Centuries in Australia*(123 in Perth), South Africa (153) and England (149 and 103 in two different Tests). With six ODI hundreds in 14 innings, the most this year, Virat Kohli has been in enviable form. *Updated till the end of the second Test against Australia in Perth.
Eight Test matches, 39 wickets( Till the end of second Test against Australia ). In ODIs and T20Is combined in 2018, Bumrah has claimed 30 wickets in 21 matches.
In 2018, the chinaman bowler collected 76 wickets across formats. All three of the five-wicket hauls of his career arrived this year. He was the highest wicket-taker in the ODI series between India and Windies in October, 2018.
This has been a year to remember for India’s opening batswoman. After proving her mettle on the international stage, Smriti was one of the top performers in the Kia League, a Twenty20 league. She was in fine form at the ICC World Twenty20 in the Caribbean as well, emerging as the second-highest run-getter for India.
Poonam Yadav became India's highest wicket-taker in Twenty20 Internationals. The leg-spinner's performance in the T20 World Cup — eight wickets in five matches — earned her a place in the World XI team. She has collected 35 wickets from 25 matches at an average of 14.91 this year alone.
Mithali, for many years the face of India’s women’s cricket, contributed to India’s fine showing at the ICC Women’s World Twenty20, scoring two half-centuries in three matches.
In a consistent and injury-free year, he won two Super 300 Tournaments ( Swiss Open and Hyderabad Open), retained the Syed Modi International title, reached the semifinals of the Orleans Masters in France and the quarterfinals of Denmark Open Super 750 and was the only Indian male shuttler to qualify for the BWF Tour Finals.
Sindhu won a silver medal in the women's singles event of 2018 Commonwealth Games and contributed to India winning a gold in the mixed team event. She made it to her second successive World Championships final but had to settle for a silver again, this time losing to Carolina Marin. The Hyderabad-based player went on to win a silver at the Asian Games 2018. She is the first Indian to win a silver in badminton at the Asian Games. She, however, made up for all her losses in the finals by winning the BWF World Tour Finals, emerging as the best among the best.
She became the first women’s singles player since Sania Mirza to win a medal (bronze) at the Asian Games. In April 2018, she attained a career-high ranking of 181, only the fourth Indian woman to crack the top 200 in the WTA singles rankings.
Manika Batra rose to prominence in 2018 with terrific performances at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. She clinched the individual gold medal, doubles silver with Mouma Das, women’s team gold and a mixed doubles bronze with G. Sathiyan, totalling four medals in a single edition of the CWG. She then paired with Sharath Kamal to give India a historic mixed doubles bronze at the 2018 Asian Games.
In the Commonwealth Games in 2018, he finished fifth but set a new national record in the 1500m event by breaking a 23-year-old record set by Bahadur Prasad. He won the gold in the Asian Games in men’s 1500m event, with a timing of 3.44.72, which is his personal best. He also won a silver in the 800m event.
The 20-year-old has been the cynosure of all eyes in the Indian athletic scene. He won the gold in the Asian Games with a throw of 88.06m. Earlier, in the Commonwealth Games he won the gold with an effort of 86.47m. His 88.06 effort in the Asian Games is also a national record. In the Diamond League at Doha earlier, he had set a national record with a throw of 87.43.
Soon after clinching a historic Asian Games gold, triple jumper Arpinder Singh became the first Indian to win a medal at the IAAF Continental Cup after clinching bronze with an effort of 16.59m.
She won a 400m gold in the IAAF World U20 Championships, becoming the first Indian sprinter to win a gold medal at a world meet. She qualified for the Asian Games 400m final after clocking 51.00 in heat 1 ( a new national record). She then bettered the record with a 50.79s effort in the 400m final to win a silver medal. She also won the Women's 4 × 400 metres relay gold with M. R. Poovamma, Sarita Gayakwad and V. K. Vismaya.
At the 2018 Asian Games, Dutee Chand won the Silver medal in the Women's 100 metres final, her first Asian games medal, clocking 11.32 sec on August 26. Three days later, she bagged her second silver at the Asian Games in the Women's 200 metres final.
It was one of the most remarkable years of his career. He led India to the AFC Asian Cup after an eight-year hiatus. He captained the Indian side that won the Intercontinental Cup in June and scored eight goals in the tourney, making him the joint second-highest goalscorer along with Lionel Messi among active footballers. He won the Super Cup with Bengaluru FC and finished runner-up in ISL.
Ajay Thakur, known for his raids, has played a key role in India's success in Kabaddi. Be it the World Cup, Asia Cup or the Dubai Kabaddi Masters, Thakur, as the captain of the Indian team, has led by example.
The drag flicker was brilliant in 2018, dishing out goals at the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games (five), Champions Trophy (three) and the Jakarta Asian Games (10).
The drag-flicker impressed all with her performance at the Commonwealth Games as India finished fourth. Her two penalty corner conversion goals during India’s 4-1 win over Malaysia was much talked about. She was in fine form during the pre-World Cup Spanish tour also. She scored a hat-trick in the opening match of Asian Games 2018 against Indonesia and then a brace against Korea to help India reach the final at the Asian Games. India finished runner-up.
Ngangom Bala Devi, the captain of the women's football team, recently helped the team enter the second round of the 2020 Olympic Qualifiers for the first time. The 28-year-old scored four goals in India's 7-1 win over Bangladesh in the qualifiers.
Sanjana Ramesh won the Most Valuable Player award in the All Stars game during NBA's Basketball Without Borders Asia Camp. She was made the captain in her debut for India's U-16 team at the Asian championship (Division B) and starred in the final. She became the second Indian woman to receive an NCAA Division I basketball scholarship with the Northern Arizona University.
He won gold medals in men's 65 kg wrestling at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games and a silver medal at the World Championship to become the World No.1 in the category.
He shot to fame with his Asian Games 2018 gold in 10 m air pistol. The 16-year-old also set a world record score of 245.5 to win gold in junior 10 m air pistol at the 2018 ISSF World Championship. He went on to clinch a gold in the 10 m air pistol event at the Youth Olympics in Argentina and followed it up with a junior men’s air pistol gold in the 11th Asian Air Gun Championship in November.
She won gold medals in women's 50 kg wrestling at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games 2018. She also became the first Indian woman wrestler to win gold medal at the Asian Games.
Mirabai Chanu (Weightlifting) has been a regular presence in the 48kg category since
2014. The 2017 World Champion broke the Commonwealth Games record en route to clinching the gold medal in Australia. Her efforts were duly rewarded with a Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award this year, the country's highest sporting honour.
Mary Kom etched her name in history when she clinched a World Boxing Championship gold for the sixth time in New Delhi in November 2018. She also won gold in women's 48 kg boxing at the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast.
