2019 was a special year for ODI cricket. The Cricket World Cup was played earlier this year along with some big competitive series. We saw some stellar individual performances with the bat throughout the year, from both established and emerging batsmen. Some innings were match winnings and some career changing.
On the last day of 2019, MyTeam11 brings you the three finest knocks by batsmen this year in 50-over cricket.
- Carlos Brathwaite (101 off 82 vs New Zealand)
Carlos Brathwaite hadn’t done much after that match winning explosive knock in the 2016 T20 World Cup Final. And former greats of West Indies started to question his place in the squad of the World Cup 2019. But the all-rounder proved his critics wrong and produced another masterclass innings which almost took West Indies over the line, almost!
Chasing a target of 292 runs in the World Cup match against New Zealand, the West Indies team got off to a great start. However, a batting collapse saw them reeling on 164/7.
But the big man didn’t give up. He kept his team in the hunt with some scintillating shots. Carlos was close to clinching a memorable win but a good catch by Trent Boult on the last ball of the penultimate over shattered their dream.
As they say cricket is a game of margins. One or two yards more, the result could have been different. But nonetheless it was one of the most memorable innings of 2019.
- Ben Stokes (84* off 98 vs New Zealand)
Who could forget the World Cup final at Lords? The thrilling match ended in a tie with England winning the trophy based on the boundary counts, but all this would not have happened if Ben Stokes hadn’t played that heroic innings.
The reason England managed to take the game into the super over was due to a magnificent innings by Ben Stokes.
Chasing a modest target of 242, England were struggling at 86/4. But Stokes and Jos Buttler absorbed the pressure and formed a crucial partnership. When Buttler was dismissed for 59, England were still 46 runs behind the target, but Stokes marched on.
The all-rounder played a brave innings against a top-class kiwi bowling attack and led his team to the World Cup glory.
- Ashton Turner (84* off 43 vs India)
The explosive innings by Ashton Turner proved to be not only match winning but series winning as well. The five-match series between India and Australia seemed like a one-sided affair as India was leading the series 2-0 and were looking set to seal the series but Ashton Turner fought back to get the visitors over the line.
In the fourth match of the series, chasing a mammoth target of 359, Australia were 229/4 with 130 runs to win in 83 deliveries when Turner came to the crease. The 26-year old just launched himself from ball one and smacked Indian bowlers all around the park. Ashton smashed 5 fours and 6 sixes in his innings and took Australia home with 13 balls to spare. Even India’s best bowler, Bumrah, failed to stop the carnage.
The innings left the Indian fans and Virat’s men totally shocked as they could not understand what had hit them.
