MAN of Steel broke many records, while Andy Murray became the first British player since 1936 to win at the Wimbledon, making 2013 a year to remember

So another year has gone by. The last 12 months not only brought us happiness and joy but also kept us all busy through different means — be it watching a movie in cinema, on DVD or following sporting actions, the year was out and out entertaining.

Entertainment highlights

Many animated flicks were released last year and while some were liked by the audience, others didn’t fare well. The year began with Escape from Planet Earth but the following flicks — Jack the Giant Slayer and The Croods — were the ones that took the world by storm, though not in Pakistan mostly because they didn’t get the screen time they deserved.

Jurassic Park 3D version, however, was liked by all since they got to see extinct creatures in 3D for the very first time! Many animated flicks (mostly in 3D) hit the silver screens around the world and appealed to fans one way or the other, some of which are: Epic, Oz the Great and Powerful, Monster’s University, Despicable Me 2, Turbo, The Smurfs 2, Planes, Free Birds, Frozen, Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs 2 and Adventures of the Penguin King

As for movies that were not made for kids but became a hit among youngsters of all sizes, the list is too big. If 2012 belonged to The Avengers, 2013 can be termed as the year when Superman returned in Man of Steel! The flick managed to break many records around the world and is still being talked about, despite being released in the month of June! Other Hollywood flicks that managed to do well included Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World, The Wolverine, The Lone Ranger, Pacific Rim, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones, Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Sports highlights

The year started and ended well for the Pakistan cricket team, but the mid-year months were anything but fine.

The Green Shirts began the year by winning the ODI series in India and ended the year with an unexpected victory in South Africa, where they won the ODI series 2-1.

No team visited Pakistan for security reasons so the ‘men in green’ had to play abroad for no fault of theirs. In between the victories, they …

• were beaten 3-0 in the Test series in South Africa early in the year;

• lost the ODI series in South Africa 3-2, claimed the T20 series 1-0;

• managed to beat Scotland, Ireland in ODIs;

• won the ODI series in the West Indies 3-1, against Zimbabwe 2-1,

• whitewashed the two-match T20 series against West Indies and Zimbabwe, and

• lost the ODI series to South Africa 4-1, T20 series 2-0 in UAE.

The year’s biggest event — ICC Champions’ Trophy — was won by India and made Mahendra Singh Dhoni the only captain ever to win the Cricket World Cup, World T20 as well as the ICC Champions’ Trophy! Pakistan’s Umar Gul wasn’t a part of the side for most of the year, however, his performance against South Africa (five wickets for six runs) earlier in the year got him the ICC Award for the Best T20 Performance of the Year!

Undoubtedly the greatest cricketer of the modern era, Sachin Tendulkar retired from all forms of cricket after representing India for 24 years at the highest level. He played his last Test match against the West Indies in Mumbai, in front of his home crowd and scored a half century on his last Test appearance.

Similarly, Sir Alex Ferguson bowed out gracefully as the manager of Manchester United, a post he held since 1986! His team made his exit memorable by claiming the English Premier League title. However, Man U couldn’t win the UEFA Champions League which was won by the German club Bayern Munich.

The world of tennis was dominated by Rafael Nadal and Serena Williams who claimed two of the four Grand Slams played — French Open and US Open. The year also saw Andy Murray become the first British player since Fred Perry, in 1936, to win at the Wimbledon. France’s Marion Bartoli clinched her first Grand Slam but retired a month later due to injury issues. Pakistan’s Aisam ul Haq (and his Dutch partner Jean Julien Rojer) didn’t reach the final of any Grand Slam event but won the doubles open titles of Miami and Stockholm Open to end the year at the sixth position.

Pakistan’s Mohammad Asif won two amateur snooker tournaments for the country, although he failed to defend his IBSF World Snooker Championship title and lost in the quarter finals. The year, however, ended with good news for Pakistan as Moizullah Baig clinched the World Youth Scrabble Championship (WYSC) title in Dubai. One hopes that 2014 brings on more happiness for the country in the field of sports as well as others.