Virat Kohli’s Indian cricket team has not lost a single Test or ODI bilateral series since June of 2016.
That one sentence above should give you a fair measure of just how successful a year Virat Kohli’s unit has had. From beating England 2-1 in the ODI series at the start of the year, to coming out on top against Australia in whites and then completing a clean sweep, across formats, in the tour of Sri Lanka.
There have been a total of 37 wins for India across formats this season, making this the team’s most successful year if percentage of wins is taken into consideration.
England, Australia, New Zealand and West Indies were all teams India faced this year but it was Sri Lanka that Virat Kohli and co were completely ruthless against.
In fact, in the stretch from July to September 2017, India did not lose a single match on the tour of Sri Lanka. Three Tests, 5 ODIs and the 1 T20 all had India come out on top. The 9-0 tour outcome also tied for the biggest whitewash on tour by a team. The only other team to complete the feat was Australia who swept away Pakistan in 2010.
2017 was also the year India raised the bar in the T20 arena. In Virat Kohli’s absence, Rohit Sharma guided the team to their biggest win in the format.
After setting a target of 180 in the opening T20 against Sri Lanka in Cuttack, Yuzvendra Chahal and Hardik Pandya ran through the Lankan batting order and bowled out the visitors for 87. India won the match by a massive 93 runs.
The match with the biggest win was followed by another monumental T20 outing by India. Indore provided the stage for the team’s highest T20 total.
Riding mostly on Rohit Sharma’s second T20 ton (118), India posted a massive 260 in their 20 overs. In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for 172 and India won the game by 88 runs.
Under Virat Kohli, India also equalled the record for the most consecutive wins in one-day cricket.
The stretch started during the tour of West Indies and extended during the 5 ODIs in Sri Lanka and also included three ODI wins against Australia. The nine straight ODI wins equalling the previous record set under MS Dhoni from November 2008 to February 2009.
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