The Indian men ruled white-ball cricket, while South Africa ended decades of hurt by winning the World Test Championship at Lord's. Royal Challengers Bengaluru finally lifted their maiden IPL title, though the celebrations were dimmed by a deadly stampede. Above all, it was India's women who won a billion hearts by finally adding an ICC World Cup trophy to the cabinet.
India were expecting a target around 380 against Australia but Phoebe Litchfield's dismissal followed by a "very good spell" from spinner Shree Charani turned the Women's ODI World Cup semifinal in the hosts' favour, said all-rounder Amanjot Kaur.
A look at some of the major controversies in past World Cups.
South Africa pulled off a sensational victory inside three days of the opening Test against India on Sunday and the manner of it would go a long way in silencing those who doubted their credentials as the reigning world test champions.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) vice-president Rajeev Shukla said that head coach Gautam Gambhir has a firm grip on the team and is popular among the players.
From Royal Challengers Bengaluru's historic first IPL title to star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra finally breaking the iconic 90-meter mark to India women winning their first cricket World Cup, this was the year of long-awaited victories and record-breaking feats.
T20 World Cups have seen some explosive batting, with a few players etching their names in history by scoring centuries. Here's a look at T20 World Cup centurions over the years.
Six different teams have lifted the trophy over the years, with the West Indies, England and reigning champions India the only nations to have won it twice.
The victorous Indian team sung a new victory anthem to celebrate winning their first World Cup.
'It was good fun. I was obviously really nervous. Super stoked for the boys to get the win.'
Group C promises one of the most competitive battles at the T20 World Cup, with former champions England and West Indies joined by ambitious sides Scotland, Nepal and debutants Italy.
India's record-breaking chase against Australia in the Women's ODI World Cup semifinal sent a wave of pride and emotion through the country's sporting fraternity.
India scripted history, clinching its maiden Squash World Cup title to become the first Asian country to achieve the feat after overwhelming Hong Kong 3-0 in the summit clash in Chennai on Sunday.
Rahul Gandhi hosted the India blind women's cricket team to celebrate their triumph in the T20 World Cup.
Selection committee chairman Kris Srikkanth expressed confidence that the Indian cricket team named, on Saturday, can achieve the rare feat of beating Australia in a Test series at their own soil in next month's tour of that country.
They weren't up for a windfall even after the trophy but life was certain to get a lot better as some sponsors and state governments stepped up to lift them financially.
World champions Amanjot and Harleen get grand welcome in Chandigarh
'We knew it won't be easy to hit how much you may connect. Plan was to bowl smartly and when a batter is set, force him to hit on the bigger sides than small sides.'
India won their maiden Women's World Cup title with a 52-run victory over South Africa at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Sunday.
The indefatigable duo of Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Siraj is expected to be the big talking point on Saturday when the selectors pick a 15-member Indian ODI squad for a three-match series against New Zealand starting January 11 in Vadodara.
'The only thought was that we have to give it all in those seven hours for our country.'
The pitch used for the India vs South Africa first Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in November has received a "satisfactory" rating from International Cricket Council.
Armed with a potent spin attack, taking on South Africa seems like competing against a "subcontinent team", Ten Doeschate said, admitting that they need to get better at negotiating the challenge posed by tweakers.
Fine half-centuries by Yastika Bhatia, Radha Yadav and Tanuja Kanwar propelled India A to a thrilling series-clinching two-wicket victory over Australia A, after Alyssa Healy's brilliant knock set the bar high for the visitors, in the second women's one-dayer, in Brisbane, on Friday.
South Africa are the World Test champions and skipper Temba Bavuma wants them to play like it and prove their credentials in the two-Test series against India beginning on Friday.
It was a relieved Ben Stokes bidding good riddance to more than a decade of pain for English cricket in Australia on Saturday as his team rallied from the depths to complete a drought-breaking Test win in Melbourne.
Spinner Todd Murphy has been called into the Australia squad in place of the injured Nathan Lyon for this week's fourth Ashes Test, while captain Pat Cummins will skip the rest of the series as his back issue is managed.
As he is laid to rest, Indian cricket bids farewell to one of its greatest administrators -- a visionary who understood that breaking monopolies and building stadiums were about the same thing: Giving millions of cricket-loving Indians the infrastructure worthy of their passion.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Saturday said he 'has a lot of time' for a player of K L Rahul's calibre to gain a foothold in Test cricket as he has the ability to win games across formats.
Already through to the quarter-finals, defending champions India continued their rampaging run as they beat Australia 4-1 in their final group A match of mixed team competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
India opener Shafali Verma's match-winning performance with the bat in the Women's World Cup final against South Africa last month has earned her the ICC 'Player of the Month' award for November.
India defeated Australia by seven wickets in the final to win the T20I Tri-series for the Deaf.
South Africa will aim for their first Test victory in India in more than 15 years.
Having retained the majority of their squad, MI will be the team to beat given their formidable batting, but Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Delhi Capitals will be out to spoil their party.
Over four decades, the India-Australia ODI rivalry has mirrored the evolution of both teams, from Australia's supremacy in the 2000s to India's resurgence post-2010. Come Sunday, this rivalry will be renewed as Shubman Gill will commence his first assignment as ODI captain in the opening game of the three match series, at the Optus stadium in Perth.
Former coach Ravi Shastri praised Virat Kohli's tenure as India's captain, stating that he did he a 'magnificent job' both as a skipper and a batter.
In a row that has rocked Bangladesh women's cricket, captain Nigar Sultana Joty has denied claims that she beat junior players, responding with a fiery defence that included a dig at India skipper Harmanpreet Kaur.
United Arab Emirates became the 20th and last team to qualify for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup after beating Japan by eight wickets in the last Asia/EAP Qualifying game here on Thursday.
The swashbuckling opener gives the Aussies no chance if the four Tests in the upcoming series are played on spin-friendly tracks.
India have won all the last four series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, taking into account their home wins in 2016-17 and 2022-23 -- both also 2-1 results in a four-match contest.
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