Cricket - 2014 in pictures

2014 was an eventful year for the game of cricket. It all started on January 1 when we saw New Zealand all-rounder Corey Anderson slam the fastest century in ODI history. The year continued in the same spirit as we saw an exciting World T20 tournament, which was won by Sri Lanka.Amidst everything, Australia and South Africa were at each other’s throats throughout the year when it came to the ICC Test Rankings, with the Proteas having the last laugh and ending the year at the top. We also saw Rohit Sharma record the highest ODI score of all time when he struck 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata.The year ended on a sad note though, as one of the brightest young talents in the game Phillip Hughes passed away after being hit on the back of his head by a bouncer.Here are the some of the images that will remain in our mind for years to come:

#1 The fastest ODI century - 1 January 2014

We saw the record for the fastest ODI century ever shattered on the very first day of the year.

Corey Anderson, back then a little-known New Zealand all-rounder, smashed the West Indian bowling attack to all parts of Queenstown, bringing up his ton in just 36 balls. In the process, he bettered Shahid Afridi’s feat which had stood for more than17 years. The Pakistan batsman had reached the landmark in 37 deliveries.

#2 Only one Captain Cook - 3 January 2014

Australia were in a jubilant mood going into the fifth Test of the Ashes at the SCG after having regained the little urn. England were 4-0 down and captain Alastair Cook was facing heavy criticism, especially from former players like Shane Warne.

The Australian fans did not let the opportunity slip and had their own little dig at the struggling English captain.

#3 Broken bats and broken reputations - 5 January 2014

England went into the Ashes in Australia in November 2013 as huge favourites, having beaten their rivals from the southern hemisphere in three successive Test series. But what followed was three months of pain and agony from the English.

Michael Carberry breaking his bat on the final day of the Test series summed it all up.

#4 Australia you f**king beauty - 5 January 2014

‘Under The Southern Cross I Stand’ has been the Australian cricket team’s victory song for quite a while now. But after whitewashing England in the Ashes earlier in the year, they did something different. While the song is usually sung by the team behind closed doors, this time around, the Aussies decided to get into a huddle and sing it on the very pitch where they had secured a 281-run victory.

The lyrics of the song are as follows:

Under the Southern Cross I Stand,A sprig of wattle in my hand,A native of my native land,Australia you f**king beauty.

#5 Australia don\'t forget their families in celebration - 5 January 2014

As is the norm these days, Australian cricketers were joined on the field by their family after their Ashes whitewash over England.

Here, we see Nathan Lyon’s daughter Harper posing with the urn, in what will surely go down as one of the cutest cricketing photos ever.

#6 Brendon McCullum\'s triple century against India - 18 February 2014

Until early 2014, apart from New Zealand, every other top 8 Test nation had a triple centurion to boast about. Brendon McCullum changed that fact when he struck a splendid 302 against India in Wellington earlier this day.

What made the New Zealand skipper’s triple ton even more special was the fact that the Kiwis were staring at an innings defeat when wicket-keeper BJ Watling joined him in the middle at 94/5. The duo struck a 352-run partnership to secure an unlikely draw for the hosts, which also meant that they claimed the series 1-0.

#7 Dale Steyn destroys Brad Haddin\'s middle stump - 23 February 2014

South Africa vs Australia is turning out to be one of the biggest rivalries in world cricket at the moment. This fierce rivalry resulted in a brilliant Test series between the two sides when they met in the African nation earlier this year.

0-1 down in the series, the Proteas set the visitors a target of 448 runs to win in the fourth innings at Port Elizabeth. Australia were going well at 156/3 when the world’s premier fast bowler decided to take matters into his own hands. He dismissed Michael Clarke and Steve Smith in successive deliveries to reduce the Australians to 156/5.

Four overs later, Steyn bowled a terrific in-swinger to knock Brad Haddin’s middle stump out of the ground. The South African pacer then ran up to Haddin and pointed at the exact spot where he had pitched the ball, in what will go down as one of most iconic images of modern-day Test cricket.

#8 Graeme Smith calls it a day - 4 March 2014

Graeme Smith, one of South Africa’s greatest cricketers, abruptly decided to hang up his boots during the South Africa vs Australia Test series in 2014. The former South African skipper quit Test cricket, having scored 9265 runs in 117 matches at an average of 48.25.

Here, we see the Australian team giving Smith a guard of honour before the start of his final Test innings.

#9 Ryan Harris bowls Australia to the top of the Test Rankings despite fitness worries - 5 March 2014

Ryan Harris has had an injury-prone career but has played through most of it like a true warrior. It was no different in Cape Town earlier this year, when he risked his career, to bowl Australia to a famous Test series victory over South Africa.

Bowling with one knee, Harris picked up 4/32 in South Africa’s final innings to guide Australia to the summit of the ICC Test Rankings. The Queenslander would miss Test cricket for 9 months after undergoing a knee surgery, but one could bet that he doesn’t regret bowling that spell at Newlands one bit.

#10 Dale Steyn does it again - 24 March 2014

South Africa went into the encounter against New Zealand in the World T20 at Chittagong, knowing that a loss would knock them out of the tournament at the first hurdle. And they were well on their way out, with Ross Taylor playing a brilliant knock for the Kiwis.

It all came down to the last over. New Zealand needed 7 runs. South Africa needed 5 wickets or a miracle. But who needs a miracle when you have Dale Steyn in your ranks?

The world’s best bowler conceded just one scoring shot and led South Africa to a memorable 2-run win after running out Ross Taylor on the last delivery of the match.

#11 Virat Kohli\'s celebration after reaching the World T20 final - 4 April 2014

Virat Kohli is one of the best batsmen in world cricket at this moment. He is also known to be an aggressive character, who lets his emotion loose on the cricket field.

If there’s one picture that could sum up Kohli, then it is this one where he celebrates after hitting a match-winning knock against South Africa in the World T20 semi-finals. He would later go on to be named Player of the Tournament.

#12 Sri Lanka win ICC World T20 - 6 April 2014

Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene are held up high by teammates after Sri Lanka won the ICC World T20 in their final T20 international match. Sangakkara’s Man of the Match performance with the bat helped the Islanders defeat pre-match favourites India by 6 wickets in the final.

#13 Kieron Pollard vs Mitchell Starc - 6 May 2014

Mitchell Starc and Kieron Pollard got into an ugly altercation during an IPL game, which saw the latter throw his bat in anger. The duo were later fined by the BCCI for their inappropriate behaviour.

#14 Kolkata Knight Riders win the IPL - 1 June 2014

Kolkata Knight Riders won the Indian Premier League (IPL) for the second time in 2014. The Gautam Gambhir-led side beat Kings XI Punjab by 3 wickets in the final at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore.

Here, we see Orange Cap winner Robin Uthappa pouncing on Piyush Chawla after the latter hit the winning runs for KKR in the final.

#15 Sri Lanka record their first ever Test series win in England - 24 June 2014

The agony of defeat, eh? James Anderson reacts after losing his wicket on the penultimate ball of the game to lose the Test match against Sri Lanka at Headingley in Leeds.

This result meant that Sri Lanka won the Test series 1-0 after a draw at Lord's in the first Test.

#16 Ravindra Jadeja slams a half-century as India win at Lord\'s after 28 years - 21 July 2014

Ravindra Jadeja had an eventful tour to England in 2014. He was involved in a major spat with James Anderson during the first Test at Trent Bridge, which saw him booed by the home crowd during the second Test at Lord’s.

Jadeja didn’t bow down to all the taunts as he hit a quick-fire half-century in India’s second innings. His celebration after getting to his 50 was quite extraordinary, to say the least. India would go on to win the match, registering their first Test victory at Lord’s since 1986.

#17 Sri Lanka chase 4th innings total at over 6 per over - 10 August 2014

Angelo Mathews was probably the most consistent cricketer of 2014. He scored 1160 runs at an enviable average of 77.33 and picked up 10 wickets in Tests in the calender year.

Here’s the Sri Lankan captain celebrating after guiding his team to victory in the opening Test match against Pakistan at the Galle International Cricket Stadium. The island nation chased down 99 in just 16.2 overs

#18 Zimbabwe shock Australia - 31 August 2014

Zimbabwe coach Stephen Mangongo is embraced by his mother in an emotional moment after Zimbabwe beat Australia in an ODI in Harare.

This was just the second occurrence of a Zimbabwean victory over Australia in ODIs. The first came 31 years before, when the two teams met for the first time at the 1983 World Cup.

#19 Entire West Indian team at the toss - 17 October 2014

The entire West Indian squad stood behind Dwayne Bravo at the toss before the 4th ODI against India in October, to display a united front over a pay dispute with the West Indian Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).

After the match, the Bravo-led side pulled out of the tour due to the issue. Bravo was later sacked as ODI captain and replaced by young fast bowler Jason Holder.

#20 Pakistan humble Australia in the UAE - 3 November 2014

Pakistan hadn’t won a Test series against a top 8 team in over 2 years. Add to that, a 3-0 defeat in the ODI series against Australia in October, Misbah-ul-Haq’s side were under tremendous pressure going into the Test series against Australia who were coming off back-to-back Test series victories against England and South Africa.

Pakistan stepped up their game and how!

Misbah led from the front as Pakistan crushed the Australians on pitches that assisted their spinners greatly. Younis Khan was the star for Pakistan, scoring 468 runs, with 3 centuries to his name in just 2 Tests.

#21 The fab four reunite - 5 November 2014

Sachin Tendulkar reunited with his former teammates and members of India’s famed middle-order of the late 90s and noughties – Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman –at the launch of his autobiography "Playing It My Way".

#22 Highest ODI score of all time - 13 November 2014

Rohit Sharma recorded the highest ever ODI score when he struck 264 against Sri Lanka at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata in November. He also became the first ever batsman to score 2 double centuries in ODI cricket.

Here’s him celebrating after reaching his second double century.

#23 #putoutyourbats - 28 November 2014

Australian cricketer Phillip Hughes sadly passed away on November 27 at St. Vincent’s Hospital, two days after being hit on his head by a bouncer during a Sheffield Shield match at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG).

In order to pay respect to him, a cricket fan from Australia named Paul Taylor tweeted a photo of his bat with the hashtag #putoutyourbats. The hashtag soon trended worldwide, with cricketing legends like Sachin Tendulkar and football clubs like Arsenal taking part in the campaign.

Here, we see bats and caps placed outside the Pakistan and New Zealand dressing rooms in memory of Hughes.

#24 Steve Smith dedicates his century to Phillip Hughes - 10 December 2014

Steve Smith celebrates his century next to the number 408 displayed at the Adelaide Oval as a tribute to the late Phillip Hughes who was Australia’s 408^th Test cricketer.

Australia would go on to win the match by 48 runs, despite a brilliant effort from Virat Kohli and Murali Vijay in the final innings of the match.

#25 MS Dhoni says goodbye to Tests - 30 December 2014

MS Dhoni’s sudden retirement from Test cricket came as a shock to everyone who follows the game. The 33-year-old hung up his boots after the third Test against Australia in December 2014.

In a country which has rarely produced good wicketkeepers, Dhoni retired from the longest format of he game with 4876 runs and 294 dismissals to his name – both Indian records. He also captained India to 27 Test wins, more than any skipper that preceded him.

The above picture shows Dhoni diving to his right to dismiss Joe Burns during his final stinit as a wicketkeeper in Test cricket.