A era of significant innovation in the game followed the introduction of Twenty20 cricket (T20) and the IPL’s astronomical success in the first decade of the twenty-first century. By limiting the positioning of fielders and decreasing the boundaries, the game’s new, condensed version favored hitting. Bowlers developed a wide array of unique balls to counter free-scoring batters with heavy bats (deliveries). Disguise developed as a crucial tool in the bowler’s toolbox. A surprisingly potent weapon, slow spin-bowling challenges the batsman to produce “pace,” or to supply the majority of the power to drive the hit ball, as opposed to rapid bowling, which adds more force to the batter’s swing.
In T20 cricket, innovative strokes like the reverse sweep, when a right-handed batsman switches hands mid-delivery to swing at the ball like a left-hander, became standard for batsmen (or a left-hander swings like a right-hander). Additionally, batters started using the scoop, a shot that is nearly vertically hit over the wicketkeeper’s head. The advent of the doosra, a ball that seems to be an off-spinner but instead rotates away from the right-handed batter like a leg-spinner, as well as other new strategies and innovations, greatly enhanced Test cricket. The ball was created by Pakistani ( cricket betting ) off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and received its name from the Urdu phrase that means “the other one.” Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka improved it.
Cricket used video technology in the same way as other sports to make decisions on the field. Only line calls, such as runouts, were first referred to a third umpire off the field beginning with the system’s first testing in 1992. But in a series between India and Sri Lanka in 2008, a new referral system in which players were permitted to refer any on-field decision to the third umpire made its international debut (it had been put on trial in English county cricket in 2007). Every inning, there are two referrals for each team (down from three when the system was first tried out). This number does not include appeals that lead to the umpire revising an initial ruling. The technique, which was created to eliminate an umpire’s innocent but clear error, has received more positive feedback from players than from umpires.
The year 2007 was also notable for the first International Cricket Council (ICC) Twenty20 World Championship (T20 WC) to be held. It was won by the home side, South Africa. The inaugural tournament took place at the end of January and early February 2008 in South Africa. It was played in four cities: Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban and Port Elizabeth.
2009–present
Cricket’s recent innovations include the use of T20s in the form of Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) and its move to 24-hour television coverage.
The international game of cricket has become more financially lucrative since the inception of T20 and the IPL, and this has been accompanied by a greater interest in sponsorship and television rights. The first major ICC event to be held outside of England was the 2007 Cricket World Cup, held in the sub-continent and won by India. The next edition of the tournament was the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, which was also won by India. The ICC also announced the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier in October 2008, to be held in February 2009, to provide a direct route for teams from Associate and Affiliate members to the 2010 ICC World Twenty20.
