Test matches in 2021 ended with India’s historic 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.
The story is similar with Rahul. He ended 2021 with 461 runs in five Tests at an average of 46.10 with two hundreds and a fifty. Rahul was not in contention in the Test format at the start of the year. But, following injuries to Mayank Agarwal, he got an opportunity in England and grabbed it with both hands, scoring a hundred and a fifty. He ended the year on a high, with a gritty 123 in Centurion, which guided India to their maiden Test win at the venue in South Africa.
Middle-order: Dimuth Karunaratne, Joe Root, Marnus Labuschagne, Rishabh Pant (wk)
Sri Lanka struggled right through 2021, but Dimuth Karunaratne stood out with 902 runs from seven Tests at a stupendous average of 69.38 with four hundreds and three fifties. He scored 103 against South Africa in Johannesburg at the start of the year, 244 against Bangladesh in Pallekele, 118 & 66 against Bangladesh at the same venue and 147 & 83 against the West Indies in Galle. He was Lanka’s run machine right through 2021.
It is a shame that England had a miserable year despite Joe Root having a sensational one with the bat. Root was in a league of his own, amassing 1708 runs in 15 Tests at an average of 61 with six hundreds and four fifties. He registered 228, 186 and 218 in the first three Tests he played in 2021. When India came to England, Root hammered centuries in three of the four Tests. Although England were thrashed 3-0 in the first three Tests in the Ashes, Root scored a fifty in each of the three Tests. He was England’s one-man batting outfit.
Australia’s Marnus Labuschagne keeps going from strength to strength. He smashed 526 runs in five Tests at an average of 65.75 with two hundreds and four fifties. Labuschagne began the year with 91 and 73 against India in Sydney and followed it up with 108 in Brisbane. Against England in the Ashes, he hit 74 in Brisbane and 103 and 51 in Adelaide. He was pretty much unstoppable.
Rishabh Pant did not end the year as he began but did well enough to claim a slot as the keeper-batter. It helped that the other key contender, Jos Buttler, had a poor year with the bat. Pant ended 2021 with 748 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 39.36. He scored unforgettable half-centuries in Sydney and Brisbane, one in a draw and one in a memorable triumph. Pant’s hundred against England in Ahmedabad was a highly impressive one. His keeping was much-improved as well.
All-rounder: Kyle Jamieson
There was only one contender for the all-rounder’s slot, with Ben Stokes more out than in. New Zealand’s Kyle Jamieson claimed 27 wickets in five Tests at an average of 17.51 with three five-fors. He was the Player of the Match in the WTC final, claiming seven wickets. The tall pacer started the year with 11 wickets against Pakistan in Christchurch. He also took six wickets in Kanpur. With the bat, Jamieson chipped in with 105 runs.
Bowlers: Ravichandran Ashwin, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Jasprit Bumrah, James Anderson
Ravichandran Ashwin was the easy choice for the lone spinner in Test XI. Left-arm spinner Axar Patel was among the contenders for his sensational debut, but all his wickets came in home Tests. Ashwin claimed 54 scalps in nine Tests at an average of 16.64. Apart from bamboozling England and New Zealand at home, he played a key role in the win Down Under. The year also saw Ashwin find his batting mojo back with a stonewalling act in Sydney and a hundred in Chennai.
Pakistan’s left-arm pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi was also among the wickets. He claimed 47 wickets in nine Tests, including three five-wicket hauls. 18 of them came in two Tests against West Indies. The experienced duo of Jasprit Bumrah and James Anderson complete the playing XI though Mohammed Siraj was a genuine contender.
Bumrah and Anderson did what was expected of them right through the year – pick wickets when the team needed them. The Indian pacer spearhead ended 2021 with 30 wickets in nine Tests at an average of 26.53. As for Anderson, he claimed 39 scalps in 12 Tests at an average of 21.74.