Top 10 Cricketing moments of 2015

4. The teary-eyed semi-final:

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.