluded within 2 whole days of play, the Indians ensured that the nation would be entertained as they played out a prolonged T20I fixture against a Rashid Khan-less Afghanistan, which required not one but two super overs to determine a winner.
Heading into the third game fo a three-match T20I series against the up-and-coming Afghanistan, India had already wrapped up the series after having won the opening couple of games in the tour.
And what was supposed to be a dead-rubber game turned into the longest T20I game ever played as Afghanistan and India traded blow for blow in an entertaining affair that the lucky few who rocked upto the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru got to cherish.
When Rohit powered India to a strong total of 212 runs in 20 overs with his mammoth ton, an unbeaten 121 run knock off just 69 deliveries, most people believed the game to be as good as over. But the resilient Afghan unit had multiple surprises on offer as they tallied just as many runs as India did thanks to half-tons from Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran and Gulbadin Naib.
Afghanistan forced a super over, in which they had to bat first and managed to put up 17 runs on the board.
Team India, who looked primed to take the win after Rohit launched two sixers in the tie-breaker, couldn’t get over the line as they could only get as many runs as their opponents did in the crucial six deliveries, thereby calling for another tie-breaker.
Now, the double super over isn’t something unprecedented as we have witnessed the Chennai Super Kings and Punjab Kings play out a game which required two super over tiebreakers to decide the winner, but this was an unexplored territory in international colours for both sides.
And well into the night, beyond the wildest expectation of the event organisers, a second super over was played as Rohit delivered the goods yet again, as he so often does during crunch situations. The opener dispatched a four and a six to set India up on good stead on the second time of asking as well, before Ravi Bishnoi worked his spin magic to scalp two Afghan wickets and give India the win in the lengthiest T20I fixture to date.
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