After coping with the wrath of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, cricket was back in full swing in 2022. Once again, the international calendar was crammed with matches, and stadiums were jam-packed with fans. Teams gave their all on the cricket field and fans were blessed with a plethora of games that had them seated on the edge.

The year 2022 was full of exhilarating cricket, a wide array of events took place and fans witnessed some outstanding moments across the globe. Be it the Yash Dhull-led Indian side clinching the U19 World Cup, Australia women winning the ODI World Cup, or the Netherlands upsetting South Africa in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20-world-cup/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">T20 World Cup 2022</a>, 2022 saw it all.

However, 2022 gave us some phenomenal moments that are bound to remain etched in the hearts and minds of cricket enthusiasts forever.

Here are the top ten iconic moments of 2022:

10. Fastest double ton in ODIs

India clashed against Bangladesh in the final game of the three-match ODI series in Chattogram. The hosts had already clinched the series and were eyeing a clean sweep over the 2011 World Cup winners, but <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-analysis/ranking-all-double-hundreds-in-odi-cricket/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ishan Kishan</a> had some other plans.

Coming into the side in place of an injured Rohit Sharma, the southpaw took the attack to the opposition right from the get-go and hammered the Bangladesh bowlers across the ground. But as he took a single off the final delivery of the 35th over, he scripted history by becoming the seventh batter in men’s ODIs to hit a double century.

Kishan reached the 200-mark off 126 balls, making him the fastest to achieve the feat in One-day Internationals. The previous fastest double ton in men's ODIs was off 138 balls by Chris Gayle, against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup, while the quickest double ton in ODI history previously (across men and women's cricket) was by Amelia Kerr - 134-ball effort against Ireland in 2018.

The wicketkeeper-batter plundered 210 runs off 131 deliveries to help the Men in Blue post a mammoth total of 409 runs on the board. His record-breaking knock consisted of 24 fours and ten sixes. After Ishan’s heroics, the Indian bowlers came to the party and bowled Bangladesh out for 182 runs to register a comprehensive win.

9. Jasprit Bumrah's 35-run onslaught&nbsp;

On 1 July 2022, India took the stage alongside England in the rescheduled fifth game of the five-match Test series in Birmingham. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/jasprit-bumrah-is-the-most-complete-bowler-across-formats-ricky-ponting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jasprit Bumrah</a> donned the captain’s hat in the absence of Rohit Sharma and one expected him to lead the way with the ball, but not many thought he would instead be putting up a show with the bat.

On Day 2, the 29-year-old went into beast mode and smashed 35 runs in the 84th over. Stuart Board was at the receiving end just like he was when former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh hammered him for 36 runs in an over in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007.

Of the 35 runs scored in the over, 29 came from Bumrah's bat. The 84th over read 4, w4, nb6, 4, 4, 4, 6, 1. With such a spectacular batting effort, Bumrah went on to create the world record for scoring most runs in an over in Test cricket, surpassing the previous record of 28 runs that was jointly held by Brian Lara, George Bailey, and Keshav Maharaj.

8. England become white-ball champions

England's white-ball cricket hit rock bottom as they suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of Bangladesh and exited the 2015 World Cup from the group stage itself. Since then, the stature of England cricket has just been scaling unattained heights.

With <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/eoin-morgan-was-ahead-of-his-time-in-realizing-the-value-to-english-cricket-of-the-ipl-nasser-hussain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eoin Morgan</a> as skipper and Trevor Bayliss as head coach, England adopted a fearless brand of cricket and changed the way how white-ball cricket was played. The new ideology bore fruit and the Three Lions won the 2019 World Cup. Prior to the T20 World Cup 2022, England’s inspirational leader Morgan hung his international boots and handed the reins of the side to Jos Buttler.

In the T20 carnival in Australia, the Buttler-led side stuck with the aggressive style of cricket and put the oppositions under the pump. Though they suffered defeat at the hands of Ireland in the group stage, they made their way through to the knockout stages. In the semi-final, they completely demolished the star-studded Indian side, hammering them by ten wickets.&nbsp;

In the final showdown against Pakistan, Sam Curran led England’s charge with the ball and picked up a sensational three-wicket haul to restrict the Men in Green to an under-par total of 137. During the chase, Ben Stokes played a calm and composed knock of 52* runs off 49 deliveries to guide his team to their second T20 World Cup triumph.

By virtue of the win, England became the first team in history to hold a 50 and a 20-over world title at the same time.

7. End of Virat Kohli's 71st century drought&nbsp;

On September 8, 2022, when India faced Afghanistan in the 11th game of the Asia Cup 2022, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/virat-kohli-is-going-to-be-even-more-dangerous-if-he-strikes-form-wasim-jaffer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virat Kohli</a> ended the long wait, one that had started in November 2019, when he last scored a century in international cricket.

Kohli started India’s proceedings with the bat alongside KL Rahul. He put on an exhibition of elegant stroke play and demolished the Afghanistan bowling attack. And then it happened. The former India skipper pulled the second delivery of the 19th over of the innings over deep mid-wicket for a six to bring up his 71st international century and ended the 1020-day wait. This was also his maiden T20I century.

When the moment arrived, the Dubai stadium buzzed so loud as if the ongoing tournament had seen the crowning of its champion. Kohli removed his helmet, acknowledged the crowd, and kissed his wedding ring.

The ace batter remained unbeaten on 122* off 61 deliveries and courtesy of his stellar knock the Men in Blue posted a daunting total of 212 runs on the board. His blistering innings comprised 12 boundaries and six maximums. Afghanistan, in response, could only score 111 runs in 20 overs. Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Match for his majestic innings.

6. Zimbabwe outclass Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2022

Zimbabwe locked horns with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pakistan</a> in the 24th match of the T20 World Cup 2022. On paper, the Men in Green were head and shoulders above their opposition in terms of the quality of personnel and it was believed to be a one-sided affair but what followed was something stunning.

Though Zimbabwe batters did not come to the party and could score just 130 runs in 20 overs, the bowlers were up for the challenge and made the life of Pakistan batters difficult with some impeccable bowling. At one stage, Babar Azam &amp; co. needed three runs off as many deliveries and it seemed doom and gloom for the Chevrons.

But Zimbabwe pacer Bard Evans did not give up on hope and brought the equation down to 3 runs off the final delivery with Shaheen Afridi on strike. Evans kept up the good work and delivered a fullish delivery outside off stump and all Shaheen could manage was to hit it towards long-on.

Shaheen tried to scamper through for a double but fell agonisingly short of his crease as Regis Chakabva whipped the bails off to hand his side a historic one-run win against the eventual runners-up of the event.&nbsp;

5. Australia women’s 21-match long winning streak snapped

India women encountered Australia women in the second game of the five-match T20I series on December 11, 2022, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The visitors entered the contest, having thrashed Harmanpreet Kaur &amp; co. by nine wickets in the first T20I.&nbsp;

The Women in Green and Gold were on a winning spree, having won their last 21 white-ball games and it seemed that the streak will only go from strength to strength. But Harmanpreet Kaur &amp; co. had different ideas that evening.

Chasing 188, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/we-are-aiming-for-gold-smriti-mandhana-makes-indian-teams-intentions-clear-ahead-of-cwg-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smriti Mandhana</a> led India’s charge with the bat and smashed 79 runs off 49 deliveries. But the Indian opener got out in the 17th over with the Women in Blue still needing 40 runs off 21 deliveries. Richa Ghosh (26* runs off 13 balls) and Devika Vaidya (11* runs off 5 balls) showed nerves of steel to take the game into the Super-over.

In the one-over shootout, Richa and Mandhana again displayed their batting might and helped their team post 20 runs on the board. In response, Alyssa Healy &amp; co. could only manage 16 runs off six deliveries and India women handed Australia women their first defeat across formats since September 2021 and the stadium that had over 45000 people in attendance came alive.

4. Introduction of women’s cricket at Commonwealth Games&nbsp;

The year 2022 marked the debut of women's cricket at the Commonwealth Games. It also marked the return of cricket to the marquee event after a span of 24 years. The last time the sport featured at the CWG was way back in 1998. A total of 16 teams participated and South Africa won the gold medal by defeating Australia in the final.&nbsp;

Eight sides took part in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/commonwealth-games-womens-t20-cricket/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CWG 2022</a> at Edgbaston and they were divided into two groups of four teams each. Group A consisted of Australia, Barbados, India, and Pakistan whereas the Group B had England, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka in it. After a nine-day tussle, Australia squared off against India in the summit clash whereas New Zealand fought England for the third-place finish.

In the final showdown, Meg Lanning &amp; co. defeated the Women in Blue by nine runs to clinch the gold medal and Harmanpreet &amp; co. had to be content with the silver medal. In the battle for the bronze medal, the White Ferns thrashed England by eight wickets.

3. Final over drama at 'The G'

On October 23, 2022, arch-rivals India and Pakistan took the stage in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium and blessed the cricket fraternity with one of the most epic matches the sport has ever seen.&nbsp;

Chasing 160, India were staring down the barrel at 31 for 4 but Kohli did not give up. The former Indian skipper, with the aid of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/kumar-sangakkara-backs-hardik-pandya-to-be-the-next-india-captain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hardik Pandya,</a> brought the game in the balance with the Men in Blue needing 16 runs in the final over. And then the madness began.

Mohammad Nawaz, who is a left-arm off-spinner, decided to bowl from a longer run-up. The ploy worked for the first three deliveries as he dismissed Hardik and gave only three runs away. The game was moving towards the Men in Green but Kohli deposited the next delivery for a six, which also turned out to be a waist height no-ball. And India from requiring 13 off 3, now needed 6 off 3 with the next ball being a free hit.

Next delivery, Nawaz in a bid to keep the delivery away from Kohli’s reach bowled a wide. The Pakistan spinner castled the former Indian skipper on the free hit but the ball deflected off the stumps and raced toward the third region. The pair of Karthik and Virat scampered for three runs.

Rohit Sharma &amp; co. required merely two runs in as many deliveries and it seemed India's game to lose. However, there was another twist in the tale as Karthik got stumped on the penultimate delivery. But just when everyone had their hearts in their mouths, Ravichandran Ashwin displayed sheer aplomb to take India over the line.

2. Deepti Sharma-Charlie Dean run-out saga

India women battled against England women in the final game of the three-match ODI series at Lord’s on September 24. It was also the farewell game of the legendary India pacer Jhulan Goswami. Harmanpreet &amp; co. walked into the match, having already taken an unassailable series lead of 2-0.

Chasing 170, the game was evenly poised with England 153 for nine in the 44th over. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-tracker-cricket/deepti-sharma-runs-out-charlotte-dean-at-the-non-strikers-end-at-lords/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deepti Sharma</a> ran in to bowl the fourth delivery of the over. However, she stopped before releasing the ball and by this time non-striker, Charlie Dean was out of her crease. Deepti dislodged the bails and appealed. It was referred to the third umpire and Dean was adjudged out.

India women were ecstatic after winning the game and completing their first-ever ODI series whitewash against England on English soil. England women, on the other hand, were shell-shocked. The Indian spectators present on the ground were thrilled with joy while the England fans booed the visitors.&nbsp;

The incident reignited the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-opinion/spirit-laws-and-latters-share-of-stigma-for-bowlers-7720/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spirit of cricket</a> debate and led to a massive controversy. The whole cricket fraternity got divided into two parts, one supporting Deepti and the other opposing her act. Many former and active cricketers took a dig at the Indian off-spinner and it seemed as if she had committed a felony by abiding by the laws of the game.&nbsp;

1. Pay parity for male and female cricketers

Cricket has been a gender-biased sport since its inception with male cricketers earning a substantially bigger sum than their female counterparts. However, this year witnessed history being made as certain cricket boards took a revolutionary step in getting rid of the pay disparity.

On July 2022, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) created history by becoming the first board to introduce pay parity in the sport. The five-year agreement between NZC and the players’ association will witness women's players at both international and domestic levels receive the same match fees as men across all formats and competitions.

Then in October, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/bccis-top-brass-to-analyse-indias-t20-world-cup-2022-performance-on-january-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)</a> followed New Zealand Cricket's footsteps and introduced equal match-fee for India’s male and female cricketers for appearances in international cricket. The move was lauded in the cricketing circles and beyond.

Indian women-Australian women-T20 World cup

After coping with the wrath of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, cricket was back in full swing in 2022. Once again, the international calendar was crammed with matches, and stadiums were jam-packed with fans. Teams gave their all on the cricket field and fans were blessed with a plethora of games that had them seated on the edge.
The year 2022 was full of exhilarating cricket, a wide array of events took place and fans witnessed some outstanding moments across the globe. Be it the Yash Dhull-led Indian side clinching the U19 World Cup, Australia women winning the ODI World Cup, or the Netherlands upsetting South Africa in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20-world-cup/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">T20 World Cup 2022</a>, 2022 saw it all.
However, 2022 gave us some phenomenal moments that are bound to remain etched in the hearts and minds of cricket enthusiasts forever.
<h2>Here are the top ten iconic moments of 2022:</h2>
<h3>10. Fastest double ton in ODIs</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1670677560246_Virat-Kohli-and-Ishan-Kishan4.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
India clashed against Bangladesh in the final game of the three-match ODI series in Chattogram. The hosts had already clinched the series and were eyeing a clean sweep over the 2011 World Cup winners, but <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-analysis/ranking-all-double-hundreds-in-odi-cricket/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ishan Kishan</a> had some other plans.
Coming into the side in place of an injured Rohit Sharma, the southpaw took the attack to the opposition right from the get-go and hammered the Bangladesh bowlers across the ground. But as he took a single off the final delivery of the 35th over, he scripted history by becoming the seventh batter in men’s ODIs to hit a double century.
Kishan reached the 200-mark off 126 balls, making him the fastest to achieve the feat in One-day Internationals. The previous fastest double ton in men's ODIs was off 138 balls by Chris Gayle, against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup, while the quickest double ton in ODI history previously (across men and women's cricket) was by Amelia Kerr - 134-ball effort against Ireland in 2018.
The wicketkeeper-batter plundered 210 runs off 131 deliveries to help the Men in Blue post a mammoth total of 409 runs on the board. His record-breaking knock consisted of 24 fours and ten sixes. After Ishan’s heroics, the Indian bowlers came to the party and bowled Bangladesh out for 182 runs to register a comprehensive win.

<h3>9. Jasprit Bumrah's 35-run onslaught&nbsp;</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/featureimage/Jasprit-Bumrah-against-Stuart-Board.jpg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
On 1 July 2022, India took the stage alongside England in the rescheduled fifth game of the five-match Test series in Birmingham. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/jasprit-bumrah-is-the-most-complete-bowler-across-formats-ricky-ponting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jasprit Bumrah</a> donned the captain’s hat in the absence of Rohit Sharma and one expected him to lead the way with the ball, but not many thought he would instead be putting up a show with the bat.
On Day 2, the 29-year-old went into beast mode and smashed 35 runs in the 84th over. Stuart Board was at the receiving end just like he was when former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh hammered him for 36 runs in an over in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007.
Of the 35 runs scored in the over, 29 came from Bumrah's bat. The 84th over read 4, w4, nb6, 4, 4, 4, 6, 1. With such a spectacular batting effort, Bumrah went on to create the world record for scoring most runs in an over in Test cricket, surpassing the previous record of 28 runs that was jointly held by Brian Lara, George Bailey, and Keshav Maharaj.

<h3>8. England become white-ball champions</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1672730567511_ODI-world-cup-2019-and-T20-world-cup-2022.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
England's white-ball cricket hit rock bottom as they suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of Bangladesh and exited the 2015 World Cup from the group stage itself. Since then, the stature of England cricket has just been scaling unattained heights.
With <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/eoin-morgan-was-ahead-of-his-time-in-realizing-the-value-to-english-cricket-of-the-ipl-nasser-hussain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eoin Morgan</a> as skipper and Trevor Bayliss as head coach, England adopted a fearless brand of cricket and changed the way how white-ball cricket was played. The new ideology bore fruit and the Three Lions won the 2019 World Cup. Prior to the T20 World Cup 2022, England’s inspirational leader Morgan hung his international boots and handed the reins of the side to Jos Buttler.
In the T20 carnival in Australia, the Buttler-led side stuck with the aggressive style of cricket and put the oppositions under the pump. Though they suffered defeat at the hands of Ireland in the group stage, they made their way through to the knockout stages. In the semi-final, they completely demolished the star-studded Indian side, hammering them by ten wickets.&nbsp;
In the final showdown against Pakistan, Sam Curran led England’s charge with the ball and picked up a sensational three-wicket haul to restrict the Men in Green to an under-par total of 137. During the chase, Ben Stokes played a calm and composed knock of 52* runs off 49 deliveries to guide his team to their second T20 World Cup triumph.
By virtue of the win, England became the first team in history to hold a 50 and a 20-over world title at the same time.

<h3>7. End of Virat Kohli's 71st century drought&nbsp;</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments1662658763793_Virat-Kohli.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
On September 8, 2022, when India faced Afghanistan in the 11th game of the Asia Cup 2022, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/virat-kohli-is-going-to-be-even-more-dangerous-if-he-strikes-form-wasim-jaffer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virat Kohli</a> ended the long wait, one that had started in November 2019, when he last scored a century in international cricket.
Kohli started India’s proceedings with the bat alongside KL Rahul. He put on an exhibition of elegant stroke play and demolished the Afghanistan bowling attack. And then it happened. The former India skipper pulled the second delivery of the 19th over of the innings over deep mid-wicket for a six to bring up his 71st international century and ended the 1020-day wait. This was also his maiden T20I century.
When the moment arrived, the Dubai stadium buzzed so loud as if the ongoing tournament had seen the crowning of its champion. Kohli removed his helmet, acknowledged the crowd, and kissed his wedding ring.
The ace batter remained unbeaten on 122* off 61 deliveries and courtesy of his stellar knock the Men in Blue posted a daunting total of 212 runs on the board. His blistering innings comprised 12 boundaries and six maximums. Afghanistan, in response, could only score 111 runs in 20 overs. Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Match for his majestic innings.

<h3>6. Zimbabwe outclass Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2022</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1666882495167_Pakistan-vs-Zimbabwe.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Zimbabwe locked horns with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pakistan</a> in the 24th match of the T20 World Cup 2022. On paper, the Men in Green were head and shoulders above their opposition in terms of the quality of personnel and it was believed to be a one-sided affair but what followed was something stunning.
Though Zimbabwe batters did not come to the party and could score just 130 runs in 20 overs, the bowlers were up for the challenge and made the life of Pakistan batters difficult with some impeccable bowling. At one stage, Babar Azam &amp; co. needed three runs off as many deliveries and it seemed doom and gloom for the Chevrons.
But Zimbabwe pacer Bard Evans did not give up on hope and brought the equation down to 3 runs off the final delivery with Shaheen Afridi on strike. Evans kept up the good work and delivered a fullish delivery outside off stump and all Shaheen could manage was to hit it towards long-on.
Shaheen tried to scamper through for a double but fell agonisingly short of his crease as Regis Chakabva whipped the bails off to hand his side a historic one-run win against the eventual runners-up of the event.&nbsp;

<h3>5. Australia women’s 21-match long winning streak snapped</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1672730718677_Indian-women-cricket-team.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
India women encountered Australia women in the second game of the five-match T20I series on December 11, 2022, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The visitors entered the contest, having thrashed Harmanpreet Kaur &amp; co. by nine wickets in the first T20I.&nbsp;
The Women in Green and Gold were on a winning spree, having won their last 21 white-ball games and it seemed that the streak will only go from strength to strength. But Harmanpreet Kaur &amp; co. had different ideas that evening.
Chasing 188, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/we-are-aiming-for-gold-smriti-mandhana-makes-indian-teams-intentions-clear-ahead-of-cwg-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smriti Mandhana</a> led India’s charge with the bat and smashed 79 runs off 49 deliveries. But the Indian opener got out in the 17th over with the Women in Blue still needing 40 runs off 21 deliveries. Richa Ghosh (26* runs off 13 balls) and Devika Vaidya (11* runs off 5 balls) showed nerves of steel to take the game into the Super-over.
In the one-over shootout, Richa and Mandhana again displayed their batting might and helped their team post 20 runs on the board. In response, Alyssa Healy &amp; co. could only manage 16 runs off six deliveries and India women handed Australia women their first defeat across formats since September 2021 and the stadium that had over 45000 people in attendance came alive.
<h3>4. Introduction of women’s cricket at Commonwealth Games&nbsp;</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1672730908022_Australia-women.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
The year 2022 marked the debut of women's cricket at the Commonwealth Games. It also marked the return of cricket to the marquee event after a span of 24 years. The last time the sport featured at the CWG was way back in 1998. A total of 16 teams participated and South Africa won the gold medal by defeating Australia in the final.&nbsp;
Eight sides took part in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/commonwealth-games-womens-t20-cricket/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CWG 2022</a> at Edgbaston and they were divided into two groups of four teams each. Group A consisted of Australia, Barbados, India, and Pakistan whereas the Group B had England, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka in it. After a nine-day tussle, Australia squared off against India in the summit clash whereas New Zealand fought England for the third-place finish.
In the final showdown, Meg Lanning &amp; co. defeated the Women in Blue by nine runs to clinch the gold medal and Harmanpreet &amp; co. had to be content with the silver medal. In the battle for the bronze medal, the White Ferns thrashed England by eight wickets.

<h3>3. Final over drama at 'The G'</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1666526961231_India-vs-Pakistan.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
On October 23, 2022, arch-rivals India and Pakistan took the stage in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium and blessed the cricket fraternity with one of the most epic matches the sport has ever seen.&nbsp;
Chasing 160, India were staring down the barrel at 31 for 4 but Kohli did not give up. The former Indian skipper, with the aid of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/kumar-sangakkara-backs-hardik-pandya-to-be-the-next-india-captain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hardik Pandya,</a> brought the game in the balance with the Men in Blue needing 16 runs in the final over. And then the madness began.
Mohammad Nawaz, who is a left-arm off-spinner, decided to bowl from a longer run-up. The ploy worked for the first three deliveries as he dismissed Hardik and gave only three runs away. The game was moving towards the Men in Green but Kohli deposited the next delivery for a six, which also turned out to be a waist height no-ball. And India from requiring 13 off 3, now needed 6 off 3 with the next ball being a free hit.
Next delivery, Nawaz in a bid to keep the delivery away from Kohli’s reach bowled a wide. The Pakistan spinner castled the former Indian skipper on the free hit but the ball deflected off the stumps and raced toward the third region. The pair of Karthik and Virat scampered for three runs.
Rohit Sharma &amp; co. required merely two runs in as many deliveries and it seemed India's game to lose. However, there was another twist in the tale as Karthik got stumped on the penultimate delivery. But just when everyone had their hearts in their mouths, Ravichandran Ashwin displayed sheer aplomb to take India over the line.

<h3>2. Deepti Sharma-Charlie Dean run-out saga</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1664040325222_Deepti-Sharma-Run-out.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
India women battled against England women in the final game of the three-match ODI series at Lord’s on September 24. It was also the farewell game of the legendary India pacer Jhulan Goswami. Harmanpreet &amp; co. walked into the match, having already taken an unassailable series lead of 2-0.
Chasing 170, the game was evenly poised with England 153 for nine in the 44th over. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-tracker-cricket/deepti-sharma-runs-out-charlotte-dean-at-the-non-strikers-end-at-lords/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deepti Sharma</a> ran in to bowl the fourth delivery of the over. However, she stopped before releasing the ball and by this time non-striker, Charlie Dean was out of her crease. Deepti dislodged the bails and appealed. It was referred to the third umpire and Dean was adjudged out.
India women were ecstatic after winning the game and completing their first-ever ODI series whitewash against England on English soil. England women, on the other hand, were shell-shocked. The Indian spectators present on the ground were thrilled with joy while the England fans booed the visitors.&nbsp;
The incident reignited the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-opinion/spirit-laws-and-latters-share-of-stigma-for-bowlers-7720/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spirit of cricket</a> debate and led to a massive controversy. The whole cricket fraternity got divided into two parts, one supporting Deepti and the other opposing her act. Many former and active cricketers took a dig at the Indian off-spinner and it seemed as if she had committed a felony by abiding by the laws of the game.&nbsp;

<h3>1. Pay parity for male and female cricketers</h3>
<amp-img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1672730990533_New-Zealand-Cricket-logo.jpeg" alt width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img>
Cricket has been a gender-biased sport since its inception with male cricketers earning a substantially bigger sum than their female counterparts. However, this year witnessed history being made as certain cricket boards took a revolutionary step in getting rid of the pay disparity.
On July 2022, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) created history by becoming the first board to introduce pay parity in the sport. The five-year agreement between NZC and the players’ association will witness women's players at both international and domestic levels receive the same match fees as men across all formats and competitions.
Then in October, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/bccis-top-brass-to-analyse-indias-t20-world-cup-2022-performance-on-january-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)</a> followed New Zealand Cricket's footsteps and introduced equal match-fee for India’s male and female cricketers for appearances in international cricket. The move was lauded in the cricketing circles and beyond.

After coping with the wrath of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, cricket was back in full swing in 2022. Once again, the international calendar was crammed with matches, and stadiums were jam-packed with fans. Teams gave their all on the cricket field and fans were blessed with a plethora of games that had them seated on the edge.
The year 2022 was full of exhilarating cricket, a wide array of events took place and fans witnessed some outstanding moments across the globe. Be it the Yash Dhull-led Indian side clinching the U19 World Cup, Australia women winning the ODI World Cup, or the Netherlands upsetting South Africa in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/t20-world-cup/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">T20 World Cup 2022</a>, 2022 saw it all.
However, 2022 gave us some phenomenal moments that are bound to remain etched in the hearts and minds of cricket enthusiasts forever.
<h2>Here are the top ten iconic moments of 2022:</h2>
<h3>10. Fastest double ton in ODIs</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1670677560246_Virat-Kohli-and-Ishan-Kishan4.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
India clashed against Bangladesh in the final game of the three-match ODI series in Chattogram. The hosts had already clinched the series and were eyeing a clean sweep over the 2011 World Cup winners, but <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-analysis/ranking-all-double-hundreds-in-odi-cricket/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ishan Kishan</a> had some other plans.
Coming into the side in place of an injured Rohit Sharma, the southpaw took the attack to the opposition right from the get-go and hammered the Bangladesh bowlers across the ground. But as he took a single off the final delivery of the 35th over, he scripted history by becoming the seventh batter in men’s ODIs to hit a double century.
Kishan reached the 200-mark off 126 balls, making him the fastest to achieve the feat in One-day Internationals. The previous fastest double ton in men's ODIs was off 138 balls by Chris Gayle, against Zimbabwe in the 2015 World Cup, while the quickest double ton in ODI history previously (across men and women's cricket) was by Amelia Kerr - 134-ball effort against Ireland in 2018.
The wicketkeeper-batter plundered 210 runs off 131 deliveries to help the Men in Blue post a mammoth total of 409 runs on the board. His record-breaking knock consisted of 24 fours and ten sixes. After Ishan’s heroics, the Indian bowlers came to the party and bowled Bangladesh out for 182 runs to register a comprehensive win.

<h3>9. Jasprit Bumrah's 35-run onslaught&nbsp;</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/featureimage/Jasprit-Bumrah-against-Stuart-Board.jpg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
On 1 July 2022, India took the stage alongside England in the rescheduled fifth game of the five-match Test series in Birmingham. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/jasprit-bumrah-is-the-most-complete-bowler-across-formats-ricky-ponting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Jasprit Bumrah</a> donned the captain’s hat in the absence of Rohit Sharma and one expected him to lead the way with the ball, but not many thought he would instead be putting up a show with the bat.
On Day 2, the 29-year-old went into beast mode and smashed 35 runs in the 84th over. Stuart Board was at the receiving end just like he was when former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh hammered him for 36 runs in an over in the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup in 2007.
Of the 35 runs scored in the over, 29 came from Bumrah's bat. The 84th over read 4, w4, nb6, 4, 4, 4, 6, 1. With such a spectacular batting effort, Bumrah went on to create the world record for scoring most runs in an over in Test cricket, surpassing the previous record of 28 runs that was jointly held by Brian Lara, George Bailey, and Keshav Maharaj.

<h3>8. England become white-ball champions</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1672730567511_ODI-world-cup-2019-and-T20-world-cup-2022.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
England's white-ball cricket hit rock bottom as they suffered an embarrassing loss at the hands of Bangladesh and exited the 2015 World Cup from the group stage itself. Since then, the stature of England cricket has just been scaling unattained heights.
With <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/eoin-morgan-was-ahead-of-his-time-in-realizing-the-value-to-english-cricket-of-the-ipl-nasser-hussain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Eoin Morgan</a> as skipper and Trevor Bayliss as head coach, England adopted a fearless brand of cricket and changed the way how white-ball cricket was played. The new ideology bore fruit and the Three Lions won the 2019 World Cup. Prior to the T20 World Cup 2022, England’s inspirational leader Morgan hung his international boots and handed the reins of the side to Jos Buttler.
In the T20 carnival in Australia, the Buttler-led side stuck with the aggressive style of cricket and put the oppositions under the pump. Though they suffered defeat at the hands of Ireland in the group stage, they made their way through to the knockout stages. In the semi-final, they completely demolished the star-studded Indian side, hammering them by ten wickets.&nbsp;
In the final showdown against Pakistan, Sam Curran led England’s charge with the ball and picked up a sensational three-wicket haul to restrict the Men in Green to an under-par total of 137. During the chase, Ben Stokes played a calm and composed knock of 52* runs off 49 deliveries to guide his team to their second T20 World Cup triumph.
By virtue of the win, England became the first team in history to hold a 50 and a 20-over world title at the same time.

<h3>7. End of Virat Kohli's 71st century drought&nbsp;</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments1662658763793_Virat-Kohli.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
On September 8, 2022, when India faced Afghanistan in the 11th game of the Asia Cup 2022, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/virat-kohli-is-going-to-be-even-more-dangerous-if-he-strikes-form-wasim-jaffer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Virat Kohli</a> ended the long wait, one that had started in November 2019, when he last scored a century in international cricket.
Kohli started India’s proceedings with the bat alongside KL Rahul. He put on an exhibition of elegant stroke play and demolished the Afghanistan bowling attack. And then it happened. The former India skipper pulled the second delivery of the 19th over of the innings over deep mid-wicket for a six to bring up his 71st international century and ended the 1020-day wait. This was also his maiden T20I century.
When the moment arrived, the Dubai stadium buzzed so loud as if the ongoing tournament had seen the crowning of its champion. Kohli removed his helmet, acknowledged the crowd, and kissed his wedding ring.
The ace batter remained unbeaten on 122* off 61 deliveries and courtesy of his stellar knock the Men in Blue posted a daunting total of 212 runs on the board. His blistering innings comprised 12 boundaries and six maximums. Afghanistan, in response, could only score 111 runs in 20 overs. Kohli was adjudged the Player of the Match for his majestic innings.

<h3>6. Zimbabwe outclass Pakistan in T20 World Cup 2022</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1666882495167_Pakistan-vs-Zimbabwe.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
Zimbabwe locked horns with <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/pakistan/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pakistan</a> in the 24th match of the T20 World Cup 2022. On paper, the Men in Green were head and shoulders above their opposition in terms of the quality of personnel and it was believed to be a one-sided affair but what followed was something stunning.
Though Zimbabwe batters did not come to the party and could score just 130 runs in 20 overs, the bowlers were up for the challenge and made the life of Pakistan batters difficult with some impeccable bowling. At one stage, Babar Azam &amp; co. needed three runs off as many deliveries and it seemed doom and gloom for the Chevrons.
But Zimbabwe pacer Bard Evans did not give up on hope and brought the equation down to 3 runs off the final delivery with Shaheen Afridi on strike. Evans kept up the good work and delivered a fullish delivery outside off stump and all Shaheen could manage was to hit it towards long-on.
Shaheen tried to scamper through for a double but fell agonisingly short of his crease as Regis Chakabva whipped the bails off to hand his side a historic one-run win against the eventual runners-up of the event.&nbsp;

<h3>5. Australia women’s 21-match long winning streak snapped</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1672730718677_Indian-women-cricket-team.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
India women encountered Australia women in the second game of the five-match T20I series on December 11, 2022, at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai. The visitors entered the contest, having thrashed Harmanpreet Kaur &amp; co. by nine wickets in the first T20I.&nbsp;
The Women in Green and Gold were on a winning spree, having won their last 21 white-ball games and it seemed that the streak will only go from strength to strength. But Harmanpreet Kaur &amp; co. had different ideas that evening.
Chasing 188, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/we-are-aiming-for-gold-smriti-mandhana-makes-indian-teams-intentions-clear-ahead-of-cwg-2022/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Smriti Mandhana</a> led India’s charge with the bat and smashed 79 runs off 49 deliveries. But the Indian opener got out in the 17th over with the Women in Blue still needing 40 runs off 21 deliveries. Richa Ghosh (26* runs off 13 balls) and Devika Vaidya (11* runs off 5 balls) showed nerves of steel to take the game into the Super-over.
In the one-over shootout, Richa and Mandhana again displayed their batting might and helped their team post 20 runs on the board. In response, Alyssa Healy &amp; co. could only manage 16 runs off six deliveries and India women handed Australia women their first defeat across formats since September 2021 and the stadium that had over 45000 people in attendance came alive.
<h3>4. Introduction of women’s cricket at Commonwealth Games&nbsp;</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1672730908022_Australia-women.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
The year 2022 marked the debut of women's cricket at the Commonwealth Games. It also marked the return of cricket to the marquee event after a span of 24 years. The last time the sport featured at the CWG was way back in 1998. A total of 16 teams participated and South Africa won the gold medal by defeating Australia in the final.&nbsp;
Eight sides took part in the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/commonwealth-games-womens-t20-cricket/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CWG 2022</a> at Edgbaston and they were divided into two groups of four teams each. Group A consisted of Australia, Barbados, India, and Pakistan whereas the Group B had England, New Zealand, South Africa, and Sri Lanka in it. After a nine-day tussle, Australia squared off against India in the summit clash whereas New Zealand fought England for the third-place finish.
In the final showdown, Meg Lanning &amp; co. defeated the Women in Blue by nine runs to clinch the gold medal and Harmanpreet &amp; co. had to be content with the silver medal. In the battle for the bronze medal, the White Ferns thrashed England by eight wickets.

<h3>3. Final over drama at 'The G'</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1666526961231_India-vs-Pakistan.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
On October 23, 2022, arch-rivals India and Pakistan took the stage in their opening match of the T20 World Cup 2022 at the Melbourne Cricket Stadium and blessed the cricket fraternity with one of the most epic matches the sport has ever seen.&nbsp;
Chasing 160, India were staring down the barrel at 31 for 4 but Kohli did not give up. The former Indian skipper, with the aid of <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/kumar-sangakkara-backs-hardik-pandya-to-be-the-next-india-captain/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hardik Pandya,</a> brought the game in the balance with the Men in Blue needing 16 runs in the final over. And then the madness began.
Mohammad Nawaz, who is a left-arm off-spinner, decided to bowl from a longer run-up. The ploy worked for the first three deliveries as he dismissed Hardik and gave only three runs away. The game was moving towards the Men in Green but Kohli deposited the next delivery for a six, which also turned out to be a waist height no-ball. And India from requiring 13 off 3, now needed 6 off 3 with the next ball being a free hit.
Next delivery, Nawaz in a bid to keep the delivery away from Kohli’s reach bowled a wide. The Pakistan spinner castled the former Indian skipper on the free hit but the ball deflected off the stumps and raced toward the third region. The pair of Karthik and Virat scampered for three runs.
Rohit Sharma &amp; co. required merely two runs in as many deliveries and it seemed India's game to lose. However, there was another twist in the tale as Karthik got stumped on the penultimate delivery. But just when everyone had their hearts in their mouths, Ravichandran Ashwin displayed sheer aplomb to take India over the line.

<h3>2. Deepti Sharma-Charlie Dean run-out saga</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1664040325222_Deepti-Sharma-Run-out.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
India women battled against England women in the final game of the three-match ODI series at Lord’s on September 24. It was also the farewell game of the legendary India pacer Jhulan Goswami. Harmanpreet &amp; co. walked into the match, having already taken an unassailable series lead of 2-0.
Chasing 170, the game was evenly poised with England 153 for nine in the 44th over. <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/social-tracker-cricket/deepti-sharma-runs-out-charlotte-dean-at-the-non-strikers-end-at-lords/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Deepti Sharma</a> ran in to bowl the fourth delivery of the over. However, she stopped before releasing the ball and by this time non-striker, Charlie Dean was out of her crease. Deepti dislodged the bails and appealed. It was referred to the third umpire and Dean was adjudged out.
India women were ecstatic after winning the game and completing their first-ever ODI series whitewash against England on English soil. England women, on the other hand, were shell-shocked. The Indian spectators present on the ground were thrilled with joy while the England fans booed the visitors.&nbsp;
The incident reignited the <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-opinion/spirit-laws-and-latters-share-of-stigma-for-bowlers-7720/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">spirit of cricket</a> debate and led to a massive controversy. The whole cricket fraternity got divided into two parts, one supporting Deepti and the other opposing her act. Many former and active cricketers took a dig at the Indian off-spinner and it seemed as if she had committed a felony by abiding by the laws of the game.&nbsp;

<h3>1. Pay parity for male and female cricketers</h3>
<img src="https://media.crictracker.com/media/attachments/1672730990533_New-Zealand-Cricket-logo.jpeg" alt="" width="640" loading="lazy">
Cricket has been a gender-biased sport since its inception with male cricketers earning a substantially bigger sum than their female counterparts. However, this year witnessed history being made as certain cricket boards took a revolutionary step in getting rid of the pay disparity.
On July 2022, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) created history by becoming the first board to introduce pay parity in the sport. The five-year agreement between NZC and the players’ association will witness women's players at both international and domestic levels receive the same match fees as men across all formats and competitions.
Then in October, <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/cricket-news/bccis-top-brass-to-analyse-indias-t20-world-cup-2022-performance-on-january-1/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI)</a> followed New Zealand Cricket's footsteps and introduced equal match-fee for India’s male and female cricketers for appearances in international cricket. The move was lauded in the cricketing circles and beyond.

After coping with the wrath of COVID-19 in 2020 and 2021, cricket was back in full swing in 2022. Once again, the international calendar was crammed with matches, and stadiums were jam-packed with fan

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