10 most outrageous things in cricket in 2014

Cricket has often been dubbed as ‘the game of glorious uncertainties’. Often it leaves the spectators spellbound with what transpires on the field. With the advent of T20 cricket in recent times, the game has witnessed a revolution of sorts. The way the game is played has changed significantly across all formats. The nature of the game too has become very unpredictable with lesser known opponents stunning the favorites on a regular basis. 2014 was no different as it was a year full of moments that left the fans shellshocked. It is moments like these that take the excitement of the game to a whole new level. Let’s take a look at 10 such moments across international cricket and various leagues, which were outrageous to say the least:

#10 Stuart Binny\'s spell of 6/4 vs Bangladesh

Never mind an outrageous moment, this was an altogether outrageous match. In a little more than 40 overs, 20 wickets tumbled as the bowlers had a fun time tormenting the batsmen. In what was an inconsequential series, a second-string Indian team took on their subcontinental neighbours. However, owing to the absolutely crazy turn of events that transpired on the field in this game, the fans sat up and took note of this series.

Mushfiqur Rahim, the Bangladesh skipper, won the toss and asked the Indians to bat, in what looked liked conditions ideal for bowling. The Bangladeshi bowlers, especially debutant Taskin Ahmed, made the most of the conditions as the visitors were skittled out for a paltry score of 105 runs in just 25.3 overs. Given that the Indian bowling was short of experience, it was expected that Bangladesh would easily win this game.

However, the Bangladeshi batsmen were rattled by Mohit Sharma’s accurate spell at the beginning of the innings. At 44/2 after 11.3 overs, it seemed as if the hosts had weathered the storm and were on course for a famous win. Stuart Binny, though, would have none of this as he bowled a dream spell, leading to Bangladesh losing their last eight wickets for a mere 14 runs. In the end, the 30-year-old all-rounder finished with figures of 6 for 4, the best by an Indian bowler in ODI cricket history.

#9 Mumbai Indian chase 190 in 14.4 overs

Having lost all of their games in the UAE leg of the IPL, the defending champions, Mumbai Indians, had been written off. Coming into the final game of the group stages, they were faced with an equation that looked very unlikely to achieve. In order to qualify for the playoffs, the Mumbai-based franchise had to beat the Rajasthan Royals either by a margin of at least 42 runs or they had to achieve the target set by the Royals in 14.3 overs or less.

When the Royals, powered by blistering half-centuries from Sanju Samson and Karun Nair, posted a total of 189 on board, there were many who felt that Rohit’s men did not have a cat in hell’s chance to qualify. However, Corey Anderson, who had been the Mumbai Indians’ most expensive yet disappointing buy of the season, put his hand up in this crucial encounter and carried his team over the line. The Kiwi all-rounder smashed 95 runs off just 44 balls as he kept the Mumbai Indians in the hunt all the while. His innings was studded with 9 fours and 6 sixes.

However, this game was not short of drama. As mentioned above, the Mumbai Indians had to score 190 runs in 14.3 overs. However, at the end of 14.3 overs, their score read 189/5, the same as that of the Rajasthan Royals. This meant that both teams had the same net run rate (NRR) and the Mumbai Indian’s had to hit a boundary off the next ball to qualify on the basis of a better NRR. Aditya Tare, then, smashed the very first delivery he faced for a huge six as the Mumbai Indians qualified for the playoffs and broke several Royals fans’ hearts.

#8 Netherlands chase 190 in 13.5 overs

Netherlands have often been dubbed as dangerous minnows who cannot be taken too lightly. And in this particular group stage game of the ICC World T20, they fully lived up to their potential. The race to qualify for the Super 10 stage was heating up in Group B. Given the fact that both Zimbabwe and Ireland had already won a couple of games, this was a must-win game for the Oranje. Not only that, in order to stand any chance of qualifying, they had to chase a daunting target of 190 set by Ireland in 14.2 overs or less.

It seemed as if the Netherlands batsmen were absolutely unfazed by this as they went after the Irish bowlers from the word go. Their attacker-in-chief was opening batsman Stephen Myburgh as the Oranje scored a mind-boggling 91 runs in the mandatory powerplay.

During the process, Myburgh brought up the second fastest fifty in T20 internationals. Even though they lost 3 quick wickets within the space of 10 runs, the batsmen to follow were absolutely unperturbed as they continued going after the Irish bowlers. Eventually, Netherlands achieved the target in just 13.5 overs and pipped both Ireland and Zimbabwe to qualify for the Super 10 stage.

#7 Chris Lynn\'s Stunning catch vs RCB

There is a very old cliche in cricket that goes as “catches win matches”. Chris Lynn vindicated the same when he pulled off an absolute stunner in a group stage game against the Royal Challengers Bangalore. Very often, we get to see bowling performances or batting performances that take a team over the line. However, this time around, it was a fielding performance that completely turned the game on its head.

Needing just 9 runs off the last over with 6 wickets in hand and with big hitters like AB de Villiers and Albie Morkel at the crease, Kohli’s men were expected to easily seal the deal. R Vinay Kumar, a seasoned T20 campaigner, gave away just 3 runs off the first 3 deliveries, which prompted AB to go for the big shot that led to his dismissal, courtesy Lynn’s blinder.

#6 Suresh Raina and Yusuf Pathan: The fun is in the chase

“When luck is not on your side, even the best of efforts cannot turn the tide.”

The above quote aptly summarises Suresh Raina’s effort in IPL 7’s second qualifier vs Kings XI Punjab. Faced with a daunting target of 227 runs to qualify for the final, CSK were off to a shaky start as Faf Du Plessis was dismissed for a golden duck in the very first over. Suresh Raina, however, was absolutely unfazed as he started attacking the Punjab bowlers from the word go.

Over the course of his 37-minute stay at the crease, the 28-year old instilled belief in the Chennai camp as the two-time Champions raced to a score of 100 in just 6 overs. Interestingly, the previous highest team score in the mandatory power play in the IPL was 86, whereas Raina himself had raced to an incredible 87 off just 25 balls at the end of the mandatory powerplay.

However, as luck would have it, Raina was run out on the devil’s number by George Bailey immediately after the power play. After his dismissal, the Super Kings completely lost their way as they slumped to a 24-run defeat. Nevertheless, given the kind of batting that was on display, this masterpiece from the CSK star has been dubbed as one of the best innings in the IPL.

Yusuf Pathan

Everybody knows what an explosive batsman Yusuf Pathan is. Well, he quite literally exploded in a group stage game of the IPL versus the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Going into this game, the Knights had already qualified for the play-offs. However, in order to finish second, so as to make it to the 1st qualifier, Gambhir’s men had to win the game either by a margin of 39 runs or more or they had to chase whatever target in 15.2 overs or less.

After winning the toss, Gambhir inserted the visitors in. Riding on the starts of multiple batsmen, SRH scored a decent 160 runs in their 20 overs. As mentioned above, to make it to the 1st qualifier, KKR had to score 161 runs in 15.2 overs at a run rate of 10.59. Gambhir and Uthappa provided the perfect start as the hosts raced to 43 runs in just 4.3 overs. However, 2 quick wickets pegged them back as the score read 55/2 after 7.3 overs.

At this stage, it looked as if KKR will not be able to achieve the target in 15.2 overs. Yusuf Pathan, however, had other ideas as he went hammer and tongs after the Sunrisers bowlers. The Baroda all-rounder walked into bat in the 8th over, by the time he was dismissed in the 14th over, he had scored 72 off his team’s next 98 runs, that too at a strike rate of 327.27. His innings was studded with 5 fours and 7 sixes as the Knights romped home in just 14.2 overs and made it to the 1st qualifier.

#5 Corey Anderson\'s 100 off 36 balls

Corey Anderson set the tone for 2014 when he shattered Shahid Afridi’s long-standing record for the fastest hundred in ODIs on the very first day of the year. The Kiwi all-rounder unleashed hell on a hapless West Indies bowling attack as he hit 6 fours and 14 sixes. What is really commendable about the innings is that it came in a curtailed game. The match had been reduced to a 21-over a side game owing to rain.

The 24-year-old walked out to the crease during the 8th over of the Black Caps innings. By the time the 18th over had begun, Anderson had already reached his hundred. In fact, he even managed to outscore Jesse Ryder, the opener of the Kiwi innings. In the end, even the entire West Indies team fell short of Corey’s tally by 7 runs. It was this innings that elevated the Kiwi all-rounder’s standing in international cricket and helped him earn a lucrative sum from the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

#4 Glenn Maxwell\'s double wicket maiden last over vs Pakistan

How often does one get to see a chasing team that has 2 wickets in hand and has just 2 runs to get blow the game away? Well, given the fickle nature of Pakistani cricket, they often end up doing the unexpected. Glenn Maxwell, who often wins games for Australia by way of his batting heroics, won the Aussies a game with the ball in an absolute humdinger of a game versus Pakistan.

With just a couple of runs to get off the last over and 2 wickets in hand, Pakistan were looking all set to avoid an embarrassing whitewash at the hands of Australia in the 3-match ODI series. However, The Big Show, as Maxwell is nicknamed, indeed put on a big show in the final over as Pakistan choked to lose two wickets without a single run being scored.

#3 Misbah\'s fastest century in Test Cricket

When a batsman who has been nicknamed ‘Tuk-Tuk’ for his extremely slow batting scores the fastest hundred in Test cricket against arguably one of the best bowling attacks in world cricket, it surely has to be one of the most outrageous events of the year. On day four of the second Test between Pakistan and Australia, Misbah did the unthinkable as he levelled Sir Vivian Richard’s record for the fastest Test hundred after 28 long years. In fact, he even set the record for the fastest fifty in Test cricket when he brought up his fifty off just 21 deliveries.

The Pakistan skipper had the perfect platform to launch an attack of this kind. The Aussies were on the ropes having conceded a lead of 309 runs in the first innings. He also did not face Mitch Johnson during the course of his innings. One however needs to give him credit for the way he just tore into the Aussie bowlers from the word go. His swashbuckling century was studded with 11 fours and 5 sixes, 3 of which came off one over from Steve Smith.

#2 Rohit Sharma\'s 264 vs Sri Lanka

Given the fact that a team score of 264 is considered to be a good effort in 50-over cricket, Rohit Sharma’s individual score of 264 seems like a superhuman effort. In fact, the entire Sri Lankan team fell short of Rohit’s score by a good 13 runs.

During the course of this innings, the Mumbaikar broke several records and took ODI batting to a whole new level.

The 27-year-old became the first batsman to register two double hundreds in ODIs. He also set the record for the highest score in a 50-over international match as well as the record for the maximum balls faced. His tally of 186 runs by way of boundaries is also a new record, surpassing the previous best set by Shane Watson (150 runs in boundaries). In addition to this, he also set the record for the most number of fours in an innings.

Well, the list hasn’t ended yet. He also set the record for the most number of boundaries in an innings (42), including 33 fours and 9 sixes. He barely missed out on the record for the highest score in any one-day game. He was dismissed for 264 off the last ball of the Indian innings, leaving him a mere 4 runs shy of Alistair Brown’s record of 268 for Surrey against Glamorgan in 2002.

One also needs to laud the Mumbai Indians skipper for the way he paced his innings. He took 72 balls to get to his fifty. However, in the next 101 balls, he scored a whopping 214 runs at a strike rate well in excess of 200. One cannot help but wonder how many more he would have scored, had he brought up his first fifty quickly.

#1 Sunil Narine\'s Super Over maiden

When someone says Sunil Narine, the image that comes to a cricket fan’s mind is that of a man with a weird hairdo, walking up to the stumps in a nonchalant manner. Not surprisingly, he often does things that are weird and completely unheard of. In today’s age of T20 cricket, where a maiden over is hard to come by during the course of a normal T20 innings, this Caribbean mystery spinner bowled a wicket maiden super over versus the Trinidad & Tobago Red steel in the Caribbean Premier League.

With an economy rate of 5.45 in T20 cricket, there is not a semblance of a doubt that this guy is one of the most stingy bowlers around. However, bowling a maiden in the super over is an absolutely remarkable feat. Given that his team, the Guyana Amazon Warriors, had set a target of 12 runs, the fact that Narine gave absolutely nothing away and picked up a wicket as well is commendable.