Sport in 2019: Top 15 iconic moments in pictures

From England's maiden ICC Cricket World Cup title to Lionel Messi and Megan Rapinoe being adjudged 'The Best' at the FIFA Awards ceremony, here are the top highlights from the world of sports in 2019.

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JANUARY: For the first time ever, India was able to register a Test series victory in Australia as it defeated the Tim Paine-led side 2-1 in the four-match rubber.
JANUARY: Stadium stewards display a portrait of Argentinian forward Emilianio Sala, whose plane disappeared over the Channel Islands, before the French Ligue 1 football match between Nantes and Saint Etienne at the La Beaujoire stadium in western France. His body was later recovered.
APRIL: Tiger Woods celebrates after sinking his putt on the 18th green to win during the Augusta Masters. It was his first major tournament win in over a decade.
JUNE: Wild celebrations follow Liverpool's emphatic 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the UEFA Champions League final at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano in Madrid, Spain. It was its first top-level European title in 14 years.
JUNE: The Toronto Raptors' Kawhi Leonard holds his MVP trophy while celebrating with Drake. The rapper had been taunted for years for bringing bad luck to teams, but that seems to have changed after the Canadian team won the title.
JULY: The ICC ODI World Cup final was nothing short of a nerve-wracking thriller, where England won its maiden title with victory over New Zealand based on the boundary count-back rule, after the regulation overs and then the super over ended in ties.
JULY: The Wimbledon men's singles final went on for four hours and 57 minutes, the longest in the tournament's history and the second longest Grand Slam final behind the 2012 Australian Open final. Top seed Novak Djokovic became the first man since Bob Falkenburg in 1948 to win Wimbledon after facing championship points, having saved two when down 7−8 in the fifth set to Roger Federer.
JULY: The United States women's national soccer team celebrated its fourth FIFA Women's World Cup title at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu. It defeated the Netherlands 2-0 in the final.
AUGUST: In the third Ashes Test, England, with one wicket in hand, needed 73 runs to beat Australia. Ben Stokes sensationally scored 75 of England's final 76 runs as part of an unbeaten 135 in a match being hailed as the best in Ashes history.
AUGUST: P. V. Sindhu poses with the gold medal after defeating Japan's Nozomi Okuhara in the women's singles final of the BWF World Championships in Basel, becoming the first Indian to win the title.
AUGUST: Simone Biles hit a triple-double and clinched her sixth United States Gymnastics Championships all-around title.
SEPTEMBER: Lionel Messi and Megan Rapinoe were adjudged 'The Best' at the FIFA Awards ceremony in Milan.
SEPTEMBER: Then an unseeded 18-year-old, Bianca Andreescu won the BNP Paribas Open in March. After missing most of the summer to injury, she topped off her year with a win over Serena Williams in the US Open final. She also became the first Canadian to win a Grand Slam singles title.
NOVEMBER: South Africa's Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Cup following his team's sensational victory against England in the Rugby World Cup final at the International Stadium in Yokohama.
NOVEMBER: Lewis Hamilton successfully defended his Formula One World Drivers' Championship for his sixth title overall at the United States Grand Prix. He moved ahead of the great Juan-Manuel Fangio and is now one behind Michael Schumacher's seven.