From Royal Challengers Bengaluru's historic first IPL title to star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finally breaking the iconic 90-meter mark to India women winning their first cricket World Cup, this was the year of long-awaited victories and record-breaking feats.
India great Virat Kohli continued his push to regain his place as the best ODI batter while moving up to the second spot in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday.
Lots to look forward to in Indian sports as packed 2026 calender awaits
Virat Kohli moved up to No. 4 in the latest ICC rankings with a match-winning hundred against South Africa in the first ODI at Ranchi boosting his ascend.
Kohli finished the series with 302 runs at an astonishing average of 151 and a strike rate of 117-plus, including two centuries and a fifty.
Hardik Pandya is only the fourth Indian to complete a century of sixes in T20 Internationals.
With India set to name their T20 World Cup 2026 squad on Saturday in Mumbai, the spotlight has firmly shifted to Shubman Gill and Suryakumar Yadav, whose recent struggles have turned the selection meeting into a high-stakes call.
'He is explosive, dangerous, and capable of shots like these. Where do you even bowl to him?'
Virat Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit Sharma has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
Fan breaches security to greet Virat Kohli following his 52nd ODI ton during Ranchi ODI vs SA
Dhruv Jurel continued his remarkable form in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26 with an unbeaten 160 for Uttar Pradesh against Baroda, a knock that sends a clear message to selectors ahead of India's New Zealand ODI series.
Magical Paddikal overshadows maverick Kishan to hand Karnataka 5-wicket win over Jharkhand
Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh finds it a bit unfortunate that the future of legends like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli is being decided by "people who have not achieved much" but he nonetheless expects the duo to carry on till the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Save Shreyas Iyer, who will take a lot more time to get fit, others are expected to represent their state teams.
Virat surpasses Tendulkar for most centuries in a single format, extends golden run in Ranchi
Virat Kohli arrived in Ranchi ahead of the first One-Day International against South Africa on Wednesday morning.
Virat's streak of happiness: Indian batting legend continues scorching run against SA, achieves 11th instance of a remarkable feat
Ukraine claimed responsibility after explosions hit the vessels on Friday and Saturday.
'Someone like Virat Kohli, that's a once-in-a-generation sort of player.'
India's aggressive batting approach, which has brought a lot of success, is credit to former captain Rohit Sharma and ex-head coach Rahul Dravid, according to Ravichandran Ashwin.
Rohit Sharma became only the fourth Indian cricketer to complete the landmark of 20,000 runs in international cricket, during the third and final ODI against South Africa.
In-form Kohli, Rohit go hard in nets ahead of 2nd ODI against South Africa
Virat Kohli said staying in control of his emotions and thoughts despite the game's ups and downs has been central to his journey.
Virat Kohli ruled out any possibility of returning to Test or Twenty20 internationals after his player-of-the-match century guided India to a 17-run win over South Africa.
Whether in cricket or business, Kohli continues to play the long game.
India cricketers, along with coach Gautam Gambhir, visited Shri Jagannath Temple in Odisha's Puri on Tuesday to seek blessings ahead of the first T2OI of the five-match series against South Africa, set to be played on the same day at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium.
Senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli made a grand comeback to the Vijay Hazare Trophy, smashing centuries on the opening day of the one-day tournament on Wednesday.
Sarfaraz fell to Manav Suthar (4-0-23-3) after a whirlwind knock laden with powerful hits down the ground which saw Mumbai stutter as they lost wickets in heaps.
Bengaluru Police Commissioner Seemanth Kumar Singh said that permission has been denied to hold the Vijay Hazare Trophy match at Bengaluru's Chinnaswamy Stadium on December 24.
Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his maiden ODI hundred to power India to a 2-1 series win after they thrashed against South Africa by nine wickets in the third and final ODI.
India have been fined 10 per cent of their match fee for maintaining a slow over-rate against South Africa in the second ODI in Raipur.
India skipper KL Rahul said his side needed to be sharper in key moments but felt the toss played a decisive role in the home team's four-wicket loss to South Africa in the second ODI, in Raipur, on Tuesday.
While the white-ball trophy cabinet kept getting heavier, Team India's fortunes in Test cricket swung wildly between hope and despair in 2025.
Virat Kohli's elder brother Vikas Kohli took a veiled jibe at India Coach Gautam Gambhir as the team continued to struggle on home soil in the longest format.
India's bowling drew sharp criticism, particularly Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana. Krishna leaked runs and failed to maintain pressure, prompting Rohit Sharma to intervene during the 37th over.
Stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma can extend their careers till the 2027 ODI World Cup if the two Indian superstars continue their age-defying batting efforts, feels New Zealand pace great Tim Southee.
A record-extending 52nd ODI century by Virat Kohli and a rapid 57 from Rohit Sharma paved the way for India's victory in the series-opener in Ranchi.
'The will to work and commitment to put in work is as high as it has ever been.'
Never believed in over-preparation, all my game has been mental: Kohli
Virat Kohli confirms his availability for Vijay Hazare Trophy
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances