2021 was definitely a fresh breath of air after a long pause of everything due to the pandemic. This year witnessed some of the most remarkable and path-breaking performances of different cricketers. Starting from the World Test Championship to 2 legs of IPL to the T20 World Cup, 2021 had a lot in store for the cricket fanatics. It is extremely confusing to choose the 5 best cricketing moments of this year, but here is our take on the 5 best cricketing moments of 2021.
1. India's win against Australia
2021 started with a great note for the Indian cricket team and the Indian cricket fans. The Indian test team defeated the Australian team with remarkable performances. First, it started with stunning performances by Ravichandran Ashwin and Hanuma Vihari in the test held in Sydney. Next in Gabba, Shubman Gill and especially Rishabh Pant stole the show and registered the historical triumph by chasing 328 runs.
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2. New Zealand Test Team
The first-ever final of the World Test Championship took place in 2021. New Zealand defeated India and created history to become the first-ever team to win the series. Also, New Zealand made another record this year. The Kiwi bowler Ajaz Patel became the third bowler in history to scalp 10 wickets in one Test innings.
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3. T20 World Cup
The 2021 T20 World Cup will remain memorable forever for a few cricketers. Starting off with Shaheen Afridi's opening spell against India in the tournament. He single-handedly broke the strongest Indian batting lineup of Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Virat Kohli. He took the wickets of the Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul in the first over itself. And with great team performance and stunning effort, Pakistan registered their first-ever victory against India in the T20 World Cup.
Another Pakistani cricketer who made this year memorable for him is Mohammad Rizwan. He became the first-ever batter to aggregate 2000 T20I runs in a calendar year. The next thing to remember from this tournament is the title won by Australia. Aaron Finch and his men finally added the missing piece of the T20 World Cup trophy to the Australian Trophy showcase. The Australian team won their made in T20 World Cup this year after they defeated New Zealand in the final by 8 wickets.
4. Kieron Pollard's 6 sixes
Kieron Pollard became the 3rd cricketer to smash 6 sixes in an over in international cricket. He joined the elite list of Yuvraj Singh and Harshal Gibbs and hit 6 sixes this year in a T20I match against Sri Lanka. The first shot was slogged over long-on, the second one was lofted on the ground, the third one was over wide long-off, the fourth six went above the bowler's head and the last was over the deep mid-wicket.
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5. Scott Boland's 6 for 7 in the Ashes
Scott Boland made his test debut with the Ashes tournament. In the 1st match at the MCG, he made bowling figures of 6 for 7 from only 4 overs in the second innings. The Australian pacer picked up the wickets of Haseeb Hameed, Jack Leach on Day 2. He went ahead in the next days by picking up the wickets of Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Mark Wood, and Ollie Robinson as well. He helped the Australian team to win the test match by an innings and 14 runs. After his last ODI in 2016, he made a grand comeback in international cricket. His debut match was nothing but an iconic performance.