ICC Cricket Awards 2018: Men's Test team of the year announced
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has announced the Test Team of the Year 2018. Virat Kohli has been named captain of the team which also includes Rishabh Pant as wicket-keeper.
From the New Year's Test in early January to the traditional Boxing day Test match, we witnessed some top quality cricket right throughout last year.
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It was a wonderful year for Test Cricket which provided plenty to cherish for the years to come. Meanwhile, several players made their Test debuts in 2018 and took the ultimate format by storm through their performances. Rishabh Pant, Sam Curran and Jasprit Bumrah performed exceedingly well in their debut year and started off their Test journey on a high.
While Indian skipper Virat Kohli finished as the highest run-getter of 2018 with 1322 runs, South African pacer Kagiso Rabada finished as the highest wicket-taker with 52 scalps to his name.
The highest Test score of last year was registered by New Zealand's Tom Latham, who smashed 264*(489 balls) against Sri Lanka at Wellington in December. Meanwhile, Ireland and Afghanistan played their first ever Test match against Pakistan and India respectively.
While Afghanistan played at Bengaluru, Ireland played encountered Pakistan at their National capital, Dublin. England whitewashed Sri Lanka in a historic 3-0 win in their own backyard while New Zealand defeated Pakistan 2-1 at the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The Virat Kohli-led Indian Test side too created history by winning the traditional Boxing Day Test at the MCG for the first ever time which gave them a 2-1 lead before the New Year's Test.
In ICC's Test team of the Year, Tom Latham and Dimuth Karunaratne have been named as the openers while Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant are the captain and wicket-keeper respectively.
The middle-order comprises Kane Williamson, Henry Nicholls and all-rounder Jason Holder. The bowling department comprises pacers Kagiso Rabada, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammad Abbas while Nathan Lyon is the lone spinner.
ICC's Test Team of 2018: Tom Latham (New Zealand), Dimuth Karunaratne(Sri Lanka), Kane Williamson (New Zealand), Virat Kohli (India) (Captain), Henry Nicholls (New Zealand), Rishabh Pant (India) (Wicket-keeper), Jason Holder (West Indies), Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Nathan Lyon (Australia), Jasprit Bumrah (India) and Mohammad Abbas (Pakistan)