Kohli & Jaiswal sparkle, T20 World Cup, Mandhana & Sana arise: 2024 review

Cricket fans will remember 2024 for two thrilling T20 World Cups in the space of four months, the display of youthful exuberant talent from upcoming stars, and the rollback of years by older icons to end long trophy droughts for their nations.

From a young pacer offering a throwback to the glory days of West Indian fast bowling to women’s cricket claiming its rightful limelight and Afghanistan building on their reputation as world beaters – Al Jazeera picks cricket’s top 10 moments of 2024:

Injured Shamar Joseph stuns Australia with match-winning seven-for (January 28)

Australia were comfortably placed on 60-2 in pursuit of 216 against the West Indies on the third day of their second Test in Brisbane. Steve Smith and Cameron Green occupied the crease while the likes of Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins were still to come.

The West Indies, meantime, were short on bowling resources as young quick Shamar Joseph was injured by a Starc thunderbolt that struck his toes while batting. All signs pointed to a straightforward chase and a dominant 2-0 series victory for Australia.

Enter, the injured Joseph. With bandaged toes and pain-killing medicines numbing his anguish, the 24-year-old rattled the hosts within 12 ferocious overs.

His scorching pace and unplayable accuracy tore through the hosts. West Indies recorded their first Test win over Australia in more than 20 years, and the first down under in 27 years.

Joseph finished his spell with figures of 7-68 and a triumphant sprint across the stadium, with his jubilant teammates chasing him. The performance left West Indies greats Brian Lara and Carl Hooper in tears in the broadcast booths and ensured that the pacer, who made his way into the Test squad from a small island in Guyana, etched his name in cricketing history.

Yashasvi Jaiswal scores back-to-back Test double hundreds (February 15)

Yashasvi Jaiswal was 12 years old when he left his home in Suriyawan, a small town in India’s northern Uttar Pradesh state, and travelled to the country’s cricket hub Mumbai.

The youngster played at the famous Azad Maidan cricket grounds by day, sold pani puri – a street snack – to earn money in the evening, and slept in a shared tent at night – all with the hope of catching the cricket world’s eye.

Jaiswal’s break came soon and the prodigal batter sped through age-group cricket to make his India Test debut, aged 21, against the West Indies in July 2023. His first Test century (171 runs) caught the sport’s attention and although he failed to score another hundred in his next eight innings, India stuck with the promising opener.

The baby-faced batter repaid the faith when England toured India in early 2024. The visitors’ swashbuckling style of play, termed “Bazball”, threw off India, who lost the opening Test by 28 runs.

The home turned the tables in the second match as Jaiswal set the tone, hitting a sensational 209 in the first innings. Two weeks later, he shattered records in his unbeaten 236-ball-214 as India won the third Test by a staggering 434 runs – their biggest win by runs. Jaiswal’s stupendous innings was laced with a record-equalling 12 sixes and made him the first Indian batter to convert his first three Test hundreds into scores of 150-plus.

Smriti Mandhana’s RCB win in WPL to break title voodoo (March 17)

The Indian T20 franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) boast a famously loyal fan base despite never having won the Indian Premier League (IPL) title in 17 seasons and failing to qualify for the knockouts of the Women’s Premier League (WPL) in its inaugural season in 2023.

Led by one of cricket’s biggest stars and the WPL’s most expensive player from its inaugural auction, Smriti Mandhana, RCB had a horrid tournament in 2023 where both the team and captain failed to make an impact.

In 2024, RCB began with two wins before a brief stutter saw them struggling to qualify for the knockout stage. However, Australian icon Ellyse Perry’s impressive all-round performances (347 runs and seven wickets) – as well as Mandhana’s own 300 runs and calm leadership – helped them enter the final and also clinch the title in front of a packed Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.

Building on a promising first season, the 2024 edition of the WPL brought thousands of fans to the stadiums and threw the limelight on women’s cricket rarely seen outside of a World Cup.

Mandhana, twice named the women’s cricketer of the year by the International Cricket Council (ICC), admitted the title win was amongst the “top five moments” in her career.

🏆♥️ pic.twitter.com/Ve64wMBPlV

— Smriti Mandhana (@mandhana_smriti) March 18, 2024

USA shock Pakistan in Men’s T20 World Cup (June 6)

Pakistan have a reputation of losing to significantly lower-ranked teams in big tournaments. In 2024, their name was etched in arguably the biggest shock at a World Cup.

When Babar Azam’s side, runners-up in 2021, faced the United States (USA) in their opening game of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, not many would have backed the debutants – who were playing the tournament on account of being co-hosts.

A team of recently-turned-professional cricketers, banded together for their adopted homeland, stunned the 2009 champions in a tense super-over finish at a packed Grand Prairie Stadium in Dallas, Texas, the US.

USA’s squad comprised cricketers who played in India, Pakistan, West Indies, South Africa and New Zealand, and, with a calm and professional demeanour, they pulled off a stunning win.

The result sent shock waves through the cricket world and topped Al Jazeera’s list of the five biggest upsets in the history of the T20 World Cup.

Pat Cummins takes rare back-to-back T20 World Cup hat-tricks (June 22)

Defending champions Australia began the 2024 T20 World Cup with four straight wins, but came unstuck at the Super Eight stage after defeats by Afghanistan and India. The holders’ unassuming Test and one-day international captain Pat Cummins, however, sparkled and created a rare record when he bagged two back-to-back hat-tricks.

Cummins’s first T20 World Cup hat-trick was spread across two overs against Bangladesh. The 31-year-old then became the first player to record a second straight hat-trick against Afghanistan two days later.

True to his self-effacing demeanour, Cummins admitted he was unaware of the first hat-trick and was alerted to his achievement much later.

Afghanistan storm to T20 World Cup semifinals (June 24)

June 22 will always be remembered as a historic night for Afghanistan cricket as the South Asian team recorded their first win against cricketing giants Australia in the Super Eights. The comfortable 21-run victory stunned the defending champions but was a testament to Afghanistan’s growing status as a formidable limited-overs team.

As if to prove the result was not a fluke, two days later Rashid Khan’s team beat Bangladesh by eight runs and booked a spot in the semifinals for the first time in their brief cricketing history.

The feat was celebrated far and wide: From teary-eyed players on the field in the West Indies to rapturous crowds gathering for public screenings and celebrations across Afghanistan’s major cities.

Kohli sparkles as India end 13-year wait for World Cup trophy (June 29)

When Suryakumar Yadav was dismissed in the fifth over of the Men’s T20 World Cup final against South Africa, Virat Kohli was batting on 22 runs off 16 balls. Until then, Kohli had scored 75 runs in seven matches – the lowest aggregate amongst India’s top seven batters.

The cricketing icon, known for dragging his team out of difficult circumstances, went on to score 76 runs off 59 balls to double his tournament tally of runs and helped India post a target of 176.

In reply, South Africa were in cruise control with one hand on their first World Cup as they needed 26 runs from their last four overs with six wickets standing. The game turned on its head when Hardik Pandya entered the fray in the 17th over and dismantled South Africa’s dangerous lower middle order. His last-over wicket of David Miller, in particular, formed an iconic moment as Suryakumar took a spectacular running, double-take catch at long-off. With “Killer Miller” gone and 16 runs required off five balls, South African hearts were broken yet again and India sealed their second T20 title – ending a 13-year wait for another World Cup.

Kohli and India’s captain Rohit Sharma promptly announced their retirement from T20 internationals, quitting the format as champions.

Chamari Athapaththu leads Sri Lanka to Women’s Asia Cup title (July 28)

In her 15-year career, Chamari Athapaththu has swept dozens of individual awards and records, forging a path for young Sri Lankan girls and guiding her team to several firsts.

Athapaththu’s impact cannot be merely measured in numbers, but also by the elevation of her team’s stature. She boasts career statistics of 3,713 runs in ODIs and 3,371 runs in T20s. She leads her country’s run-scoring charts by a comfortable margin of nearly 1,700 runs in the 50-over format and 1857 runs in T20s.

Despite brushing shoulders with World Cup winners in global women’s T20 leagues – another first for a Sri Lankan cricketer – and winning the Women’s Big Bash League with Perth Scorchers in the 2021-22 season, Athapaththu had never won a trophy with Sri Lanka.

The 34-year-old set that record straight at a home Women’s Asia Cup 2024, with a famous victory over the favourites, seven-time champions and holders – India. In a staggering display of individual brilliance, Athapaththu scored 304 runs in five matches, including fifties in the semifinal and final.

Athapaththu admits she has contemplated stepping down from captaincy, but has met with resistance from cricket officials – a testament to her immense impact on women’s cricket in Sri Lanka.

Fatima Sana inspires Pakistan despite personal loss (October 14)

Fatima Sana made her international debut as an 17-year-old in 2019 and two years later, the fresh-faced pace bowler – who grew up playing cricket on Karachi’s streets – turned heads in 2021 by becoming the first Pakistani woman to receive an ICC award when she was named emerging cricketer of the year.

With Pakistan struggling to find a replacement for Bismah Maroof as the permanent captain, Sana’s appointment to the role ahead of the Women’s T20 World Cup was a surprise decision – even by Pakistan cricket standards.

The 23-year-old took the responsibility in her stride and led from the front, top scoring and taking two wickets in Pakistan’s opening win against Sri Lanka. Three days later, the captain was at the forefront once again, taking two crucial wickets as Pakistan attempted to restrict a strong Indian batting lineup but lost the marquee clash.

Tragedy struck the young captain after the India match, with her father’s death. Sana flew home ahead of the next match against Australia, which Pakistan lost. With her team’s destiny in the tournament hanging by a fine thread in their final group match against New Zealand, the bereaved captain returned.

While Sana wasn’t able to turn the tide for Pakistan in their final group game, the youngster warmed hearts and earned widespread praise for her grit and commitment. New Zealand captain Sophie Devine termed Sana “the future of women’s cricket”.

“For her to step onto the field was simply incredible,” Devine said after the match. “Her resilience and strength are truly inspiring.”

New Zealand win maiden Women’s T20 World Cup (October 20)

For all the incredible cricket they have played over the years and the wonderful players they have produced, New Zealand’s trophy cabinet has remained surprisingly empty.

While the women’s team won the 50-over World Cup in 2000, they have twice fallen short in the T20 World Cup. The second loss, in 2010 against Australia, was particularly painful as the White Ferns fell short by three runs. The then-19-year-old Sophie Devine nearly got her team over the line as she drove the ball back to Ellyse Perry on the last ball of the final with five runs required. The Australian all-rounder stuck her boot out, stopped the ball from reaching the boundary and broke Kiwi hearts.

Fourteen years later, Devine and fellow veteran Suzie Bates were on the other side of the result as the self-titled “grandmas of cricket” led New Zealand to glory in the final against South Africa.

The two elder stateswomen were locked in an emotional embrace when the win was sealed and Devine admitted it was a poignant moment.

“That’s 17, 18 years of joy and heartbreak and happiness shared in that moment.”

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