The gentlemen's game cricket has witnessed innumerable records and cherishes memorable moments in the 140+ years of its international history. Many tournaments were held, many records were set and broken, and many controversies surrounding the Cricket World since the first official international match between Australia and England in Melbourne in 1877. There have been certain memorable moments for every cricket fan among all of these.
It's tough to pick only 10 of the most memorable moments in cricket history. But here is the list of some of the most well-known moments:-
10. Yuvraj Singh’s Six Sixes
Nearly 15 years ago, India’s former star batsman, Yuvraj Singh, hammered six sixes in an over of Stuart Broad! On September 19, 2007, in the first ICC T20 World Cup against England, Yuvraj involved in a heated argument with the English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff. He became enraged and responded by smashing six sixes in a single over. He made his half-century in just 12 balls, the fastest in T20I history!
9. Bradman’s Historic Triple Century
Don Bradman, arguably the most outstanding Australian cricketer, engraved his mark in history on July 11, 1930, when he ruthlessly smashed 309* off 420 balls in a single day! Bradman created a record by scoring 334 runs in the first innings of the third Test against England at Leeds, with 309 runs coming on the first day, making him the only Batsman ever to score a triple century on a single day.
8. First T20 World Cup Winners
India dominated the inaugural edition of the T20I World Cup and won the championship and giving a kick-start to the T20 format of cricket. The young team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni worked hard and won the World Cup. On September 24, 2007, India defeated Pakistan by five runs in a thrilling match to win the T20 World Cup for the very first time.
7. A Tribute To The Black Lives Matter Movement
On July 8, 2020, it was in Southampton for the first Test of the West Indies tour of England that cricket was united again. To pay their tribute to the Black Lives Matter Movement, the West Indian players and the opening pair of England took their knee on the field for 20 seconds before commencing the game. The players and staff not present on the ground made the gesture outside the boundary. The West Indies team also hung a “Black Lives Matter” banner in front of their dressing room.
6. Retirement Of The God Of Cricket
On November 16, 2013, after the second Test match of the West Indies Tour of India in Mumbai, India's Greatest Batsman bid farewell to his incredible illustrious 24 year career. In his last match, the Master Blaster scored a decent 73 runs. During his goodbye speech, he had everyone in tears. He still holds numerous records, including the most runs in a career (34,357), the most number of hundreds in a Test career (51), the most Player-of-the-Series awards (20), and many others.
5. Sandpaper-Gate Scandal
On March 24, 2018, one of cricket's most horrible scandals in recent years occurred. During the third Test match against South Africa in Cape Town, Australian cricketer Cameron Bancroft was seen on camera trying to rough up one side of the ball with sandpaper to make it swing more. As a result, the captain, Steve Smith, and the vice-captain, David Warner, were banned from domestic and international cricket for a year as they were also found guilty. Cameron was suspended for nine months.
4. The Originators Win The World Cup
England finally won their first-ever World Cup on July 14, 2019, at Lord's! Even though England had qualified for three World Cup Finals, they have always lost. In one of the most dramatic ICC World Cup Finals, England tied New Zealand. Both the teams scored 241 runs, leading to a Super Over, ending in a tie! England triumphed with 26 boundaries against New Zealand's 17 thanks to the boundary count-back rule. This rule was used for the first time in an ODI final!
3. The First Floodlit Test Match
Floodlit cricket, sometimes known as Day-Night Cricket, is popular in T20 and One-Day International Cricket. It was first used in Test cricket on November 27, 2015, the first anniversary of Phillip Hughes' tragic death. It happened during Australia's Third Test Match against New Zealand in Adelaide. In addition to DRS, colored Cricket kits, Hot Spot, and Snickometer Technologies, Australia is famous for introducing changes to the Cricketing World.
2. The End Of Gabba Streak
Australia's winning streak at the Gabba, Brisbane, ended on January 19, 2021. After scoring 36 with all wickets down in the Infamous first Test match, the Indian Cricket Team went on to win the second and tie the third. Some top players were ruled out of the series due to injuries. Consequently, India was left with a young squad led by stand-in-captain Ajinkya Rahane. On the fifth day, the youngsters Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant and Veteran Cheteshwar Pujara contributed the most to the achievement of the target of 328 runs. It was undoubtedly India's most famous Test victory!
1. The Birth Of The Ashes
The word "Ashes" came into the cricketing world following England's devastating loss to Australia on August 29, 1882. This was when the British newspaper "Sporting Times" issued a criticizing obituary of English Cricket. It suggested that the body of English cricket would be cremated, and the ‘Ashes’ would be sent to Australia. After only a few months, England went on a tour of Australia. This tour was led by Ivo Bligh, who vowed to bring "the ashes" back. Since then, the two opponents have faced off every two years in one of cricket's most great prestigious series, "The Ashes."
