India are riding high on a well-fought win in South Africa and preparing for the first Test of the New Year. But in between, they can look back at their achievements over the past year and allow themselves a bit of a pat on the back. Apart from holding on to the coveted No. 1 position in Test cricket, the team has managed to put up a good show in ODIs as well. The side’s T20 performance might not exactly be congruous with their exploits in the other two formats, but that’s surely not much cause for worry. The team ends the year on a high, all set to charge right into 2011, where the much-awaited ICC World Cup awaits. A quick look at the year gone by. Tests January India began the year as Test cricket’s No. 1 team. Their first series for the calendar year was played against Bangladesh. Riding on back to back to centuries from Sachin Tendulkar, India registered a comfortable 2-0 win against the hosts. February South Africa, snapping close on India’s heels in the ICC Test rankings, toured India in early February for a two-match series in an attempt to dethrone the champions. The first Test at Nagpur saw the Proteas, riding on a superb display of fast bowling by Dale Steyn (10/108), inflict a crushing defeat on the hosts. But India managed to draw the series thanks to some solid batting and all-round bowling performances in the second Test at Kolkata. July/August Next up for India was a three-match series in Sri Lanka. Two games into the series, India found themselves trailing the hosts 0-1. However, VVS Laxman, with an unbeaten knock of 103, pulled off a sensational fourth innings chase in the final Test at the P Sara Oval to help India square the series. October Australia toured India in the month of October in the hope of winning back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. But a spirited fourth innings chase, steered yet again by VVS Laxman (73*) (in the Mohali Test), followed by a clinical decimation of the Aussies in the Bengaluru Test ensured a series whitewash in India’s favour. November The visiting New Zealand Test squad stonewalled the Indian challenge in the first two Tests of the three-match series played in November. Harbhajan Singh, with his first ever Test century at Ahmedabad, followed by another at Hyderabad, was the highlight of the first two Tests. But with Rahul Dravid setting up a big Indian score of 566 with his knock of 191 at Nagpur, the Kiwis eventually threw in the towel and handed a 1-0 series win to the hosts. December India’s toughest assignment for 2010 came in the form of a Test series against hosts South Africa at the end of the year. With two of the three matches played in December, India received a rude welcome. Bowled out for a mere 136 runs in the first innings of the Centurion Test, they suffered an innings defeat. Yet, with Zaheer Khan returning to the side for the next game in Durban (6 wickets) and VVS Laxman once again playing India a match-winning innings (96), India ended the year in Test cricket with their reputation as Test Cricket’s numero uno team intact. ODIs January India’s ODI performance in 2010 began on a disappointing note. Despite being clear favourites, they lost the Tri-Series tournament final, also including hosts Bangladesh, to Sri Lanka by four wickets. Suresh Raina’s 106-run knock in the final deserves a special mention. The talented youngster played a lone hand in the final as wickets fell regularly at the other end. February India triumphed over the visiting South Africans by a margin of 2-1, but the series is best remembered for Sachin Tendulkar breaking the 200-run barrier in ODI cricket. The master’s knock, (Gwalior, February 24, 2010) came off just 147 deliveries and helped India score an incredible 401 runs on the day. May-August What followed for India was a bit of a roller coaster. They first failed to qualify for the final of the Tri-Series tournament played in Zimbabwe beginning May, then won the Asia Cup held in Sri Lanka in June and finally finished as runners-up in the Tri-Series tournament held once again in Sri Lanka in August. October-December Since October 2010, India have enjoyed an excellent run in the 50-over format. They won the only ODI match that could be played in the three-match series against Australia and then followed that up with a 5-0 thrashing of the touring New Zealand side in November/December. Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, R Ashwin, Yusuf Pathan and Munaf Patel were some of the heroes of the success story against the Kiwis. T20s April/May India failed to make it to the semi-final stage of the ICC World Twenty20 competition hosted by the West Indies in 2010. Nevertheless, a swashbuckling Suresh Raina century (101 off 60 balls) against South Africa in this tournament, the first ever by an Indian in the T20 format, brought much joy to Indian fans. June India won both games of the two-match series against Zimbabwe.