As many as three International Cricket Council (ICC) tournaments were on the plates for fans to witness in the 2023 calendar year with some memorable moments already racked up during the last 12 months. There were numerous players who made a name for themselves with exceptional performances, while some big-name players lived up to their billing. Here are the top records in cricket broken during 2023:
Nepalese batter Dipendra Singh Airee broke Yuvraj Singh’s 16-year-old record to register the fastest T20I fifty. Airee broke the record as he scored a half-century in just nine balls. With eight sixes in his innings against Mongolia in the first group game of the Asian Games 2023, Airee finished with 52 (10) in the match.
In the same match, Nepal’s Kushal Malla went a step further to record the fastest T20I hundred. He surpassed the record jointly held by David Miller and Rohit Sharma when he took a ball less than the duo who held the record at 35 balls.
Nepal was on a rampage on the day against Mongolia. The team registered a 300-plus score on the back of brilliant individual performances from Kushal Malla (137 off 50), Rohit Paudel (61 off 27) and Dipendra Singh Airee (52* off 10). Nepal scored 314/3 on the day and bundled Mongolia for just 41, winning the match by 273 runs.
There was only one man who could do the unimaginable, Virat Kohli. The star Indian batter and former captain went ahead of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar when he recorded his 50th ton in ODIs during his magnificient 117 (113) against New Zealand in the ODI World Cup 2023. He reached the milestone in just 279 innings. Next in his target? 100 international centuries for sure.
South Africa chased down the highest total in T20Is in 2023 when the won against the West Indies by chasing down 259 runs. Batting first, the Caribbean team had score 258/5 in their 20 overs and South Africa chased that down in 18.5 overs with Quinton de Kock’s 44-ball 100 and Reeza Hendrick’s explosive 68 (28).
India has the achievement to their name when during the third and final ODI against Sri Lanka in Thiruvananthapuram on January 15, the Men in Blue scored 390/5 in their 50 overs with Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli registering centuries each. In the second innings, Mohammed Siraj took 4/32 to bundle the Lankan innings at just 73 as India won by 317 runs.
There could be only one man taking this gong and its none other than the Hitman, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma. His carnage opening the batting for India helped give the impetus for big totals during the entirety of the World Cup campaign. During India’s second World Cup match against Afghanistan, Rohit Sharma surpassed a certain Chris Gayle’s 553 sixes in 551. Rohit currently has 582 sixes in 484 innings.
Malaysia finds a mention with Syazdrul Idrus recording the best bowling figures in T20I history during their first match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Asia B Qualifier. Idrus wreaked havoc on China after they won the toss and elected to bat first. He registered figures of 7/8 as China was bundled for just 23 runs. This was also the first seven-wicket-haul in T20I history surpassing Nigeria’s Peter Aho’s 6/5.
In the sixth T20I match of the series between Spain and Isle of Man, which took place at Cartagena on February 26, 2023, Spain easily defeated Isle of Man, who scored just 10 runs in 8.4 overs. Mohammad Kamran (4/4) and Atif Mehmood (4/6) both claimed four wickets to lead their side.
In response, Awais Ahmed smashed two sixes after the first delivery was declared no ball, making Spain completely laugh at their target and chase it down in just two balls. With 118 balls remaining, Spain won the match and set a record for the biggest victory margin in T20Is.
In the sole Test played at Dr. DY Patil Sports Academy, Navi Mumbai in December 2023, India Women maintained their outstanding record against England, defeating them for the third time in their Test history. The Harmanpreet Kaur-led team shattered the 25-year record in women's cricket history by defeating the England women by a staggering margin of 347 runs. In 1998, Sri Lanka defeated Pakistan by 309 runs, setting a record for the biggest victory margin.
