Five emotional cricketing moments of the decade
Sports and emotions are two things that go hand in hand with each other. The emotion that comes up with representing a nation or winning a Grand Slam is one of the motivating factors for a player and in this regard, cricket is no different.
Cricket is predominantly played between nations more often than any other sport. Hence, the emotional angle in terms of national rivalries is a lot more apparent. Cricket saw massive growth in the international arena with teams like Afghanistan, Bangladesh making giant strides. The sport went truly global with ICC granting T20I status to all 104 member countries.
ICC also concentrated on global events that keep the players motivated. The introduction of the World Test Championship and World Cup Super League have added more context to the bilateral series. The biggest success story is the revival of competitiveness of 50-over World Cups after a below-par edition of 2007.
The decade added a new angle for the sport with the enormous growth of franchise T20 cricket. Leagues like the Indian Premier League and Carribean Premier League have expanded the fan base. Few franchises have an extraordinary fan following. The rivalries in it have transformed the emotion to the fans as well.
The decade saw some enthralling action both in the International and franchise arena. Although there were lots of emotional moments, here we have a look at five of the most impactful ones.
#5 West Indies miraculous win of World T20 in 2016
West Indies came into the tournament with controversies surrounding them. When the squad was announced, Sunil Narine was serving a suspension handed to him by the ICC. A feud with the cricket board had reduced the communication between the players and the administrators.
Keeping everything aside, the West Indies players played brilliantly to win their second T20 title. After winning the first three games comfortably, West Indies suffered a shock defeat to Afghanistan. In the semi-finals, Lendl Simmons and Andre Russel's assault knocked the home team India out of the tournament.
The final was a roller coaster ride with England reeling at 23-3. Joe Root and Jos Buttler's knocks helped them post a decent score of 155. West Indies had a similar start, losing three wickets with 11 runs on board. However, Marlon Samuels held one end to keep them in the contest.
With 19 required off the last over, Carlos Brathwaite stepped up to smash four sixes off Ben Stokes' final over to trigger wild celebrations in the West Indies camp. The celebration by the players and speech by captain Darren Sammy went on to describe how much the win meant for them as a side, a stamp of proof that they were capable of stitching together impressive performances as a unit.
The words of Ian Bishop in "Remember the name" will eternally stay in the memory of the fans.