Top 10 cricketing moments in 2025 : A year known for some unforgettable FIRSTS..

10 : England lose the ashes down under…. AGAIN.

7 January 2011. Chris Tremlett takes the final Aussie wicket. England win an Ashes series down under after 24 long years. But who knew that the win would be their last win for 13 long years. 2013, 2017, 2021 and now 2025. Years changed, teams changed but the results did not. Bazball, as the new term has been called has failed England in what was their best chance and the series has been conceded even before the year has ended. Joe Root did get a pink ball hundred, Stoked had a fifer, Archer did get crucial break throughs, but the others were a massive let down and Australia, backed by a boisterous home crowd, pounced on every opportunity and retained the urn in thumping fashion.

9 : Starc makes the pink ball dance to his tunes

The fact that Australia were hurting after the loss in the final of the World Test Championship was evident as to how they annihilated the Windies in their own den. Especially in the third test. With the series already gone, the Windies might have thought they would snatch a consolation win. But Starc and Boland had other ideas. Together, they snared 9 wickets amongst themselves with Boland claiming a riveting hattrick and skittling the hosts for just 27 runs. Fear never looked more intense and Australia just re showed the world their bowling prowess.

8 : India “WHITE” washed in tests at home…. 

Before touring India, the proteas had won in Bangladesh and drew a series in Pakistan as they pulled off a thrilling win in Rawalpindi after losing in Lahore. Rabada was the key architect of that win as he scored a valuable 70 odd which helped South Africa take the lead and eventually winning the test match. 

But it was their India exploits which further established why South Africa are the number one test side today. The wins in Kolkata and Guwahati were not mere flash in the pans but a statement, a strong statement as to why Bavuma and co cannot be taken lightly, whether at home or away. With this series won and two home series in 2026, this South African outfit looks favorites of defending their world test championship title.

7 : RO- KO call it a day in the longest format.

Although they are still firing in ODI cricket, 2025 saw Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli bid adieu to test cricket. With the home loss again the Kiwis still lingering, it was inevitable that this had to happen. An Instagram story by Rohit and a post by Virat signaled the end of an era. And although Shubman Gill and co have managed to pull off some great wins ever since, they rightly say, you only miss the sun when it starts to snow as India bottled yet another test series at home... They rightly say, you only miss the sun when it starts to snow.

6 : India thrash Pakistan for the third time in 3 weeks.

The India Pakistan rivalry in the Asia cup re defined the word lopsided. After two thumping wins in the group stages, it was the final that took centre stage, for obvious reasonso. After Pakistan were skittled out for 147, Shaheen Afridi and Faheem Ashraf had India on the mat at 20/3. But Sanju Samson ,Shivam Dube and the hero of the night, Tilak Verma stood firm to deny Pakistan yet again in a multi national event and made the Indian contingent go berserk at a jam packed Dubai International Stadium.

5 : West Indies pull off a heist….. ALMOST…

The difference between the yesteryear Windies team and today's Windies side is as clear as the distance between land and sky. The current team was walloped inside 2 days in Ahmedabad and were all set for another one in Delhi. But they put up a fight. A fight that went to the fifth day and made India toil for the win. 

But that was just a glimpse. In the first test in Christchurch, they were staring down the barrel as they needed more than 500 runs to win after conceding a first innings lead. Justin Greaves, Shai Hope and Kemar Roach combined and played out an unthinkable draw. Such was the pressure on the kiwis that they were compelled to call it a stalemate as Greaves in particular etched his name in the record books with a riveting double ton. 

4 : India adds another ICC trophy to the glittering cabinet.

To completely heal the heartbreak that was 19 November, another ICC trophy was needed. Although the T20 world cup was won, another trophy, this time under a new coach beckoned. India went to Dubai to play the champions trophy as favourites, and played like favourites. Brushing aside Bangladesh, New Zealand and Pakistan in the league stage was done with ease.

A Virat kohli special in the semi final saw India avenge 19 November as he along with Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya brushed aside a mediocre target of 264. In the final, it was the hitman’s turn to shine as he scored a run a ball 79 and KL Rahul once again applied the finishing touches to give India a second consecutive trophy in two years.

3 : Jersey number 18 gets his hands on the IPL trophy…. In the 18th year…..

2009, 2011 and 2016. Virat Kohli witnessed 3 IPL final heartbreaks LIVE.  Having proven his loyalty to one IPL franchise over the years itself was an achievement itself. But that achievement needed reward. The hard yards he put in needed the reward. The fans needed a reward for an agonising 17 year wait. And then IPL 2025 arrived. Having come so close in 2024, RCB didn’t miss out in 2025.

They achieved a rare double of losing every game at home and winning every game away as they brushed aside CSK, MI, SRH and PBKS, who they also beat in the final by convincing margins to eventually lift the trophy. Even though the events that followed were horrific with a stampede and the unfortunate deaths of 9 fans in the victory parade, RCB winning IPL 2025 was one of the defining moments of the year.

2 : Bavuma and co are the Lords of Lords 

When South Africa qualified for the world test championship final, most of the fans around the world thought it was unfair as they played minnows like Pakistan and Bangladesh at home. And then they get to Lords facing a gargantuan Aussie outfit. They win the toss and… field first. 

But the events that transpired after that were sheer spectacle. Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Marco Jansen first ran through the Aussie outfit, TWICE. Rabada in particular was riveting, so was Ngidi as they exploited the conditions as even Smith and Labuschagne struggled and set South Africa a target of 282.

South Africa were rattled a bit early in the 4th innings, but brave bold Bavuma and Majestic Markram played the innings of their lives to propel South Africa their first ever senior men's ICC trophy since their introduction to cricket in 1992. Temba Bavuma holding the trophy at the Lords balcony with pride was a sight to behold.

1 : A glittery Mumbai night…. And the world cup is ours…

A world cup final in November. We all know how things unfolded two years ago. The Indian women’s cricket team were not only up against a South African outfit but also against a mentality of a country that has always prioritised the men’s version. The stakes were high, so were the expectations as they played their second world cup final in front of a packed DY Patil stadium.

A couple of nights ago, they re-wrote history by knocking out 7 times world champions Australia in a run chase for the ages, which still haunts the. So naturally, they were favourites and they indeed batted like favourites putting up a formidable score of 298. Of course, there was Laura Wolvaardt and Nadine De Klerk, who pulled off a run chase a couple of weeks ago, and this time too, Wolvaardt was standing like a rock.

But India is a land where rocks have been broken to make a road. And this rock was broken too as Deepti Sharma became the first women cricketer to score a fifty and take 5 wickets in a world cup final. And it was fitting that Harmanpreet Kaur, whose 171 in the 2017 World Cup semi final made people take notice of women’s cricket, took the final catch and somehow washed out the wounds of 2023, making the whole country bow down in sheer admiration.