2021 Rewind: Best surprise performances from Indian players across cricket formats

The game of cricket is replete with uncertainties that make it all the more exciting. The nature of the real-time on field sport is not entirely different when it comes to fantasy cricket as a lot depends on the players who have been selected in fantasy cricket XIs and the fact that whether they perform or not. It must be remembered that fantasy cricket is not about luck as it is a skill-based game and players in the virtual world of sports must be ready for all sorts of ups and downs as well as failures and success.

If we are to look over the last one year and see how the Indian cricket team has performed, there would absolutely be no contention to the fact that this has been the best year for Virat Kohli’s team as far as Test cricket was concerned. 

While the regular captain was away for the birth of his daughter and a team was on tour of Australia battling all the odds, the Indians produced a remarkable fightback to not only record the second consecutive series victory Down Under, but also draw the Sydney Test under extreme circumstances circumstances and breach the fortress Gabba in Brisbane to win the series 2-1.

There were plenty of heroes for the Indian team over the last one year, particularly in Test format, wherein they were extremely successful. It must be remembered that despite the success which includes wins at Brisbane, Lord’s, The Oval and Centurion, India also lost in the World Test Championship final against New Zealand and fared poorly in the T20 World Cup 2021. 

As the year comes to an end, it is imperative to have a look at some of the heroes of the Indian team on the cricket field as well as in virtual world of fantasy cricket in which the head many players on points and win cash rewards on Paytm First Games: 

Rishabh Pant vs Australia: The diminutive wicketkeeper-batsman was indeed the hero of India's historic victory in Australia 2020-21. Pant finished as the highest run-scorer for India in the Test series, making 274 runs in three Tests at 68.50 while playing an extremely crucial knock right at the end on the final day of the series in Brisbane. Pant recorded scores of 29, 36, 97, 23 and 89* to help India script Test history in Australia.

Axar Patel and Ravichandran Ashwin vs England: After the ultimate high of success in Australia, the Indian team returned home to face England in a four-match Test series. The bilateral affair began with a resounding defeat at Chennai for the Indian team, from where they bounced back to claim the series 3-1, riding high on splendid performances from debutant left-arm spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel and senior bowler Ravichandran Ashwin. In his first assignment for India in the Test format, Patel claimed 27 wickets in only three matches with best bowling figures of 6/38 whereas a match haul of 11/70. Ashwin was unplayable as ever at home, claiming 32 wickets in four Tests to help India record a series help for the Anthony de Mello Trophy 2020-21.

Ruturaj Gaikwad in Indian T20 2021: He got a chance with the Chennai Super Kings when they had a poor season in 2020. Gaikwad was the first name among the young and new players that CSK were going to try out after a horrendous run last year and the right-handed Maharashtra batsmen came out with flying colours in his first season. After an impressive debut in Indian T20 2020, Gaikwad turned up the heat in his second season, smacking 635 runs in 16 matches with 4 half-centuries and a century at an average of 45.35,  to not only when the orange cap but also present a strong case for himself for a selection in India's limited-overs squad. He was also a part of a second-string Indian team to tour Sri Lanka in the middle of the year.

Rohit Sharma on England tour 2021: Not many would have backed the aggressive stroke-maker batsman to dominate England the way he did. After notching up scores of 6, 12, 161, 26, 66 and 49 against England at home, the right-handed opener continued to make merry against the same opposition when India went over to their backyard. Rohit topped the charts for India with splendid batting performances across four Tests, scoring 36, 12*, 83, 21, 19, 59, 11 and 127 — getting starts on almost all outings across four Tests. Rohit impressed one and all with his composite batting technique and displaying impeccable defence against the moving ball to score 368 runs in four Tests at 52.57 with two fifties and a century.Shreyas Iyer against New Zealand: With plenty of young batsmen in contention for a spot in the Indian Test side, Shreyas Iyer was provided with his chance against New Zealand in a short two-match Test series before India travelled to South Africa. Iyer finished the series with 202 runs at an average of 50.50 with one century and a half-century, coming out to bat in both the games Kanpur and Mumbai when India were placed in precarious situations. Iyer not only bailed the team out of trouble but also propelled them to a position of command in a series that India won 2-0.