TEST TEAM OF 2021

The Indian opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul make it as the openers in the team of the year as well. Both Rohit and Rahul resurrected their career with some stupendous Test performances...

- RENIN WILBEN

Test matches in 2021 ended with India’s histor-ic win over South Africa at the Centurion on Thursday. The win was India’s first-ever Test victory at the venue. India ended 2021 with eight wins and three losses from 14 games. If we take away the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand at Southampton, India had an unforgettable year in the Test format. Pakistan also had a brilliant year, winning seven of their nine Tests, giving them a win percentage of 77.77. WTC champions Kiwis won three and lost only one Test among other top teams. England won four and lost nine, Australia won three and lost one, South Africa won three and lost as many, while Sri Lanka also tasted victory in three and defeat in an equal number of games. On that note, let’s look at the Test team of 2021.

OPENERS: ROHIT SHARMA (CAPTAIN), KL RAHUL

The Indian opening pair of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul make it as the openers in the team of the year as well. Both Rohit and Rahul resurrected their career with some stupendous Test performances. Rohit amassed 906 runs in 11 Tests at an average of 47.68 with two hundreds and four fifties. He scored 161 in Chennai against England on a surface where most other batters struggled. However, his century at The Oval stood out as he reined in his natural instincts and demonstrated immense patience and determination. Rohit is also the captain of the team of the year.