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Top 3 iconic shots in modern cricket

ABD Villiers
ABD Villiers

The game of cricket started way back in the 16th century somewhere in the southeastern countryside of England and with the expansion of the British Empire, it spread around the globe quite conveniently. By the mid-19th century, the world witnessed the first ever international match, surprisingly between U.S.A and Canada in 1844.

Over the years, cricket has evolved immensely in every aspect. Be it the shape of bats, the types of balls, the rules of the game, the cricket clothing, the protective gears, even the format of the game - every single element has transformed. Lately, the global governing body of cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has been tinkering with the game to enhance the popularity of the game around the world and make it even a bigger sport

With the recent advent of ODIs and more recently of T20 Cricket, the gentlemen's game has taken a very aggressive turn. Both the batsmen and the bowlers have been experimenting with their respective skills and subsequently, have successfully come up with innovative ways to master the game of cricket.

Amongst many innovations, the new generations of batsman gifted cricket with three miraculous cricketing shots that completely took the breath away of every cricket fan around the globe. 


#1 Dilscoop

Australia v Sri Lanka - Twenty20: Game 1
Australia v Sri Lanka - Twenty20: Game 1

Way back in 2009, the former Sri Lankan right-handed batsman Tillakaratne Dilshan brought about a unique cricketing shot called ‘Dilscoop’ into life during the 2nd season of Indian Premier League.

At a later stage, Dilshan disclosed in an interview the fact that paddle scoops and reverse paddles became quite common and teams had started placing fielders accordingly, he felt the need to invent another scoring shot and he ended up creating a cricketing shot safely flying right above the wicket-keeper’s head.

It was very frequently played with extreme success by Dilshan in the 2009 World T20 and hence, inspired many to imitate it. Only very few international players – the Indian Rohit Sharma and New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum have been able to replicate the shot to some extent and the rest have only enjoyed watching it, just like any other cricket fan.

Ever since Dilshan's retirement in 2016, the cricketing world has not witnessed the 'Dilscoop’ very often. However, without a doubt, it will always to be remembered as one of the most exciting shots ever played in modern cricket.

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