It was a series decider between India and West Indies in Cuttack. India made an enthralling win over West Indies by 4 wickets with the climax heroics from Jadeja (39 runs off 31 deliveries) and a valuable cameo from Shardul Thakur by scoring 17 runs off 6 deliveries with a six. It extended India’s 10th consecutive series win against West Indies in ODI, where the streak started since 2007 under Rahul Dravid’s Captaincy.
India had been a dominant side in 2019 apart from the World Cup loss against New Zealand. In the post Match presentation, on asking to summarize India’s performance in 2019 to Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both haven’t forgot the loss in the World Cup Semi-Final.
CHAMPIONS 👑👑#INDvWI #TeamIndia @paytm pic.twitter.com/HqR5lvT2Ng
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 22, 2019
Rohit said the world cup would have been nice, whereas Kohli said India only had a half an hour bad of play in the whole year.
Rohit Sharma in the Post Match Presentation:
(Player of The Series)
Performance on the Series Decider:
It was a decider and we wanted to win this game and especially here in Cuttack, it’s a good batting track. It was a little sad that I couldn’t bat longer, but then Rahul and Kohli batted well and I quite enjoyed that Shardul pull shot, it was much needed at that point.
Summarizing Performance of India and himself in 2019:
Extremely grateful for the year I had, the World Cup win would have been nice. The team gelled together collectively well and every individual stepped up which is a good sign. There is no way I’m stopping here and there’s an exciting year coming up and I’m looking forward to it.
Special Year for Rohit Sharma:
I understand my batting really well and knowing the game plan you want to execute is very, very important. The challenge will come once we start traveling, we want to win games and want to stay on top.
Virat Kohli in the Post Match Presentation:
(Player of The Match)
Successful Chase Even After Virat Kohli Getting Out:
Having done it so many times you obviously have bit more calmness about it, all you need is a mini partnership and the opposition will start to crumble. Shardul and Jaddu finishing is very good to see, these guys finishing the game is a much bigger thing. I had a nervous look when I walked back, but when I watched Jaddu he looked very confident.
Summarizing India’s 2019 Overall Performance:
It’s been one of the best years in Indian cricket and apart from that 30-minutes at the World Cup, its been a beautiful year. We will keep chasing the World Cup, we have that vision in place.
Indian Fast Bowler’s Dominance:
Having a bunch of fast bowlers is a brilliant thing to have in Indian cricket and them taking the attention away from the spinners is a huge statement. We have it in us to win series overseas and our pacers deserve it fully. We are in the process of trying to find how people react to pressure. It’s just about identifying those people and that’s something we will keep striving for.
With this being said, India will be eyeing towards the next ICC T20 World Cup at the end of 2020. While India will be playing against Sri Lanka and Australia at the start of next year in India. For India versus Sri Lanka Series, both the teams are yet to announce their squad for 3 match T20I Series. Whereas, Australia had already announced its ODI Squad which will be touring to India.
