Khalid Hossain

Three goals in 17 minutes. The Emirates roared. The dragon was down.

Beyond the spectacle, a larger question looms: what does this tournament, returning after eight long years, mean for the future of ODI cricket?

As 2024 draws to a close, the year presents both progress and persistent challenges. While there have been achievements in football, cricket, and hockey, the need for comprehensive reform and greater investment in sports infrastructure is more evident than ever.

For over two decades, the "Big Three" of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic dominated the sport, pushing each other to unimaginable heights. Now, a new story begins.

For Smith, it signals a fresh chapter in his illustrious career, proving that even the most accomplished players can evolve, and thrive, with the right guidance and mindset.

When Pintoo made a bold but heartfelt claim, saying that “I am luckier than Pele," he was not boasting about his skills on the pitch but about his unparalleled role in history. While the Brazilian icon dazzled with goals, Pintoo led a team that fought for a nation’s freedom.

From the depths of despair to the heights of glory, Argentina's redemption story is a testament to perseverance and the indomitable spirit of camaraderie.

Bob Woolmer, the late South African coach renowned for his cricketing insights and innovation, once said, “Football is a game of space, whereas cricket is a game of time,” in his book ‘The Art and Science of Cricket’, shedding light on the trials and tribulations a cricketer goes through on the battlefield.

If history has imparted any wisdom, it’s to never count out the West Indies cricket team, even after a year as calamitous as 2023. Failing to advance to the main round of the ODI World Cup in India was a colossal debacle, even for a team that have long concentrated their efforts on Twenty20 cricket.

The clock is ticking as the gap between the Tigers and lower-ranked teams narrows, while the gap with superior sides widens.

The sporting world in the past decade has witnessed a paradigm shift when it comes to the women’s circuit. In between came the coronavirus pandemic but the uprising proceeded nonetheless.

The changing of the guard in men’s tennis has long been on an asymptotic course, getting closer and closer to the inevitable but not quite materialising.

Let’s revisit the cream of the crop from a stellar year.

As the much-anticipated World Cup clash between India and Pakistan unfolds in Ahmedabad today, cricket fans, regardless of their allegiances, are poised to savour every sumptuous bit of action.   

Just before revealing the name of Bangladesh’s new ODI captain for the upcoming Asia Cup and World Cup, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) president Nazmul Hassan Papon on Friday told the fortunate reporters present at his residence, “If you ask anyone, they will tell you who it is going to be. It was an obvious choice.”

Shakib once again highlighted his place in the upper echelons of cricketing superstars.

Argentina’s seven-goal demolition of visitors Curacao on Tuesday saw the return of Giovani Lo Celso who demonstrated why the three-time world champions badly missed the on-loan Villarreal midfielder during their Qatar World Cup campaign last year despite eventually having gone on to bag the ultimate prize in the sport.

It seems that culturally we are inclined, as if somewhat programmed, to do the bare minimum in providing deserving attention and a wide-scale media coverage when it comes to women’s sport in the country despite the fact that women athletes have had been giving their all, working just as hard as their male counterparts, day in day out over the years.

The advent of the T20 format and the corresponding boom of franchise-based leagues across the world has kept fans entertained, but no other tournament has provided what country’s Alternate Premier League (APL) brought to the table. 

Utterly unforgettable was the delivery of sports in 2022, a year jam-packed with major events – a few of which were postponed since 2020 by the Coronavirus pandemic.