All types of cricketing activities were fully resumed at the start of the year 2021 even with the growing threat of covid-19. Cricket control bodies around the world have agreed to follow health guidelines to reduce the risk of the outbreak. Therefore, the bulk of cricket matches were staged behind closed doors in the first half of the year, with only a few spectators permitted in the second half. The T20 World Cup was clouded in confusion, yet the huge event went on as scheduled. Let’s have a look at the top 10 international cricket events from the year 2021.
2021’s Most Notable Cricket Events
There were some noteworthy cricket moments in the year 2021. As a result, selecting the top ten was difficult. Here are the top ten most notable international cricket incidents in 2021.
10) West Indies frustrate Bangladesh in the Test Series
A relatively less-strength West Indian team played a two-match Test series against Bangladesh in February, which was part of the ICC Test Championship. The anticipation was that Bangladesh will win the series against the West Indies to open their account in the Test Championship points table. Despite deploying a full-strength lineup, Bangladesh’s terrible run of form in the longer-version continued. The West Indies went on to win both Tests and completed a clean sweep against Bangladesh. Bangladesh were disappointed with the result, especially after winning the ODI series 3-0 against the Caribbean team.
9) Bangladesh’s T20I home series win against New Zealand
Bangladesh were favourite to win the Twenty20 series against New Zealand in September, owing to their excellent recent home record against the Kiwis. Furthermore, the Bangladeshi team came into the match with a lot of confidence, especially after winning a bilateral series against Australia a month ago. Bangladesh defeated New Zealand 3-2 in the T20I series.
8) South Africa fail to seal an ODI series against Ireland
The South African national team visited Ireland for a limited-overs series in July. The weather and wicket were quite similar to those in South Africa, and the Proteas team was confident of winning the three-match ODI series. However, the host Irish team astonished the visitors by winning the second match with 43 runs. However, as the first game was washed out, South Africa managed to win the third match and level the series at 1-1.
7) Joe Root is on the verge of breaking a record
English captain Joe Root has a good chance of breaking a record before the end of the year 2021. This year, Root has 1,544 runs in 25 innings and needs 245 runs to beat Mohammad Yusuf’s record of 1,788 runs in a single year. There will be two more matches between Australia and England this year. With his present form, Root has a good chance of breaking the record for most runs scored in a calendar year. If he succeeds, it will be one of the most significant moments of the year 2021.
6) Mohammad Rizwan Shocks the Cricket World
The wicket-keeper batsman of Pakistan, Mohammad Rizwan had a fantastic year with the bat in 2021. Along with captain Babar Azam, Rizwan opens the innings for Pakistan in the T20 format. He was sensational in both the T20 World Cup and bilateral series, becoming the first batter to score over 1,000 T20I runs in a calendar year. Mohammad Rizwan scored 1,326 runs in 26 innings.
5) India Frustrate host Australia
India defeated Australia 2-1 in the four-match Test series, despite the absence of their flamboyant captain Virat Kohli, who was unable to play due to family obligations. In the absence of Virat Kohli, the Ajinkya Rahane-led Indian team defeated Australia in the second and fourth matches to ensure a historic series victory.
4) The BCCI Relieves Virat Kohli from White-Ball Captaincy
Virat Kohli announced that he would step down as captain of the T20 format after the T20 World Cup 2021. The most startling development was the BCCI’s announcement that Virat Kohli will no longer captain Indian white-ball teams. Virat told the media that he wanted to stay on as skipper, but that he would accept the BCCI’s decision.
3) Bangladesh’s Historic T20I Series Win against Australia
Bangladesh had never beaten Australia in T20 format prior to the 5-match home series in August. A lot of prominent Australian players were absent from the series, and most of them had never played on the sluggish ground like Mirpur before. Bangladesh took full advantage of the situation and thrashed Australia 4-1 in the series. The result of the series astounded the cricketing world.
2) New Zealand’s Inaugural ICC Test Championship Victory
New Zealand and India faced off in the first Test Championship final in June. The Southampton cricket stadium in England hosted the Championship match. New Zealand were favorites because the conditions were stacked in their favor. New Zealand went on to win the first ICC Test Championship with an 8-wicket victory over India in the final.
1) Australia’s Maiden T20 World Cup Victory
Before the main event of the ICC T20 World 2021, the Australian team was not considered a favorite. However, they played well once the competition began and lost a match against England. Australia ended second in the Group A points standings.
They faced Pakistan in the semi-final and won by 5 wickets. Australia were the more dominant team in the final, defeating New Zealand by 8 wickets to win their first T20 World Cup trophy. The win of Australia in the Twenty20 World Cup final was one of the most remarkable events of the year 2021.
Aftermath
The ICC T20 World Cup 2021 was the most important event in international cricket in 2021. Many analysts predicted Asian countries would win the tournament, but Australia stunned everyone with their consistency and won the Twenty20 World Cup by defeating New Zealand in the final. The win of New Zealand in the ICC Test Championship final and the dismissal of Virat Kohli as India’s white-ball captain were two of the most talked-about cricket topics of 2021. Though, the biggest success for the ICC and cricket boards around the world was playing international cricket in the midst of the covid-19 outbreak.
Source: United News of Bangladesh