The year 2023 was not the best for India in Tests. First, Team India had to face defeat at the hands of Australia in the final of the World Test Championship and now India’s dream of winning the first Test series in South Africa by the end of the year has also been shattered. This year has been very average for Team India in red ball cricket. India won only three of the eight Tests played in 2023, while losing the same number of matches. During this period, Team India had two draws out of which one was against West Indies. This draw against West Indies can hurt India further in the WTC points table. Let’s take a look at India’s Test cricket journey this year-
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The year 2023 started with the Border Gavaskar Trophy
India started Test cricket this year with a 4-match Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. Team India won the series 2-1, with one match being a draw. Being the host nation, India faced a lot of pressure in the first two matches of the series, but champions Australia made a strong comeback by the end of the series. He won the third Test by a huge margin of 9 wickets, while he managed to draw the last Test. Ravindra Jadeja became the player of the series with 22 wickets.
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The dream of winning the WTC for the second time in a row was dashed
India have made it to the final of the World Test Championship for the second time in a row this year. Team India faced Australia. Although India reached here by defeating the Kangaroos in the last series, the Kangaroos made a strong comeback in the last two matches as well.
On the one hand, the Indian players arrived in England for the title match exhausted from the one-and-a-half month IPL, while the Australian players were fresh as their key players decided to rest from the IPL ahead of the title fight. .
This benefited Australia and the Kangaroos defeated India by a huge margin of 209 runs and captured the World Test Championship. Travis Head was the hero of Australia’s win with a massive innings of 163 runs.
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West Indies won the series 1-0
India began the new cycle of the World Test Championship (2023-25) with a two-match Test series on tour to the West Indies. In the first match of the series, Rohit Sharma and Co. won by an innings and 141 runs, but India could not register a victory in the second Test. West Indies drew this Test which could hurt India further in the WTC points table.
The year ended with the defeat of Centurion
India ended 2023 with an innings and 32-run defeat against South Africa in the Centurion. In this Test match, Team India was completely on the back foot. The hosts defeated India in just three days. India managed to win only 1 session out of 9 sessions and South Africa dominated the entire match. Along with this defeat, India also suffered a double blow due to slow over rate. ICC fined India and also deducted 2 WTC points due to slow over rate in Centurion Test.