ALL IN ONE: Take a look at the most iconic Twitter events in the field of Indian sports in 2017
THE YEAR 2017 was a special one for Sports, as Indian athletes brought in the accolades and fans celebrated on Twitter. From India making it to the final of the #CT17 to Srikanth Kidambi becoming the first Indian badminton player to win 4 Super Series titles, sports formed a bulk of the conversation on Twitter. Here’s a look at all the highlights from the year gone by.
Iconic Sports Tweet of the Year
Aggressive on the field and a true gentleman off it. Virat Kohli showed he’s just that when he thanked MS Dhoni for all his years as India captain. “You’ll always be my captain,” his tweet read. This wasn’t the first time Kohli showed how much he values India’s senior pros. “Sachin has carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, it was time we carried him,” an emotional Kohli had said when India won the World Cup. Well, fans on Twitter have always taken a certain liking to Kohli’s humility. So when he paid tribute to MS Dhoni, as the legend retired from captaincy, users ensured the Tweet reached far and wide!
Thanks for always being the leader a youngster wants to have around him. You'll always be my captain @msdhoni Bhai 😊😊
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 6, 2017
Top Hashtag Trends
While cricket continues to dominate the Indian sporting sentiment, this year saw a slight twist to the trend with the Women’s game getting recognition. #IPL and #IndvsPak saw some new company with #WWC17 as the likes of Harmanpreet Singh and Mithali Raj got the fans buzzing on Twitter.
#IPL
Fan engagement touched new heights on Twitter as the IPL completed its 10th season. To mark this landmark season, Twitter celebrated #IPL10 with special emojis. Fans Tweeted the hashtag #IPL which unlocked an emoji
#INDvPAK
#INDvPAK the biggest rivalry clash broke all the records in 2017. #CT17 saw the record for the most Tweeted one day international of all time being broken by the India vs Pakistan final with 1.8 million Tweets.
#CT17
Compared to the 2013 ICC Champions Trophy tournament, this year saw a 4X growth in the usage of the official hashtag #CT17
#INDvAUS
If we talk about the cricket and Team India's rivals, the second name which comes after Pakistan is #INDvAUS. In 2017, when Australia toured India, #TeamIndia ruled the hearts on and off the field by winning the 5-match ODI series.
#WWC17
Twitter was the best place to keep up with and talk about it all as the top eight ODI nations teams battled to clinch the title of the ICC Women’s World Cup (#WWC17).
10 Most talked about Sporting Moments on Twitter, as they occurred
While sporting tournaments drew in the chatter, individual moments of brilliance on the field led to heightened conversations around sport on Twitter. Right from Federer winning his 18th grand slam to Pakistan upsetting India in the Champions Trophy final, Twitter became the center for conversation around it all.
Dhoni Steps Down
MS Dhoni ended his tenure as India limited overs captain after a decade, one that began with him lifting the World T20 in 2007. His surprise move certainly got people talking and Twitter saw an outpour of emotions as India's legendary skipper decided to step down from a position he had made his own.
Top Tweet: https://twitter.com/imVkohli/status/817219571388137476
Thanks for always being the leader a youngster wants to have around him. You'll always be my captain @msdhoni Bhai 😊😊
— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) January 6, 2017
India triumph over Australia, without Kohli!
No Virat Kohli, no problem! That’s exactly the mantra India used as they downed the Aussies in the 4th Test in Dharamsala. With Kohli injured and Rahane as stand-in captain, India managed to seal a historic 2-0 series win. Indian fans took to Twitter in jubilant fashion, lauding Team India for their efforts
https://twitter.com/ImRo45/status/846604244782342144
Do what's right, the right way and at the right time and Team India did that beautifully throughout this season. Brilliant work lads @Bcci
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) March 28, 2017
MI's incredible one-run heist
Mumbai Indians pulled off an improbable win against Pune in the 10th edition of the IPL to seal their third title. In match that seemed to be going Pune's way for the longest time, Mumbai's bowlers fought back and pulled things back in the death. That coupled with an uncharacteristically slow knock from MS Dhoni saw Mumbai clinch a nail-biting win in the final over, sealing it by a margin of just one run! Fans took to Twitter expressing shock and jubilation, depending on the side they were rooting for.
https://twitter.com/MClarke23/status/866358681209782272
I have to say @ImRo45 captaincy was first class. Under pressure he backed his gut instinct. A huge congratulations
— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) May 21, 2017
INDvPAK
When India plays Pakistan it always draws in the eyeballs. So, when the two rivals met in the final of an ICC event it was no surprise that the chatter around it reached an all-time high. #INDvPAK, the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 Final clash, was the most Tweeted about ODI ever with 1.8 million Tweets.
https://twitter.com/SAfridiOfficial/status/876464972875710465
This performance will be remembered long by both Indian and Pakistani fans :) Pakistan 've made this #CT17 truly memorable
— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) June 18, 2017
Harmanpreet takes #WWC17 by storm
During the ICC Women’s World Cup 2017, the Australian team entered the semifinals as the favourites against India in #INDWvAUSW. It was a special moment for Team India as Harmanpreet Kaur stepped up to the occasion and smashed 171 runs off 115 balls. Kaur came out to bat after India lost both openers Smriti Mandhana and Punam Raut for 35 runs. All the VITs took Twitter to congratulate her. Even Sachin Tendulkar could not keep himself from lauding the 28-year-old, that’s how good the innings was!
https://twitter.com/harbhajan_singh/status/888066885111037952
Raging performance by @ImHarmanpreet 🔥🔥way to go.. #Girlpower 👊#IndvsAus #WWC17
— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) July 20, 2017
Sindhu-Okuhara set the court on fire
In a World Championship final match that went on for an hour and 49 minutes, Sindhu and Okuhara set the court ablaze with some scintillating Badminton. Sindhu failed to come out on top losing 19-21, 22-20, 20-22. Her efforts though didn’t go unnoticed and Indian fans just couldn’t stop Tweeting about the spectacle they witnessed from the Olympic Silver medalist
https://twitter.com/MajorPoonia/status/901836180819394560
Congrats @Pvsindhu1 ,winning n loosing is part of sports n life but U played like a brave gladiator💪
— Maj Surendra Poonia (@MajorPoonia) August 27, 2017
We as a nation are proud of PV #Sindhu pic.twitter.com/hPjeJDkTay
India qualifies for 2019 AFC Asian Cup
In a group comprising Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar and Macau, India beat all odds to come out on top! With 13 points, India stormed through to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup for just the 4th time ever. Needless to say, the delight of the Indian fans was resonated on Twitter
https://twitter.com/chetrisunil11/status/874681949918445568
Today is what happens when a team decides to stick together,battle for each other and get the job done. Tough,tough game but did enough.
— Sunil Chhetri (@chetrisunil11) June 13, 2017
Srikanth becomes first to four!
India's star Badminton player Srikanth Kidambi became the first Indian badminton player to win four Super Series titles in a year. The moment was sealed when he lifted the French Open title by beating Kento Nishimoto 21-14, 21-13. That 4th Super Series title won fans’ hearts on Twitter
https://twitter.com/BoriaMajumdar/status/924651831057195010
This is some performance from @srikidambi wow wow wow! 4th super series of the year! Incredible. Congrats to him and team Gopichand.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) October 29, 2017
India shines at the Hockey Asia Cup
India’s Men’s hockey team lifted the first Hockey Asia Cup title in 10 years. Within a span of few weeks, it was Indian Women's team who did the same, beating higher-ranked China 5-4 in a thrilling penalty shootout. This win also helped them to seal a spot in the 2018 World Cup. Big moment? You bet!
These big victories roared loud on Twitter, becoming one of the most talked about moment in 2017
https://twitter.com/sachin_rt/status/919587524040724480
Splendid effort by the #MenInBlue! What a start to the festive season. Thanks, @TheHockeyIndia for putting a big smile to our face😊 #INDvPAK pic.twitter.com/bpnUzUbcJo
— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) October 15, 2017
Rohit’s third double ton
Scoring a double-century in ODIs is rare enough, doing it three times is quite unique. That’s exactly what Rohit Sharma managed to do in the 2nd ODI vs Sri Lanka, scoring an unbeaten 208, becoming the first player to do it three times. The excitement on-field was matched on Twitter as well, with fans showering praise on the India opener.
https://twitter.com/Trendulkar/status/940877854149136385
Sunil Gavaskar: Convert 1s into 2s
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) December 13, 2017
Rohit Sharma: Convert 100s into 200s
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