2024 was a fantastic year for cricket fans, with many tremendous matches and competitions. There were several Test series, One Day International series and the Twenty20 World Cup to enjoy. Continue below as we look back on some of cricket’s biggest highlights in 2024.
India World Cup Success
We begin with the Men’s Twenty20 World Cup, which took place in June. The event was co-hosted by the West Indies and United States but it was India who stole the show. They went undefeated in the group stage, topping Group A and won all 3 of their games in the Super 8 stage, progressing to the semi-final. India beat England by 68 runs but the final was much closer, with India defeating South Africa to win the T20 World Cup for the second time in their history. The innings of Virat Kohli was a highlight of the final, with the India legend scoring 76 runs off 59 balls to lead his team to victory. Can India become the first country to successfully defend the T20 World Cup when they host the tournament in 2026? Why not use a bc game bonus code to have a wager on the competition?
USA shock Pakistan
We remain with the T20 World Cup and revisit the biggest shock of cricket in 2024. Pakistan, who were runners-up at the 2022 T20 World Cup, lost to the United States in a dramatic Super Over. The excellent bowling of Saurabh Netravalkar restricted Pakistan to 13/1 and the 19 runs scored by United States were more than enough to see them claim a victory that sent the home fans wild. United States were participating in the competition due to being the joint host nation and were given little chance of coming in the top two of their group. This win and a victory over Canada saw them finish second.
Shamar Joseph Blows Australia Away
We go back to January for one of the leading individual performances of 2024. Australia were on 60-2 in their chase of 216 set by the West Indies on the third day of the second Test in Brisbane. It seemed like a comfortable home win for Australia with the batting talent at their disposal but fast bowler Shamar Joseph had other ideas. Despite being injured when batting, Joseph turned up the heat on the Australian batsmen with a magnificent spell of quick and accurate bowling that saw him end the match with figures of 7 wickets for only 68 runs. Joseph’s stunning performance helped the West Indies to their first Test match victory in Australia for 27 years, leading to some emotional scenes.
Bangladesh Comeback in Pakistan
Arguably the best comeback of 2024 was the performance by Bangladesh in Pakistan. The second Test in Rawalpindi saw Bangladesh reduced to just 26 runs with 6 wickets down in their first innings. It appeared Pakistan were going to cruise to victory in-front of their own fans but a miraculous record-breaking 165-run partnership for the seventh wicket between Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan got Bangladesh back into the match. Hasan also delivered with the ball and left Bangladesh with a chase of 185 runs in the second innings to win. They completed the run chase and Bangladesh recovered from a disastrous start to win the match.
Chamari Athapaththu Wins with Sri Lanka
Chamari Athapaththu has long been the leading light for Women’s cricket in Sri Lanka. However, entering 2024, Athapaththu had yet to win a title with her country, despite landing several individual awards. That changed in 2024 when the individual brilliance of Athapaththu lead Sri Lanka to the Women’s Asia Cup title.
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