For a billion Indian cricket fans, the game of cricket is much more than a game. It's an emotion, which unites the country like no other thing can ever do. People from different religions, provinces, having different ideologies share one thing in common: their love and passion for the game. And hence, with every result of Men In Blue, the moods of a large section of the fans are heavily affected. It has been the case for around 3-4 decades now, and similar was the case this year. While the previous years saw a sharp rise in the wins achieved by the team, this year it was different. The bar set by the team was such high, that the team failed to live up to the expectations set by themselves and their fans.

A year full of ups and downs saw the fanbases completely distraught at some point reaching it to a new low, and on occasions it scaled heights of success which led to high adrenaline levels in the fans minds. Every year brings a set of disappointments along with it. But it was quite frequently happening in year. More than the disappointment were the transitions happening which never had the year in a linear way from the team's succes point of view. The fluctuations were so high that at a point lot of cricket fans were even willing to stop watching the game which they loved with their heart and soul. It's quite staggering to term the year as a failure when the men's team have won 44 out of 68 matches and women's team have won 14 out of 26 across formats.

The year started cheerfully with the young Indian team taking on Srilanka and then defeating New Zealand both at home. Then came the final obstacle of the 2021-2023 WTC cycle and a much win series in the form of Border Gavaskar Trophy. The Aussies were rating to go and avenge the 2021 BGT defeat at their fortress Gabba. And India were eyeing for a spot in the WTC final for the 2nd consecutive time. A must win series for India with a margin of more the 2 match victories, started well for India with the team winning first 2 matches comfortably. Super comfortable victories led to the team's confidence turning into over confidence as the 3rd test match was purely dominated by Australia. The WTC final qualification went to the wire, as India either needed to win the 4th test match, or were dependant on New Zealand to defeat Srilanka on the tests happening on the same days. And it was at this point where the nemesis of India in ICC tournaments, New Zealand helped India by winning the test match with 0 balls remaining and Kane Williamson diving to win the match for Blackcaps.

While on one side, the men's team were living up to the expectations, the drought for Indian women's cricket to clinch on to an ICC trophy continued, as Harmanpreet Kaur's careless runout cost the game against Meg Lanning's Australia. What was supposed to be an easy win till the Indian skipper was at crease, turned into a thrilling encounter which was eventually lost by the team in the last over. The schoolgirl error and lack of seriousness from the Indian skipper in an important match like the semi-finals angered the fans and the senior former cricketers, as much as it disappointed the fans of the game who were eager to see the proud daughters of the country lift the title.

WTC final qualification was followed by the cash rich IPL, which saw lesser number of fans compared to other seasons. Amidst all this, inaugural edition of the Women's Premier League was the talk of the town as it enhanced the chances of women's cricket penetrating deep into the minds of cricket fans. While the WPL was a massive success, the WTC final which followed the BCCI organised franchise cricket was a disaster for the team. The team which had a chance to redeem the 2021 WTC final defeat against New Zealand, suffered even more humiliating defeat against Australia. The test mace continued to remain in the Australian continent, as did the feeling of agony in the nation which boasts of being the richest member of the ICC.

A wave of sadness was partially removed against the West Indian team, as Yashasvi's dream debut and Virat Kohli's 75th century gave some good moments for the fans who watched the match irrespective of the time difference. However the joy was short-lived as a dominant white ball side West Indies tied the ODI series and showed mirror to the Indian team by winning the series. The T20 series also saw a flurry of things which the spectators never liked. The captaincy of the skipper Hardik Pandya was questioned, as he denied a young Tilak Varma a well deserved half century, when there was ample time to go ahead for it. While on one side the men's team suffered losses, the women's team's batting woes led to their poor performance against Bangladesh, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur's unsportsmanlike gesture was unnecessary.

All of this happening simultaneously infuriated the Indians who didn't turn up with the usual viewership numbers against Ireland. The only good thing to have happened in the series against Irish team was the return Indian spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who was out of action for more than 12 months. The inclusion of Rinku Singh was another positive from a rather less viewed and unimportant series, even though India won it comfortably. The series against West Indies and the loss of interest in the team's tour of Ireland were sufficient enough for many of the cricket fans to stop watching the game. Too much cricket was killing the interest of the fans, just a few days before the most important tournament in the history of game, the World Cup.

With nothing much to expect, and loads of trolling the coach and the captain, the team entered into the Asia Cup. The agony of the fans went on a high level as they saw the team backing the players coming back from the injury, who were completely out of form before they got injured. The scheduling of the Asia Cup amidst the monsoon in rain prone areas roped in more people who criticized the same. However, against all the odds the team didn't pay a heed to what's happening on social media, and went to win the Asia Cup with pure dominance in the finals of the tournament. The victory brought the interest of the fans back up to a certain level. And the gold medals in Asian Games by men and women's team did some job of satisfying the fans.

The meaningless series against Australia suddenly looked meaningful as the warm up games were washed out. And then what followed was a dream for Indians. Class and flamboyance helped win match against Australia. Skipper Rohit's hard hitting overpowered Afghanistan. Arch rivals Pakistan were nowhere in the match against India. Bangladesh fought hard, but King's century put them at the spot of bother. The world cup jinx against New Zealand was broken in Dharamshala. Defending champions England were thrashed by India in a low scoring match. Srilanka suffered a similar fate to the Asia Cup final. The Protea team which constantly scored above 400 were bundled for a mere 83, and suffered a defeat by a mammoth 243 runs against a strong Indian side. It was only a matter of time before the dominant Indian team defeated Netherlands. Ruthless India had done what they failed to do in any other World cups. They remained unbeaten, showing their prowess and trusting their decision.

In a period of just couple of months, the team turned agony into ecstacy for the fans. The unbeaten streak got the fans involved much like they did earlier before the year started. And with so much optimism and faith within the team, Men in Blue broke the knockout curse of their nemesis New Zealand as they defeated the Blackcaps in the semi-final, storming into the finals. A wave of happiness was seen around the entire nation after a long time. The entire country rejoiced the semifinal victory and the nation was prepared for the grandest trophy to come home. The streets turned into stadiums to witness the history. And all of it was shattered, as for the 2nd time Australia crushed the hopes of an ICC title in the same year.

A billion fans went silent. There was pin drop silence on the crowded streets, as it was in the largest stadium where the final commenced. Pat Cummins and his team crushed the billion hopes to the extent that even after a month, it still continues to hurt the fans. Seeing the nation's heroes cry was a sight which every countrymen never wants to remember. The country came to a standstill, where it ceased to move on past 19th November 2023. More series happened, IPL trade news came into picture immediately after the world cup final defeat, but all of it failed to reduce the pain which every cricket fan felt.

As time progressed, it started to partially heal. The Australian series was not of much use. However, the young Indian team soared high against a full strength South African team , as the Men in Blue tasted overseas success. While Men's team continued to try hard, Women in Blue ruled in the whites, as they created history by registering the largest victory in women's test winning it by 347 runs. The victory over English boosted the confidence of the team to the level that they went on to emerge victorious against the most successful team in women's cricket history in the form of Australia. The proud daughters of India gave reasons for the fans to smile when they needed the most.

And with the mixed feelings of the success of Women's team, and the failed attempt to clinch on the world title, the team went ahead to South Africa in an attempt to register it's first test series in the Protean nation. But yet again, a disappointed defeat by an innings and a few runs meant yet another dream of the team remains unfulfilled in this year. And with yesterday's defeat again Australian women's team, a busy cricketing calendar ends for Indian team in 2023. And this year saw it all, but in a rather dramatic way than it did earlier.

Some years are remembered for their glory, some years are remembered for their failures. However, 2023 will be remembered as an year of ups and downs in Indian cricket. A staggering win percentage of close to 65% by men's team and 55% by women's team doesn't quite justify what the fans felt in this entire year. The lows in the form of West Indies series defeat and Indian Women's defeat against Bangladesh Women's defeat were overcomed by the Asian Games, Asia Cup titles and successful campaign of women's team in T20 world cup and men's team in 2023 ODI World Cup. Although the WTC final defeat and World Cup final defeat will surely haunt the team for a long period of time, the moments of joy the team gave in the form of exciting matches, new players and some staggering statistics was remarkable. And similarly, one hopes to see the team going ahead in the New Year, but without much ups and downs. And hoping the same, we pray to God to see 2024 as the year Indian cricket needs and deserves, and if it happens, there can be nothing better than it.