Sweet '17

Yet another year where India didn't lose more matches than there are months. In all international cricket. They followed up an 11-defeats 2016 with a 12-defeats 2017. Their win-loss ratio of 3.083 last year was comfortably the best in world cricket for a second year running, and also the first time in India's history that they spent a year winning more than three matches for every one they lost.

These aren't numbers to be sniffed at. This was India's best year in terms of number of wins and win-loss ratio, and the fact that they broke the record set by themselves a year ago speaks a lot of the hunger and ruthlessness of the unit. However, some perspective is needed. As with the other three times that India have had a win-loss ratio of better than two, they played mostly at home. They left their shores three times: to beat the hapless Sri Lanka and West Indies, and for the Champions Trophy in England, played largely on tracks with little help for bowlers.

Like in 2016, India lacked that one final ingredient to clear the last hurdle at world events. They lost the World T20 semi-final to the eventual champions in 2016, and in 2017 they came up short in the Champions Trophy final. It is not to be forgotten that they have now made the semi-final or the final of the last five world events, winning one of them and losing to the eventual champions in the other four, but there has to be a sense of missed opportunity in the team.

Some will say India learnt their lesson too late. When their squad for the Champions Trophy was picked, almost everybody pointed out they were the rare team in the event without a wristspinner. The leadership and selectors had failed to identify the importance of the breed in time, and thought it too risky now to hand out a debut to one in a big event. Pakistan, on the other hand, with less to lose in terms of reputation, went ahead and won the tournament with their rookies.

Despite upheaval off the field, the team ran mostly like a professional, well-oiled unit. Virat Kohli and R Ashwin continued to lead the domination, and the support cast rose to the occasion when needed. In limited-overs cricket, Rohit Sharma kept pushing the boundaries, with yet another ODI double-hundred and a T20I hundred.

High point
A long exhausting home season continued into the opening months of the year, and Australia came to within a session of retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. The resilience shown by India, without designer surfaces to help them - in fact, Dharamsala was the closest Australia got to a home away from home in India - was definitely the highlight of the year. India did it without Kohli, who scored about as many runs as he dropped catches, and with Ashwin going through long, ineffective spells as he fought injury and fatigue. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane provided a concise version of the Laxman-Dravid magic from Eden Gardens all those years ago to help India stay alive in Bangalore, and then the fast bowlers outbowled Australia's to clinch the series on a Dharamsala pitch with ample bounce and movement off the straight. It was a sweet win in testing times.

Low point
In cricket, more than most sports, the captain is of vital significance, and it is understandable that when there is a conflict between him and the coach, the latter is the one who has to go, but the way Anil Kumble was sent out after a highly successful stint was embarrassing. To his credit, Kohli largely kept silent, and at least looked to preserve the sanctity of the dressing room, but the details that were leaked through those running the BCCI - some of them outright lies - amounted to poor justification for sacking a coach, let alone a legend.

New kid on the block
Hardik Pandya may as well be Lionel Richie because it is he India were looking for all these years. He can bowl overs with acceptable heat, is always looking for an excuse to hit a six off a spinner, is not tied to the concept of a "natural game", and can field. Only Rohit Sharma and Evin Lewis hit more sixes than the 44 Pandya did in 2017. He scored his first first-class century, in Test cricket, and became a legit fifth bowler in ODIs.

What 2018 holds
The fun begins now. In the first week of the new year, India will play a Test in South Africa. Quite possibly they will play a Test in Australia in the last week of the year. In between, there will be a full England tour. The team has repeated many times that they are looking at 2018 as an opportunity and not as a challenge to defend their home supremacy. They believe they have the tools, they just need to acclimatise quickly and play to their potential. We will soon know exactly how big the strides made by them over the last two years are.