Cricket is a sport that requires skill, speed, and stamina. The game has been around for almost 100 years, and now in modern days, the game is divided into three different main formats, Test Cricket, One Day Internationals (ODIs), and Twenty 20 (T20).
The object of cricket is to score more runs than the opponent team. The batsman can defend their wicket with their bat by hitting the ball away from the fielders to make runs. Some of the most popular cricketing shots are the Drive, the Pull, the Cover Drive, and many more.
Cricket is a very popular sport in India as it is played at grass root level in villages for fun by young children but once they grow up some of them turn professional and start playing for their country by playing different types of cricket such as first-class cricket that improves their performance before entering in the international cricket team. Here you know about four types of cricket matches that have been played worldwide.
First Class Cricket
First-class cricket is one of the most popular forms of cricket played since the mid-nineteenth century. The first-class cricket rules are based on international rules as both teams play in two innings. The matches are played between two eleven player teams, each representing their respective countries.
The players form a team of 11 players, and all those players have to perform well to win the match by a maximum number of runs. To improve their performance, they do regular practice in the nets.
First-class cricket is the way to go on an international level because many selectors select the players from first-class cricket; if a player gives their best performance in first-class cricket, he will get the chance to represent the national team. Once they get selected for the national team, they are expected to perform well internationally.
Test Cricket
Test cricket is the most popular form of cricket that was first played in and was played on the grass ground since its inception. Test cricket is longer and more strategic version of an international match played in many countries. The number of Test match matches in a series is fixed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) because only selected matches are held in a given year.
The test cricket matches are played between two eleven-player teams for five days, and each team plays two innings with the bat. There is no power play and free hit rule because it is the longer format of cricket. The players form a team of 11 players selected from their country to play to win matches for the team. The test form of cricket is also the oldest form of cricket.
One Day International (ODI)
One day international is the most recent form of cricket that was first played in 1971 in between two eleven player teams for one day only, and the teams are England and Australia. The ODI matches are played on an international cricket ground for 50 overs in two innings; both teams played one inning with bat and the bowl. The ODI format is one of the shorter forms of cricket played in almost all countries.
The game of ODI is a strategic and aggressive game that needs a power play and free hit rule because it is a shorter form of cricket. There are three main types of power-play; the first power-play starts with the first ball of an inning and ends on the last ball of the tenth over of the game. This is also known as batting power play because the fielding side has field restriction in the first ten overs; they can place only two players outside of the 30-yard circle.
Twenty 20 (T20)
The most popular type of cricket is twenty-20 cricket. It was first introduced in 2003 and has gained a lot of popularity since then because it brings a quick end to the game while still keeping some origins from its predecessors. Twenty-20 matches last for a maximum of four hours, making them perfect for people with busy schedules as they can watch the T20 match without too much spending time.
The Twenty-20 game is known as the shortest format of international cricket. In T20 format, there have a power play and free hit rule. The fielding side has more restrictions in the first six overs than ODI because the bowler can bowl strictly with keeping in mind that only two players are outside of a 30-yard circle to save runs.