Not just the year, but the decade (2010-2019) is coming to an end. The decade was not only full of records, but also some despicable moments in the cricketing world. The decade 2010-2019 saw 3 World Cups, 4 World t20s, 2 Champions Trophy, and the first even Test Championship also took off this decade.
It is never easy to funnel down the top moments in cricket of a year let alone a decade, with so many records being made and broken, so many teams playing huge number of games each year, however, we have trimmed down the list to Top 10 Moments in Cricket Of The Decade. These are some of the most unforgettable moments that have been witnessed in all of cricketing world.
10. The Inventors win the World Cup
14th July 2019: Probably the greatest match in the history of not just ODIs but cricket as a whole. This was the time when in the World Cup Final, the match had tied and the winners were to be decided by Super Over, which also ended up on a tie. England won the match by the boundary rule, as they smashed more boundaries than New Zealand.
England finally won their first World Cup, even though they are the inventers of the game, they had never won the World Cup since its inception, and what a way to win the World Cup. Also, England is now the second in the world to have won the World Cup while hosting the Tournament, 1st was India back in 2011. England lost their last 3 World Cups and in 2015’s edition they exited the tournament in the early stages.
9. The Sandpaper Ball Tampering
24th March 2018: This date is marked as the most disgraceful in the recent time in cricketing world, the game’s reputation has already been hampered with all the Match-Fixing allegations but then on the third day of the third test match, post lunch, Steve Smith, Cameron Bancroft, and David Warner were found tampering with the ball with Sandpaper (which is used to maintain the bat) in Cape Town.
Steve Smith (Captain) also acknowledge that he knew in advance that there were plans of using the sandpaper to condition the ball. Even the vice-captain, David Warner, accepted his punishment given by ICC. Later, the Australian Cricket Board put a ban of 1 year on all of the three players from International Cricket matches.
8. Pakistan’s Champions Trophy
18th June 2017: Pakistan was the last team to qualify for the Champions Trophy in 2017, and the same team managed to reach the finals at Lord’s Cricket Ground, London. An India-Pakistan match is the most anticipated game in the cricketing world, so much so the England vs Australia pales in comparison, and when they clash against each other in the Finals, there’s nothing like it.
7. The Records of Team in Maroon
3rd April 2016: India hosted the T20I World Cup in 2016, and just like West Indies became the first team to win ODI World Cup twice (1975 and 79), in 2016 it also became the first team to win 2 T20I World Cups. Braithwaite hit 4 sixes one after the other in the last over to clinch the win against England at Eden Gardens.
It was a great year for the Caribbean side as it not on won the Men T20 World Cup but also the Women. In addition, West Indies also won the U-19 World Cup.
6. The First Day-Night Test
27th November 2015: on the 1st death anniversary of Phillip Hughes, the first Day-Night Test match was played at the Adelaide Oval between New Zealand and Australia. Australians are not only known for dominating the cricketing world but also coming up with new changes and ideas to Cricket
5. A Player Lost
25th – 27th November 2014: The whole cricket universe came together during these three days. On the 25th of November 2014, Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes was hit by a bouncer as he was playing a domestic game, and following this was air lifted to a hospital. Not just fans of cricket, but other sports as well prayed for his speedy recovery however, on the 27th of the same month, Hughes succumbed to his injury.
4. God of Cricket Retires
16th November 2013: This is the day that made the whole cricketing world weep in tears, this was the last day of Sachin Tendulkar’s vast and huge career, he played in Mumbai and scored reputable 74 runs on the scorecard.
His farewell speech not only brought him and his family in tears but to everyone’s eyes who was listing and watching him on his last day, knowing, now there will be no longer a hope in Indian fans that do not worry, Tendulkar is still on the crease or he is yet to come out and bat. At the time retired, he held and still holds the record of most number of Test, ODIs, Hundreds, Half-centuries, Runs, and many many more record.
3. England’s Win In India
November/December of 2012: Arguably the best Test series win in an away series in this decade. England finally defeated India in a Test series after close to 30 years. This is the only 2nd series defeat that India took, the second one came in 2019 when India lost against Australia, however this still remains the only Test series India has lost in India in 2019 whereas other teams have al teast lost 2 series in their home.
2. Dhoni Finishes Off In Style
2nd April 2011: Winning the World Cup is not easy feat. And India won its 2nd World Cup on 2nd April 2011 and by doing so, became the first team who won a World Cup while hosting the tournament. The “Player of the Tournament”, Yuvraj Singh gave his all in the tournament even as he was struggling with Cancer.
1. First ODI Double Century
24th February 2010: Gwalior and the world saw history in the making. Sachin Tendulkar did not only become the first Indian but also the first ever batsman to score double hundred in ODI (One Day International). Sachin Tendulkar scored 200* in the last over of the innings against South Africa in a bilateral series.
He wasn’t the first cricketer to score double hundred though, as an honorary mention, Belinda Clark of Australia, was the first cricketer and the first batswoman to score a double century in 1997.