Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players each on a field at the center of which is a 22-yard (20-meter) pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps.
The game proceeds when a player on the fielding team, called the bowler, "bowls" (propels) the ball from one end of the pitch towards the wicket at the other end, with an "over" being completed once they have legally done so six times. The batting side has one player at each end of the pitch, with the player at the opposite end of the pitch from the bowler aiming to strike the ball with a bat.
The batting side scores runs either when the ball reaches the boundary of the field, or when the two batters swap ends of the pitch, which results in one run. The fielding side's aim is to prevent run-scoring and dismiss each batter (so they are "out", and are said to have "lost their wicket").
Means of dismissal include being bowled, when the bowled ball hits the stumps and dislodges the bails, and by the fielding side either catching a hit ball before it touches the ground, or hitting a wicket with the ball before a batter can cross the crease line in front of the wicket to complete a run.
When ten batters have been dismissed, the innings ends and the teams swap roles. The game is adjudicated by two umpires, aided by a third umpire and match referee in international matches.
Formats of Cricket
In the golden era, cricket was played for days as each team almost played more than 100 overs a day. We can relate that to the current format of Test cricket. In the early days of cricket, an over involved eight legal deliveries. Gradually, new formats and rules came into existence and an over was reduced to six legal deliveries across all formats. We’re going to discuss the different formats of professional cricket in this chapter and few rules about them.
Test Cricket.
Test cricket is considered the format of the highest level as it required both mental and physical strength to excel. All players wear white tees and trousers for this format. A red cricket ball is used to play. The earliest format of test cricket was played for six days, with a day as reserve. The field restrictions are quite different compared to limited overs cricket.
Teams A and B have to play two innings each, if necessary. 90 overs are to be bowled every day. Team A batting first scores X runs. Team B gets to bat if team A declares their innings or is all-out. Team B should score X or more runs to stand a good chance of winning the match. Then, team A gets to bat for a second time and set target for team B. Now, Team B has to achieve the target in the time left and overs to be bowled.
In case team B gets all-out during the chase in second innings, team A is declared winner, else the match is drawn between the teams
One-Day International
One-day international (ODI) is a limited over format of cricket. It was introduced in the 1980s and 60 over a side were bowled. The dress code was the same to that of test cricket. Over the years, this format also went through drastic changes in rules, and it was reduced to 50 over a side and colored uniform. The red-ball was replaced with white-ball.
Team A batting first had to set a target for team B in 50 overs. Batting second, team B had to chase down the target in the same number of overs. If they fail to do so, team A is declared as the winner irrespective of team A bowling out team B or not.
T20 International
T20 is the latest and the most successful format of cricket. It has attracted a lot of spectators to the ground and witness the match. Cricket became a widespread game in this format and new countries like the United States, Malaysia, Canada, and Netherlands adapted to it swiftly. It originated in Caribbean islands, West Indies. Each team gets to play 20-over a side. Since it is the shortest format of the game, it is played under floodlights.
Batting first, team A sets a target for team B in 20 overs. Team B has to achieve the target in their stipulated number of overs while batting second.
Team B is declared the winner if they achieve the target else, team A is declared victorious. Team A is declared the winner even if they restrict team B from scoring the required number of runs and don’t get themselves bowled-out.
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