Best Cricket Quotes in 2015

Well, 2015 has given us a lot of memories to cherish and remember in the future, but what would make these memories worth remembering are the quotes used by fellow cricketers and commentators to describe them. This calendar year, cricket has gone through a lot of phases from Australia and New Zealand hosting the 11th ICC World Cup to the introduction of day-night Test matches for the 1st time in the cricket history.2015 will also leave a mark on cricket lovers mind as many legends of the game such as Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Mitchell Johnson, Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin called it a day over their long lasting cricketing careers. Here is the compilation of top 10 quotes spoken about the incidents that made this calendar year more memorable:

#1 Darren Sammy - January 2015

West Indian skipper Darren Sammy said these famous lines just before the T20 series against the South Africans in January 2015. After losing the Test series 0-2, they were in no mood to relinquish their T20 specialists status.

The Protea Fire referred to was a moving TV commercial #ProteaFire that promoted the unity despite diversity theme of the South African cricket side. The West Indian squad welcomed the return of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy and Andre Russell to their T20 squad after plying their trade all various T20 tournaments around the world.

However, it was Sammy who had the last laugh as West Indies managed to win the T20 series 2-1.

#2 Mithali Raj - January 2015

Indian women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj was surprised to win the Padma Shri Award ahead of the men's team skipper Virat Kohli and was quoted as saying “When I was pitted against Virat Kohli, I gave up.”

The 33-year old is the second female cricketer to go pass the 5000 runs landmark in ODIs at an impressive average of 48.82 runs. A veteran of 158 ODIs, 10 Tests and 49 T20 internationals since making her debut in 1999, Mithali believes that the Padma Shri will certainly help the cause of Indian women's cricket.

She is also the recipient of the Arjuna Award in 2003 for her contribution to the women's cricket in India.

#3 Mohammad Tauqir - March 2015

UAE skipper Mohammad Tauqir’s comment came just before their group stage clash against South Africa. The Proteas, led by AB De Villiers, had surpassed the mammoth total of 400 in two of the previous World Cup matches and according to Tauqir, the only way to stop them from scoring 400 against them was to win the toss and bat first.

However, Tauqir opted to bowl against this charismatic South African side and very nearly paid the price. The Proteas managed to score a whopping 341/6 in the 1st innings with de Villiers getting out just a whisker away from getting to his 21st ODI century, as he was dismissed on 99.

In return, UAE just managed to score 195/9 and lost the match by a big margin of 146 runs.

#4 Angelo Mathews - March 2015

Sri Lankan skipper Angelo Mathews made this famous emotional quote just after Kumar Sangakkara officially announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket. Sangakkara announced his retirement from international cricket after the second match of the three-Test series against India in August 2015.

The 38-year-old Sangakkara represented his nation in 134 tests, scoring 12,400 runs at an average of 57.40 runs with 38 centuries to his name. In 2015, Sangakkara became Sri Lanka's highest ever ODI run scorer, surpassing the previous record of 13,430 runs held by Sanath Jayasuriya.

There was a huge void left in the Sri Lankan batting line-up since the retirement of their 2 legendary batsman’s in Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, and they have found it difficult to cope up without them since then.

#5 Grant Elliott - March 2015

Blackcaps batsman Grant Elliott struck a six from the penultimate ball to beat South Africa by four wickets in a cliffhanger match to take New Zealand to their first ever ICC World Cup final and said that he just hit the ball hard and had no idea where the ball went.

New Zealand came to the last over of a rain-shortened match needing 12 runs to reach their Duckworth-Lewis target of 298 from 43 overs to book the place in the final.

However, Australia defeated New Zealand in the final of the ICC World Cup at the Melbourne Cricket ground in front of the whopping crowd of over 90,000 to clinch their 5th ICC World Cup trophy.

#6 RM Lodha - July 2015

These famous words from the former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha came at the time when he was reading out the verdict against the alleged corruption activities that involved two Indian Premier League sides Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals.

Both CSK and RR were suspended for 2 years from taking any part in the Indian Premier League or to be involved in any cricketing related activities.

Reading out his verdict, Lodha said that it had an adverse impact and caused immeasurable harm to the image of the BCCI and the IPL. The report also mentioned that the activities of CSK and RR officials have raised serious doubts of illegality and general distrust among cricket lovers on the game of cricket.

#7 S. Sreesanth - July 2015

Former Indian fast bowler S. Sreesanth and two other cricketers, who were discharged of spot-fixing charges by a Delhi Court in July 2015, found it hard to control his emotions and said these lines “I always wanted my name to be cleared before my daughter googles my name”.

In June 2013, Delhi Police arrested Sreesanth and two of his Rajasthani teammates on charges of spot-fixing in the 6th edition of the Indian Premier League. Following the arrest, BCCI banned Sreesanth for life from taking part in any cricket-related activities.

However in 2015, the court granted bail to Sreesanth, Chavan and the other accused, due to lack of evidence against them under the provisions of stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

#8 Sunil Gavaskar - October 2015

The famous lines were spoken by the former Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar when South Africa's AB de Villiers hit the fastest century in ODIs against West Indies in Johannesburg. The South African maestro just took 31 balls to get to his century, five balls fewer than Corey Anderson's hundred for New Zealand against the same opposition.

With the help of de Villiers and Hashim Amla, South Africa posted the second highest total(439) in ODIs. His innings included 16 sixes, which equalled the record set by Rohit Sharma, during his 209 against Australia in Bangalore.

#9 Shreyas Iyer - November 2015

Delhi Daredevils batsman Shreyas Iyer made a big name for himself in the 2015 edition of the Indian Premier League by putting in some blistering performances for the Delhi franchise.

The 20-year-old Mumbai batsman was signed by Delhi Daredevils for a whopping price of USD 430,000(approximately INR 2.6 crores), making him the highest priced uncapped player in the IPL.

He scored 439 runs in 14 matches, with an average of 33.76 and a strike rate of 128.36, making him the ninth most consistent player and Emerging Player of IPL 8.

#10 Brendon McCullum - December 2015

These were the lines from the Blackcaps skipper Brendon Mccullum after he equaled Adam Gilchrist’s record for most number of sixes hit in Tests. His 2nd six of the innings against Sri Lanka took his total to 100, joining Australian legend Adam Gilchrist as the most prolific six-hitter in Test history.

McCullum also features twice in this list of maximum sixes in an innings as he has towered 11 sixes twice (against Pakistan and Sri Lanka) in 2014. According to him, this is the only record that can be there under his name for a long time, as others are well within range to be broken by his fellow teammates Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor.

Mccullum announced his retirement from all forms of international cricket and the home series against Australia in February 2016 would be his last.