This year cricket had its own thrilling and memorable moments both on and off the field. In fact, some off-field action created more news than the on-field exploits. In such a scenario it won’t look out of place to relive the riveting happenings in the world of cricket.
Paine Pestering Ashwin In Sydney
Image Credits: Times of India
With the four-match India-Australia series tied 1-1 and the third Test threatening to slip away from India’s grip, the team was battling hard to save the match through an injured pair of Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari. While the duo was in the rescue act, the Australian wicketkeeper-cum captain Tim Paine kept taunting Ashwin with “ Can’t wait to get you to Gabba” jibe constantly as part of the mental disintegration strategy of Oz. However, India not only drew the match but also went on to win the Gabba decider, riding on the pyrotechnics of Rishabh Pant to claim the series 2-1. So, Paine’s shameless taunt in the end only proved embarrassing for him as well as his team.
From ICU To The Ground In No Time
Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammed Rizwan got admitted to a hospital’s ICU due to severe chest pain just two days prior to the crucial encounter with Australia in the T-20 World Cup. However, he did not recover fully, but played the important game and scored a 67 off 52 balls and took a brilliant catch to dismiss the dangerous David Warner. Though Pakistan lost the match, Rizwan’s resilience in the face of relentless adversity won several hearts. This moment would remain etched in the minds of cricket fans for years to come.
Pant’s Audacity Against Pacers
There is nothing unusual about reverse sweeping a spinner but executing the shot against a pacer, James Anderson, is akin to taking on a lion inside its end. This happened in the last Test of the four-match series, where India played hosted to England. However, the reverse sweep rattled not only Anderson but everyone who witnessed the audacious act and for this reason, it has to be the shot of this year. Also, it seems that he has made this a habit as he played one more reverse sweep in a T-20 game against Jofra Archer. So, it is time to raise a toast to Pant’s bravado.
Controversy Surrounding Kohli’s ODI Captaincy
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Virat Kohli was India’s captain across all the formats since 2017. When he chose to quit T-20 captaincy via Twitter only a few days prior to the T-20 World Cup it turned out out to be an emotional moment for everyone. But changes in the ODI format a few days later created an unnecessary controversy prior to the all-important South Africa series. In his farewell note on social media, Virat had clearly specified that he is quitting the T-20 leadership so that he can lead with more focus in other formats, ODI and Test. So, the appointment of Rohit Sharma as the new ODI captain only proved that Kohli was removed from the captaincy. The ensuing arguments by Saurav Ganguly and Kohli only added more fuel to the fire. Hope someday the real picture would come out but this episode certainly took the entire nation by storm.
