King Kohli, Magnificent Mary make 2018 their own; India discovers new stars too

Virat Kohli continued to dominate the cricket chatter with his batting and brashness, the indomitable M C Mary Kom rolled back the years like very few can and, month after month, Indian sports also found new and younger heroes to raise a toast to.

P V Sindhu's perseverance on the badminton court, Neeraj Chopra's obsessive pursuit of perfection every time he hurled the javelin, and the teenage shooting stars who refused to take their eyes off the target, made 2018 a year in which highs easily outnumbered the lows for Indian sports.

There was a plethora of big-ticket sporting events this year and the country had lots to celebrate throughout. Whether it was the Commonwealth and the Asian Games or Youth Olympics, athletes pushed the boundaries and produced path-breaking performances.

There were the usual administrative mess-ups occasionally and odd cases of dope shame as well, but they couldn't make a dent to the overall sense of accomplishment.

On the cricket field, the results weren't ..