Top 10 Cricketing moments of 2015

The game of cricket is not just a sport but has an emotional involvement for all the ardent followers. Cricket is the high, cricket is the low, it makes them cheer, laugh, cry or even scream. The year 2015 was also been filled with incredible sporting events that encompassed a wide array of feelings. Each of the following moments tend to have an evanescent quality. Some mind-blowing matches were played, superb performances surfaced and the oldest form of the game saw an evolution. Here are the 10 Cricketing moments of the year 2015. 1. ABD avalanche 149 (44) & 162*(66), Gayle Storm 215 (147): (Photo Source: Getty Images) There is undoubtedly no bigger cricketer in the world than AB de Villiers at the moment. With 11.3 overs remaining, ABD set a magnificent display of pinch hitting in a majestic fashion by hitting the fastest century ever while scoring 149 runs of just 44 balls. In the process, he also equalled Rohit Sharma’s record of 16 sixes in an innings. Such a great knock it was, that made Gayle bow down to him in respect. Just months later into the World Cup, de Villiers put up yet another spectacle leaving everyone’s jaw open in awe. And this time, he went on to score the fastest 150 off 64 balls against the same opponent. ABD displayed the mix of unorthodox and simply unbelievable shots, lofting 8 sixes and smashing 17 fours in his unbeaten innings of 162*(66). After a prolonged patch with the bat, Chris Gayle recaptured his menacing form as he sent the Zimbabwean bowlers on a leather hunt. Displaying a masterclass of power hitting, Gayle blasted the fastest double century in ODIs and first in a World Cup game. During the course of the gigantic knock, Gayle also brought up 9,000 ODI runs and equalled Rohit Sharma and de Villiers for the most sixes in an ODI innings. His incredible effortless sixers put smiles on the faces of even the most discerning cricket fan. 2. India v Pakistan: (© Getty Images) The Adelaide Oval was packed and vibrant as it savoured the biggest rivalry in the cricketing world between India and Pakistan. In front of a 40,000 plus crowd, it was an enigma and spectacle that only a few other sporting showdowns can rival. India rode off to a blazing start, as their best batsman and the star of the match, Virat Kohli replicated some glimpses of his masterclass with an elegant 108 which propelled the Indian total to 300. The bowlers who had been a worry for India heading on to the World Cup put up some impressive performances altogether as the Pakistani innings folded at 224 giving India a massive victory of 76 runs. India took their World Cup record against Pakistan to 6-0. 3. Magnificient Spells: Wahab Riaz- Pakistan Pacer Wahab Riaz. (© Getty Images) Shane Watson and Mitchell Starc had a go at Wahab Riaz when he was batting. Not even in their dreams had the Aussies imagined what was going to follow. But at the end of the night, Watson bore the brunt of Wahab’s boil. On his third ball, Riaz got Warner. Next over he got Clarke at short leg. In walked Watson, and Riaz who was already bossing played some high octane chin music for Watson. He also taunted the Aussie all-rounder with every delivery, the crowd joined in to back the pacer. Watson ducked, arched and hopped, he has been defeated. He attempted a hook and to everyone’s amazement, Rahat dropped a dolly. In the end, Australia won while Riaz had figures of 9-0-54-2 and Watson 64(68). The scorecard does very little justice to the bowler’s fury for half an hour that had the audience into splits. Wahab Riaz in the end was acclaimed & appreciation worldwide. The legendary Brian Lara even offered to pay Wahab Riaz’ fine after the match. Tim Southee- Tim Southee of New Zealand reacts during the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup final. (Photo by Michael Dodge-IDI/IDI via Getty Images) It’s often said that on your day, even the ball asks you about the directions you want it to move. The lanky spearhead demolished the English batting lineup in one of the most ferocious spells you will ever see. He swayed Bell with a ball swinging away finding the off stump followed by Moeen Ali failing to block a yorker. He returned during the 27th over with even more outswing and got the better of Taylor and Buttler. Then he cleaned the tail and ended up getting a marvellous 7-wicket haul which also became the best figures by a Kiwi bowler in a World Cup game. New Zealand won the match quite comfortably. Trent Boult- Trent Boult of New Zealand. (Photo by Scott Barbour-IDI/IDI via Getty Images) In a tremendous low scoring affair between both hosts of the World Cup, Trent Boult stifled up the Aussie batting lineup. Though his first spell was not great, he rocked the Australian middle order during his second spell. Australia swung from 96/4 to 106/9. He ripped apart Maxwell’s stumps and got the better of Clarke and Mitch Marsh as he ruptured the rest of the batting. He ended with figures of 5 for 27 and eventually became the man of the match in what turned out to a low scoring thriller. Mitchell Starc- Mitchell Starc. (© Getty Images) In the very same low scoring humdinger, there was yet another deadly spell by Mitchell Starc. In spite of leaking 14 runs in his first over, Starc took Guptill. Later on, he bowled Ross Taylor and Eliott off successive inswingers. Starc reduced the Kiwis from 13/5 to 146/9 by taking 3 of the 4 wickets as Kiwis sank. His yorkers were so lethal that every time he bowled felt as if it would go on to hit the stumps. Though Aussies lost, it was regarded as a genius spell. What was turning out to be a no-contest game went on to become a nail biting one. He ended with figures of 6 wickets for 28. Stuart Broad- Stuart Broad. (© Getty Images) England had to win this to earn the urn, James Anderson wasn’t fit to feature and that is when Stuart Broad decided to come out of the shadow of being the complimentor and won his team the match on the back of his stupendous 8/15. On the 1st morning of the 4th Ashes Test, Broad cracked and packed the Aussies for 60 in the first innings. The visitors never really recovered from the sting of his spell and conceded the match and series to England by 78 runs. 4. The teary-eyed semi-final: (© Getty Images) If there was one match this year that saw all emotions- joy, grief, smiles, tears, roars of ecstasy and anguish, it was the first semifinal of the World Cup. This was supposed to be the apex match for New Zealand and South Africa as both teams had never progressed beyond semis in their World Cup history. For the Proteas, Faf du Plessis laid the foundation with an elegant 83 well supported by AB de Villiers 65 (45) and David Miller 49(18). The target was revised to 298 runs from 43 overs. Like the Kiwis team, the crowd was stunned by the Proteas’ late charge. McCullum began with a blast and gave NZ a ravish start. He slammed Steyn for 25 runs in an over as the Kiwis raced their way to 71/0 in 5. Once McCullum got out, NZ lost a flurry of wickets at regular intervals before Grant Elliott and Corey Anderson took charge. In the end, Elliott showed nerves of steel as he smashed Steyn for a six when his team needed 5 off 2 balls. The crowd erupted into joy while the South African players were onto the ground left in tears. The Kiwis ended the jinx and reached their first finals after being six-time semifinalists. 5. Australia’s 5th World Cup title: Australia team celebration after winning their 5th World cup title. (© Getty Images) The World Cup 2015 was a sumptuous affair and in the end, Michael Clarke’s men were up against the Black Caps at the MCG. In what turned out to be a low-scoring final, Australia had their hands on the glorious trophy, yet again. The Aussie pacers Johnson, Starc and Faulkner bowled full, fast and straight to deliver Australia a 7-wicket win and their fifth World Cup in a comprehensive fashion. Smith went on to hit the winning stroke through deep square leg for a boundary. As the stadium rose in jubilant mode, there were hugs, tears, happiness all around the MCG as the men in yellow streamed out engulfing Smith. It also provided a joyous end to an emotional Australian summer as Philip Hughes lost his life after being struck by a bouncer. The Australian players wore black armbands during the game in his honour. Michael Clarke dedicated the World Cup win in reference to Philip Hughes as he quoted with perfection, “I’m sure everybody on this stage will say we played this World Cup with 16 players” 6. Evolution of Bangladesh: Bangladesh. (© MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP/Getty Images) 2015 will also be remembered for Bangladesh’s resurgence in international cricket. The tigers began the World Cup as minnows with not much expected from them. Mahmudullah and Rubel then displayed all their skills to eliminate England from the World Cup, as Bangladesh reached quarterfinals for the first time. Inspite of losing it, the Bangladeshi team came home heroes, with public receptions, gifts, etc. It was a momentous occasion for them. But there was more to follow. The hosts whitewashed a new look Pakistani team 3 nil and also defeated both India and South Africa 2-1. They also created history by qualifying for the Champions Trophy in 2017 ahead of the Windies. New heroes like Mustafizur Rahman and Soumya Sarkar emerged as champions for the Bangla Tigers. 7. England recapture the Urn: England. (© Getty Images) After a forgettable and nightmarish Ashes for England in December 2013, the Englishmen took on the Poms for another Ashes series, this time at home. England managed to win the series by the end of the 4th Test with an unassailable lead of 3-1. They were the underdogs at the beginning of the series but managed to grab the urn back from the Aussies. Joe Root led the batting charge for England by scoring 460 runs in the series followed by Cook and Moeen Ali. But it was the bowling that played an integral role for England in regaining the Ashes. Broad and Finn led the bowling resurgence. The players also did a lap of honour after the final Test which they eventually lost. 8. R Ashwin the No. 1 Test bowler and all-rounder: (Photo Source: Associated Press) There are players who win you matches at their helm, and then there is Ravichandran Ashwin who does it in style and more consistently than anyone else. In the Test series against Sri Lanka, he took 21 wickets at an average of 18 which included two 5fers and a 10-wicket haul. Unsurprisingly, he was declared the man of the series as India won their first Test series in Sri Lanka in 22 years. Just 2 months later, Ashwin picked 31 wickets with 4 fifers and a 10-wicket haul in India’s 3-0 triumph over South Africa at home. No wonder he ended up as the Man of the series again and won it for a record fifth time by any Indian. His ability to take wickets was commendable. In both the series, he tried out different and new variations and the results were amazing. Ashwin ended the year at an all-time high being the number 1 ranked Test bowler and all-rounder. 9. Day-night Test match: A general view of play during the first sunset of a day/night Test. (Photo by Daniel Kalisz – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images) The first ever day-night Test at Adelaide between Australia and New Zealand was overwhelmingly successful. The red ball was replaced by the pink ball and the experiment of playing Test cricket under floodlights was loved by the spectators. A crowd of 47,000 people turned out at Adelaide Oval on day one. Australia at the end won by 3 wickets which seemed nerve-wracking in the end. In a format which is losing interest among the viewers and raising questions about its future, this was a roaring success. Even the television ratings worldwide were phenomenal as it attained global focus. Innovation is always a welcome sight in any field and we might just see more of day-night Test cricket over the coming years. 10. India end South Africa’s 9-year streak: India. (Photo Source: BCCI) Competing against the No.1 Test side in the world, India under captain Kohli drubbed the Proteas 3-0. It was a special series from the Indian point of view as their opposition was a tough Proteas side and probably Kohli’s biggest assignment as a skipper. In this process, they also ended South Africa’s unbeaten overseas run since 2006. The Indian spinners, particularly Ashwin and Jadeja spun a web around the South African batsmen who seemed clueless on tracks that assisted spin. The Indian spinners accounted for 61 out of the 70 South African wickets that fell throughout the series. India were rewarded as they jumped to the second spot in the ICC Test rankings. The highlights of the series was Ashwin’s bowling throughout the series and Rahane’s twin tons at Kotla. Written by Hitman Cricket

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