Another routine year for Kohli, Rashid Khan's annus mirabilis

The year 2017 was not short on drama and excitement in the limited-overs circle in international circuit and also T20 leagues across the world. The year witnessed many wonderful moments, including Pakistan lifting the Champions Trophy and Zimbabwe winning a series against a Full Member in 16 years among other things. India happened to suffer two heart breaks in the year, that too in two ICC event finals - while the men lost to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy, the women missed out on their maiden World Cup, losing to England in a humdinger at Lord's.

Virat Kohli stamped his authority yet again as the best limited-overs batsman of his time while Hasan Ali and Rashid Khan announced themselves to the world as the players to watch out for in the coming years. England's drought in 50-over ICC tournaments continued after they crashed out in the semifinal of the Champions Trophy at home while for Sri Lanka, it was a year of whitewashes. Mumbai Indians won their third IPL title and consolidated their position as arguably the best team in the first decade of IPL.

Here's a look at the six key stats from the limited-overs games in 2017:

Kohli's magnificent run in 2017:

For the second year in the running, Virat Kohli topped the run charts in international cricket. He scored 2818 runs in 2017 across three formats and since the start of 2016 has aggregated 5413 runs, comfortably ahead of the rest of the pack. He assumed full-time captaincy in the limited-overs, taking over the mantle from MS Dhoni, and in the first year of his job itself, he broke the record for most ODI runs by a captain in a calendar year - 1460 runs at 76.84 with six hundreds. During the year he galloped past several legends like Kumar Sangakkara, Sanath Jayasuriya and Ricky Ponting in terms of ODI centuries with only Sachin Tendulkar (49 hundreds) ahead of him. He asserted his mastery in run-chases yet again by becoming the leading century-maker in run-chases with 19 hundreds, two more than any other player.

Most runs in a calendar year

Mithali Raj - The Queen of Cool

2017 was a year of contentment as well as chagrin for the India Women's captain. She led India to their second World Cup final, only to choke in the last few overs to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. But on a personal front, she conquered a few territories that had been uncharted earlier. She went past Charlotte Edwards's tally of 5992 runs to become the leading run-getter in Women's ODI cricket and became the first player to breach the 6000 run-mark too. Her first seven innings in the year read 70*, 64, 73*, 51*, 54, 62* and 71* - thereby becoming the first player to hit fifty or more in seven successive innings in Women's ODIs (a feat only achieved by Javed Miandad in all ODIs). She is just five ODIs behind Edwards's 191 matches to become the most capped player in Women's ODIs.

Most runs in Women's ODIs

Rashid Khan's annus mirabilis

2017 was the year when the young 19-year old from Afghanistan grew by leaps and bounds. He tormented the oppositions in ODIs taking 43 wickets at a scarcely believable average of 10.44. His 7 for 18 at Gros Islet was the best figures for a bowler from an Associate nation and the fourth-best in the history of ODI cricket. He also became the youngest ever to reach the 50-wicket milestone in ODs at 18 years & 185 days surpassing the evergreen Shahid Afridi.

In T20 leagues around the world, he shot up to become the hottest property. While he became the first Afghan player to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he was the second from his country to do so in Big Bash League (BBL), one day after fellow teammate Mohammad Nabi. His 80 wickets this year came at an economy rate of 5.59 and his wickets tally in 2017 only trails Dwayne Bravo's, who took 87 wickets from 16 more games in 2016. The highlight of the year for him was his hat-trick for Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) where all three victims were bowled off googlies.

Most wickets in a year in 20-over cricket

Wristspinners rule the roost

Never since Shane Warne brought the dying art of leg spin to life in the mid-1990s, have wristspinners been in vogue as much as they were in 2017. For the first in their history of 933 ODIs, India fielded two specialist wristspinners together - Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav. With more sides following England's blueprint of playing attacking cricket in the middle overs in ODI cricket, the wristspinners come in play by giving the sides timely breakthroughs between overs 11 and 40. The wristspinners averaged 28.04 and took a wicket every 35 balls making them comfortably the most reliable wicket-taking option in the middle overs. It's worth mentioning two of the three hat-tricks in ODIs this year have been by wristspinners (Wanidu Hasaranga & Kuldeep) - especially considering that no leg spinner had previously taken a hat-trick in ODIs.

Bowlers in middle overs in ODIs

Sri Lanka's dubious 2017

It was a year to forget for the Island nation in ODI cricket. They lost 23 out of the 29 ODIs they played - including three 0-5 whitewashes, the first side to face the ignominy thrice in the same calendar year. The year also witnessed them losing an ODI series against Zimbabwe at home having never lost to them in a home ODI in the past. They used 36 players in 2017, four more than any other year by them. Five out of these 36 led the side - Angelo Mathews, Upul Tharanga, Chamara Kapugedara, Lasith Malinga and Thisara Perera. Their difference between batting (25.75) and bowling (48.32) was a whopping 22.57 - the highest by any side in a calendar year with at least 20 ODIs played.

Chris Gayle - Better than Bradman?

April 18 remains a watershed day in the terrains of 20-20 cricket, for it was the day IPL took off in 2008. Ten years down the line exactly on the same date, T20 cricket's first great - Christopher Henry Gayle - became the first player to cross the 10,000 run-mark in the format. The southpaw from Jamaica hit 1000 runs for the seventh year in the running and his overall sixes tally crossed 800, nearly 300 ahead of the next. His unbeaten 146 in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) final was the highest individual score in a final with his 18 maximums the most by anyone in an innings in this format. When asked if he was the Don Bradman of T20s after the BPL final, he announced in his own inimitable way: "I'm the greatest batsman of all time."

Gayle in T20s since 2011