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.
Read Achievements of Bangladesh in sports in 50 years since independence
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.
Read Top 10 Most Memorable Football Moments of 2021
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.
Read Sports Year in Review: A Flashback of the Major Events in 2021
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.
