An Olympic campaign saved by the fortitude of three women, a cricket team that rediscovered itself under a bold and zealous Virat Kohli -- Indian sports in 2016 was a dramatic mix of highs and lows wherein athletes mostly raised the bar but administrators found new ways to embarrass the country.
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Virat Kohli, who turns 28 next month, is already one of India's most accomplished Test captains. Kohli's young Indian team thrashed New Zealand by 178 runs in the second Test on Monday, to dislodge arch-rivals Pakistan from the top spot in Tests rankings. The victory at Eden Gardens was also special for captain Kohli as he joined former legends Sunil Gavaskar and Tiger Pataudi with the number (9) of Test victories for India. Currently placed at 4th spot, Kohli is still some distance away from the 27 wins registered by MS Dhoni or the 21 victories achieved under Sourav Ganguly's leadership, but the 27-year old is slowly catching up with Mohammad Azharuddin (14 Tests wins) to get into the top 3 list. Catch India's Test captain Kohli in conversation with BCCI.tv about his journey as the leader of a young side.
Away from the cricket field, it was a year in which Sania Mirza was unarguably the biggest success story with her staggering 10 titles on the Tour -- two of them Grand Slams.
'I can tell you the case that hurts me the most is the one in which the little boy is forced to sign the Kohinoor over.' 'You take a mother away from a child, you surround him with grown ups speaking a different language, you tell him he must sign this over or else...'
'If fame, money and comfort are the only factors that drive us, then we are playing cricket for entirely the wrong reasons.'
Prem Panicker, on the Rediff chat, delves on what went wrong for Team India and what to expect from Sunday's trans-Tasman World Cup final.
