Published 09:15 IST, December 24th 2019
King Kohli, Ashwin make it to Wisden's Test team of the decade
Skipper Virat Kohli, along with spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, were the only two Indians cricketers who found themselves spots on Wisden's Test team of the decade
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It has been a phenomenal year barring the World Cup semi-finals for India, led from the front by none other than skipper Virat Kohli himself. India have ended the calendar year by finishing first on both the ODI rankings and the World Test Championship table, with King Kohli comfortably settling for the number one Test and ODI batsman in rankings. Kohli's growth from a player to a skipper has been absolutely phenomenal and inspiring while he himself has become a role model for upcoming cricketers. Kohli, along with spinner Ashwin, were the only two Indians who found themselves spots on Wisden's Test team of the decade. Three players from England, two from Australia, two from South Africa and one from Sri Lanka were included.
Kohli, Ashwin in Wisden's Test team of the decade
1. Alastair Cook (England)
2. David Warner (Australia)
3. Kumar Sangakkar (Sri Lanka)
4. Steve Smith (Australia)
5. Virat Kohli (India)
6. Ben Stokes (England)
7. AB de Villiers (South Africa)
8. R Ashwin (India)
9. Dale Steyn (South Africa)
10. Kagiso Rabada (South Africa)
11. James Anderson (England)
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the 2019 calendar year
Then came 2019 and the duo ended their third successive year in ODI cricket occupying the top two spots. Only this time, Rohit Sharma held the number one spot while Kohli had to be content with the number two position. While the Indian skipper scored 1,377 runs from 25 innings at 59.86, Sharma scored 1,490 from 27 innings at 57.30. The two batsmen also ended 2019 as the top two highest run-getters across all international formats. Only 13 runs separate the two batsmen as they scored buckets of runs in Tests and T20Is as well. Virat Kohli scored 2,455 runs in 2019 while Rohit Sharma was just behind his skipper with 2,442 runs.
India seal series against WI 2-1
Virat Kohli anchored a tricky chase before Shardul Thakur played the most defining cameo of his short career to power India to a series-winning four-wicket victory over the West Indies in the third ODI in Cuttack on Sunday. India's top three, Rohit Sharma (63), KL Rahul (77) and Virat Kohli (85), fired in unison in a 316-run chase but it got slippery in the end when the Indian captain left the scene with 30 required off 23 balls. It was then that Thakur, in the company of a composed Ravindra Jadeja, smashed 17 runs off six balls with the help of a six and four off Sheldon Cottrell to seal the issue in his team's favour with eight balls to spare.
09:02 IST, December 24th 2019