In a year where teams donning the yellow jersey dominated, cricket in 2023 saw many records tumble in terms of viewership, team, and individual achievements.
After completely breaking free from the chains of COVID-19, it was business as usual. Fans were welcomed back, and the ICC mega-events stole the headlines.
JANUARY
India wins women’s U19 T20 World Cup (January 14)
India became the first ever women’s U19 T20 World Cup champion, comprehensively beating England by seven wickets in the final. It was an all-round performance by the Women in Blue, with Soumya Tiwari top scoring with an unbeaten 24, and Titas Sadhu chipping in with figures of 2 for 6.
Shubman Gill becomes 6th Indian to score ODI double century (January 18)
Shubman Gill celebrates after scoring a double-century during the first ODI between India and New Zealand at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. | Photo Credit: NAGARA GOPAL / The Hindu
In a match against the touring Kiwis that also saw the youngster from Punjab become the fastest Indian to 1000 ODI runs, the 24-year-old smashed a 149-ball 208, joining an elite list comprising legends Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar.
FEBRUARY
Saurashtra wins Ranji Trophy (February 16)
Saurashtra defeated Bengal by nine wickets to clinch its second Ranji Trophy 2022-23 title at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Awesome Aussies clinch Women’s T20 World Cup (February 26)
Australia clinches T20 World Cup 2023. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
The victory was their sixth overall, and they have completed a ‘three-peat’ under the captaincy of Meg Lanning, winning in 2018, 2020, and now 2023. Beth Mooney top scored with 74*, and the 156-run target proved to be too much for the Proteas, who fell short by 20 runs.
MARCH
India comes out on top in Border-Gavaskar Trophy clash (March 13)
Pat Cummins and Co. came into the series with redemption on the back of their minds after losing against India in their own backyard. However, the Indian team, which is a different beast at home on spinning tracks, proved to be one challenge too many as it sealed the series 2-1 and retained the trophy. Australia did leave with some consolation, though, as it won the ODI series that followed.
Mumbai Indians wins inaugural WPL (March 26)
Mumbai Indians wins WPL 2023. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI/ The Hindu
The Mumbai Indians-led Harmanpreet Kaur defeated the Delhi Capitals by seven wickets in the final. It was a historic victory for the home side, which etched its name in history books as the first champion of the Women’s Premier League.
APRIL
Rinku’s High Five performance (April 09)
With KKR needing 28 runs to win off the last five balls, Rinku smashed GT pacer Yash Dayal for five sixes to take the Knight Riders home.
MAY
Yashasvi Jaiswal breaks IPL record for fastest fifty (May 11)
The Rajasthan Royals opener smashed a 13-ball fifty against Kolkata Knight Riders, breaking the previous record held by KL Rahul (14 balls).
Kohli-Gambhir-Naveen spat (May 1)
The incident took place when RCB faced LSG at the latter’s home ground in Lucknow. A fired-up Virat Kohli was not something the LSG fans and the team appreciated, which led to an altercation between Kohli and Lucknow pacer Naveen-ul-Haq. The scenes continued post-game too. Naveen and Kohli did not hold themselves back, and this prompted then-LSG mentor Gautam Gambhir to get involved.
Shabnim Ismail retires from international cricket (May 03)
Wanting to spend more time with her family, the South African pacer, who is considered to be the quickest in the game, drew curtains on her 16-year international career. Ismail’s 191 ODI wickets are the second-most in the women’s game, behind Jhulan Goswami, while her 123 T20I wickets are the fourth-biggest career haul for any bowler.
CSK wins record-equalling fifth IPL title (May 29)
Chennai Super Kings team celebrates after winning the IPL 2023. | Photo Credit: VIJAY SONEJI / The Hindu
In the IPL final between Chennai Super Kings and Gujarat Titans, the match was predominantly in favour of Gujarat Titans, largely due to Sai Sudharshan’s 96. Despite facing a challenging target of 215, Devon Conway’s quick 47 runs off 29 balls and Ravindra Jadeja’s impressive last-over performance, scoring 10 runs off the final two balls, led the Chennai Super Kings to victory.
JUNE
Australia wins World Test Championship final (June 11)
Pat Cummins of Australia lifts the ICC World Test Championship Mace. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Australia convincingly defeated India by 209 runs in the final at the Oval. Centuries from Travis Head and Steve Smith established a strong foundation for the Aussies. This marked India’s second consecutive loss in a WTC final, having been defeated by New Zealand in the previous one.
JULY
Jonny Bairstow’s run out incident (July 02)
The England wicket-keeper was dismissed by Alex Carey in the first session on day five of the Lord’s Test when he was found wandering outside the crease after leaving a delivery. Bairstow left the final ball of Cameron Green’s over alone and started walking outside the crease assuming the ball was dead. However, an alert Carey effected a direct-hit at the striker’s end to catch Bairstow well short of his ground, leaving the batter fuming. The MCC law states that the ball shall be considered to be dead when it is clear to the bowler’s end umpire that the fielding side and both batters at the wicket have ceased to regard it as in play. In this case, the Aussies still considered the ball to be in play.
SL and Ned qualify for World Cup, WI and Zim fail to make the cut (July 09)
It is often said that everybody’s second favourite team is West Indies. But sadly, it’s high popularity could not translate into high level performances, as the team failed to make the cut for the ODI World Cup for the first time since 1975. Zimbabwe could not use home conditions to its advantage as it failed to make it to the final 10 for the second successive time. Sri Lanka and Netherlands were the two teams that made it through.
Stuart Broad announces retirement (July 30)
Stuart Broad announced his retirement during the Ashes series. | Photo Credit: AP
In a move that nobody saw coming, legendary England bowler Stuart Broad announced his retirement from international cricket following the conclusion of the Ashes. His career highlights include his spell of 8 for 15 against Australia, and becoming only the second fast bowler in history to take 600 Test wickets.
India tour of West Indies (July 12)
The visitors sealed the Test and ODI series 1-0 and 2-1, respectively, while the home side clinched the T20I series 3-2.
Harmanpreet’s outburst (July 24)
Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur was handed a two-match ban by the ICC for losing her temper in an ODI game against Bangladesh over a dismissal. The 34-year-old smashed her stumps in disgust, and her verbal exchanges with the umpire and on-field behaviour further resulted in her being fined 25 percent of her match fee.
Ashes 2023 ends in 2-2 stalemate; Australia retains urn (July 31)
Australia retained the Ashes trophy. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
Australia’s quest for an Ashes victory in England since 2005 could not be achieved. However, Pat Cummins and Co. managed to retain the Ashes after playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw against an attacking English side led by Ben Stokes. The cricket’s age-old rivalry lived up to its expectations, once again. While the Aussies won the first two games, the Three Lions overturned the deficit by winning the next two games. Usman Khawaja and Mitchell Starc topped the charts, with 496 runs and 23 wickets, respectively.
AUGUST
Viacom18 bags TV, digital rights for India’s home matches in 2023-2028 cycle (August 31)
The digital rights were sold for approximately Rs 3100 crore, whereas the estimated price for the television rights has been Rs 2860 crore, which means Viacom18 will shell out a total of Rs 5960 crore - about Rs 67.7 crore per game.
SEPTEMBER
Senanayake arrested on charges of match fixing (September 06)
Former Sri Lanka off-spinner Sachithra Senanayake was arrested as he was alleged to have attempted to convince players to fix in the 2020 Lanka Premier League. Although he was not himself a player in this tournament, the 38-year-old was alleged to have contacted more than one player taking part in the LPL. He was later granted bail on September 25 by the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s court.
India wins Asia Cup for the eighth time (September 17)
India clinches the Asia Cup 2023 title. | Photo Credit: AP
The 2023 edition was held in the ODI format, with the World Cup in mind. A fairly competitive group stage paved the way for an India versus Sri Lanka final. Unfortunately, the final was hardly a contest as Mohammed Siraj’s fiery spell of 6 for 21 skittled out the Sri Lankans for 50. India coasted to victory with 10 wickets in hand, winning an eighth Asia Cup title, the perfect build up to the World Cup.
OCTOBER
Ravindra becomes youngest Kiwi batter to score World Cup ton (October 05)
At 23 years and 301 days, Rachin Ravindra achieved the milestone in the opening game of the World Cup against England. The man who has roots in Bangalore came as an out-of-syllabus factor for the defending champion.
SA posts highest World Cup total (October 07)
Centuries from Quinton de Kock, Rassie van der Dussen, and Aiden Markram propelled the Proteas to a mammoth score of 428, which is the highest total posted by a team in World Cup history.
India wins gold at Asian Games (men and women) (October 07)
Indian women’s cricket team won gold medal at the Asian Games 2023. | Photo Credit: PTI
India extends unbeaten World Cup winning streak against Pakistan (October 14)
The World Cup’s most anticipated group game was a fairly one-sided one. India came out on top once against Pakistan in a World Cup game. India won the game by seven wickets, and Jasprit Bumrah was adjudged Man-of-the-Match for his figures of 2 for 19.
Afghanistan: Shedding the underdog tag (October 15)
While Afghanistan has been backed for many years now as a team capable of beating the big guns, the numbers to back that claim were missing. All that changed at the World Cup when the team beat defending champion England. Moreover, it wasn’t merely a win, but a convincing one.
IOC gives nod for cricket participation in Olympics 2028 (October 16)
Cricket in the T20 format is set to feature for the first time in the Olympics since the 1900s when the IOC (International Olympics Committee) gave its nod for a six-nation competition in Los Angeles in 2028.
The Dutch get a maiden W (October 17)
The Netherlands replicated Afghanistan’s giant-killing act at the World Cup by stunning the Proteas, unbeaten in the tournament until that game, by 38 runs.
Bishan Singh Bedi dies (October 23)
Bishan Singh Bedi. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
The legendary Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi passed away after battling ailing health.
NOVEMBER
England crashes out of World Cup (November 04)
The defending champion had a World Cup to forget, exiting in the group stage. It only managed to win three games out of nine, a below par performance from a team that was expected to make the top four at least.
Angelo Mathews becomes first batter to be timed out (November 06)
Controversy erupted during the game between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh when SL all-rounder Angelo Mathews was given ‘timed-out’. As per the ICC playing condition, a new batter is given a maximum of two minutes to get ready to face the ball. An alert Shakib al Hasan appealed for the wicket, when Matthews breached the two-minute mark. Mathews called the act a ‘disgrace’, something that was not in line with the spirit of cricket.
Punjab wins Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (November 06)
Punjab beat Baroda to win its maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. Anmolpreet Singh’s 58-ball ton propelled Punjab to a competitive target of 224, after which Arshdeep Singh’s three crucial wickets in the fag end sealed the deal.
Maxi goes Super Saiyan (November 07)
Glenn Maxwell scored a double century while chasing. | Photo Credit: EMMANUAL YOGINI/ The Hindu
A bat and one leg are all the 35-year-old needed to single handedly take Australia across the line against Afghanistan. The Aussies, chasing 291 for victory, found themselves in a precarious situation when the team was reduced to 91 for seven. But the ‘freakshow’ decided to take matters into his own hands. Riding on two dropped catches and a cramping left leg, Maxwell smashed a maiden double-century, a 128-ball 201 that some pundits consider the greatest ODI innings of all time.
ICC suspends Sri Lanka Cricket (November 10)
The Sri Lankan Cricket Board was found to be in breach of contract rules with the ICC, when the country’s Sports Ministry dismissed the board and replaced it with an interim committee following the country’s poor performance at this year’s World Cup. Sports Minister Roshan Ranasinghe called SLC “traitorous and corrupt” in a statement to parliament on November 3, saying board members should resign, and an interim committee chaired by former World Cup-winning captain Arjuna Ranatunga was formed.
King surpasses God (November 15)
India’s Virat Kohli celebrates his 50th century, breaking Sachin Tendulkar’s record for most ODI hundreds. | Photo Credit: PTI
Records are made to be broken. All records but one. At least that is what the cricketing fraternity thought of Sachin Tendulkar’s record of 49 ODI centuries for the longest time. But come 15 November, this record was broken too. Virat Kohli’s comeback after his lean patch saw him inch closer and closer to this historic landmark and the inevitable finally happened in the semifinal against New Zealand.
Australia crowned World Cup champion (November 19)
The final between India and Australia was a tale of two different stories. For India, a victory would have ended the decade-long wait for an ICC trophy, and it would have also been the perfect redemption for 2003 World Cup final defeat. For the Aussies, a World Cup victory would have rounded off a perfect year in which the team also won the World Test Championship. It was the Men from Down Under who eventually prevailed. Some tight bowling restricted the Indians to a below par total of 240, which the Australians chased with ease, thanks to Travis Head’s century. The victory saw Australia win the World Cup for a record sixth time.
Hardik Pandya traded to MI, Green goes to RCB (November 26)
In arguably the biggest trade in the history of the IPL, all-rounder Hardik Pandya switched back to his old franchise in an all-cash deal of 17.5 crore. Pandya and Gujarat had an immensely successful two seasons together, winning the title in the first and reaching the final in the second season. To clear funds for the Pandya trade, MI traded Cameron Green to RCB.
DECEMBER
Women’s IPL auction (December 09)
Kashvee Gautam became the most expensive uncapped player when she was sold to Gujarat Giants for Rs. 2 crore. Some of the other top buys included Annabel Sutherland (Rs. 2 crore to DC) and Vrinda Dinesh (Rs. 1.3 crore to UP Warriorz).
Pandya named MI captain (December 15)
MI’s transition with an eye on the future started when it named Hardik Pandya as the new captain for the 2024 season. According to reports, the 30-year old’s deal included an agreement that Pandya would be named captain.
Haryana wins maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy (December 16)
Haryana beat Rajasthan in the final to win its first ever Vijay Hazare Trophy title. After opting to bat first, Haryana put up a decent score of 287 for the loss of eight wickets. Rajasthan was bowled out for 257, thanks to Sumit Kumar and Harshal Patel’s three wicket-hauls.
Lyon joins 500 club (December 17)
Australia’s Nathan Lyon in action. | Photo Credit: AP
Spinner Nathan Lyon became only the third Australian, behind Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, to take 500 Test wickets, and the eighth man overall.
IPL auction 2024 (December 19)
IPL franchises went berserk on December 19, on a day when the record for the costliest ever buy was broken twice. SRH acquired the services of Pat Cummins for Rs. 20.50 crore, while fellow Aussie Mitchell Starc went to KKR for a whopping Rs. 24.75 crore.
India Women beats Australia Women in Test (December 21)
The undisputed Australian Test cricket team endured its first loss ever at the hands of the Indian team. The India women were comprehensive from start to finish, as they utilised home conditions effectively to register an eight-wicket win.
Tom Curran banned from four BBL games (December 21)
He was charged over an incident on 11 December before a game against Hobart Hurricanes in Launceston. In the build-up to the match, the fourth umpire - who is tasked with supervising the pitch - asked Curran not to run on the pitch. But the 28-year-old was seen practicing his bowling run-up, running towards the umpire and the pitch, despite the warning given. The incident was deemed to be “intimidation or attempted intimidation of an umpire or match referee” under the Cricket Australia code.
ICC rejects Khawaja’s bid to wear dove sticker on bat and shoes during Boxing Day Test (December 26)
Usman Khawaja in action against Pakistan. | Photo Credit: AP
The Australian opener found himself in the middle of a controversial debate when he was barred from sporting a dove sticker on his bat and shoes condemning the current situation in the Israel-Palestine war. The 37-year-old was earlier reprimanded for sporting a black armband after the global body’s rules prevented him from wearing shoes with messages of support for Gaza in the first Test against Pakistan. Khawaja had the messages “Freedom is a human right” and “All lives are equal” on his boots in the colours of the Palestinian flag during training before the opening Test of the three-match series last week, which the host won by 360 runs in Perth. Many cricketers have came out in support of Khawaja since.
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