India national cricket team
| File:Indian cricket team shirt.jpg | |
| As of 4 July 2006 |
The Indian cricket team is an international cricket team representing India. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the main cricketing governing body in India. Cricket is immensely popular in India, with a huge fan base.
The Indian cricket team made its debut in Test cricket, the highest level of international cricket, on June 25, 1932 at Lord's, England, becoming the sixth Test team. For nearly fifty years, the India was weaker than most of the other Test cricket teams, such as Australia and England. The team gained strength in the 1970s with the emergence of players such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev and the Indian spin quartet, which consisted of the four great spin bowlers Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, BS Chandrasekhar and Bishen Singh Bedi. The Indian team has continued to be highly ranked since then in both Test cricket and One-day Internationals. The team won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and were runners-up in 2003. The current team contains many of the world's leading players, including Sachin Tendulkar. As of 2 July 2006, the team is ranked fourth in the ICC Test Championship[1] and fifth in the ICC ODI Championship[2]
History
- See also: India at the Cricket World Cup, List of Indian Test cricketers and List of Indian ODI cricketers
Cricket was introduced to India during the late 1800s, brought on as a result of the British rule of the nation. In the early 1900s, some Indians went on to play for the English cricket team. Some of these, such as Ranjitsinhji and KS Duleepsinhji were greatly appreciated by the British and their names went on to be used for the Ranji Trophy and Duleep Trophy. India made its debut as a Test-cricket-playing-nation in England in 1932 led by CK Nayudu, well before Indian independence. The match was given test status despite being only 3 days in length. England, batting first, scored 259 with fast bowler Mohammad Nissar being effective against the openers and tailenders. However, the team was not strong in its batting at this point and went on to lose by 158 runs. The signs were still optimistic and India continued to improve over the years. The team's first series as an independent country was in 1948 against Sir Donald Bradman's Invincibles (the name given to the Australian cricket team of that time). It was a tough series with Australia easily winning 4-0 in 5 matches.
India recorded its first Test victory against England at Madras in 1952 and later in the year won its first Test series (against Pakistan). India were strengthened by the likes of batsmen Polly Umrigar, Vijay Manjrekar and bowler SM Gupte. They continued their good form throughout the early 1950s with a series win against New Zealand in 1956, however they did not win in the remainder of the 1950s and received a number of thrashings from strong Australian and English sides.
The 1960s developed India's reputation as a team that is considered unbeatable at home. Although they only won two series (both against New Zealand), they managed to draw home series against Pakistan, England and Australia. The decade starred the batting performances of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Dilip Sardesai, Hanumant Singh and Chandu Borde as well as bowling performances from off-spinner EAS Prasanna.
Most of the 1970s was dominated by India's bowling spin quartet of Bishen Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan. This period also saw the emergence of two of India's best ever batsmen, Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath. This group of players was responsible for the back-to-back series wins in 1971 in the West Indies and in England, under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar. India was not considerably strong in ODIs at this point, not going further than the first round in the first two editions of the Cricket World Cup.
During the 1980s, other players like Mohammed Azharuddin, all-rounder Ravi Shastri, Laxman Sivaramakrishnan, Sanjay Manjrekar, Krish Srikkanth and spin bowler Maninder Singh emerged. India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983, defeating West Indies in an exciting final. In 1984, India won the Asia Cup and in 1985 India won the World Championship of Cricket in Australia. In 1986, India achieved a Test series victory against England, which would remain for the next 19 years, the last Test series win by India outside subcontinent. Mohinder Amarnath and Dilip Vengsarkar added further batting depth to the Indian lineup. The 1987 Cricket World Cup was held in India and India emerged as favourites in the semi-finals, only to suffer an upset defeat. The 1980s saw the peak of star batsman Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev (India's best all rounder to this date). Gavaskar made 34 centuries as he became the first man to surpass the 10,000 run mark Kapil Dev became the highest wicket taker in Test cricket with 434 wickets, a record that has only recently been surpassed.
The emergence of Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble in 1989 and 1990 gave further proof of Indian cricket's depth, and the Indian side went from strength to strength during the 1990s, though most of its successes were at home. Batsmen Rahul Dravid, Saurav Ganguly and fast bowler Javagal Srinath made their mark in international cricket during this decade. In 1999, Anil Kumble emulated Jim Laker to become the second bowler to take all ten wickets in a Test match innings when he took 10 wickets for 74 runs against Pakistan at Delhi.
India's performance in the remaining world cups has been considerably consistent. In the 1987 Cricket World Cup, the team advanced to the semi-finals as favourites, they did the same in 1996, both times they suffered defeats in the semi-finals. India was less strong in the 1999 Cricket World Cup, and did not make it past the Super Six section. However they impressed all in the 2003 Cup, only losing two games (both against reigning champions Australia) and advancing to the finals before taking a loss.
India's strengths have always been its line-up of spin bowlers and batsmen. It has a very strong batting lineup with Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag all being selected to play for the ICC World XI in the 2005 "SuperTest" against Australia.
Tournament History
- 1975: Round 1
- 1979: Round 1
- 1983: Champions
- 1987: Semi Finals
- 1992: Round 1
- 1996: Semi Finals
- 1999: Super 6 (6th Place)
- 2003: Runners Up
- 2007: Qualified
- 1998: Semi Finals
- 2000: Runners Up
- 2002: Joint Winner with Sri Lanka
- 2004: Round 1
- 2006: Qualified Main Group A
- 1998: Round 1
- 1984: Champions
- 1986: Boycott
- 1988: Champions
- 1990/1991: Champions
- 1995: Champions
- 1997: Runners Up
- 2000: 3rd Place
- 2004: Runners Up
Team Colours
When playing one-day cricket, the Indian cricket team has in recent years worn a sky blue shirt and pants. At present, the shirt also contains a tricolour design which reflects the Flag of India and the name of their main sponsor, Sahara. The one-day cap is also sky blue with the BCCI logo on the front, with a similar tricolour design on the brim of the cap. In the past the Indian ODI outfits have been different shades of blue, mostly darker than the current, and the team donned black during 1992.
When playing first-class cricket, in addition to their cricket whites, Indian fielders sometimes wear a sunhat, which is dark blue and has a wide brim, with the BCCI logo in the middle of the front of the hat. Helmets are coloured similarly. Some players sport the Indian flag on their helmet. The kit sponsor for the Indian team is Nike, Inc..
Test cricket grounds
There are a number of world-renowned cricket stadiums located in India. The first stadium to host a Test match in India was the Gymkhana Ground in Mumbai in 1933. The second and third Tests in the 1933 series were hosted at Eden Gardens and Chepauk. The Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi was the first stadium to host a Test match after independence, being a draw against the West Indies in 1948, the first of a 5-Test series. Nineteen stadiums in India have hosted official Test matches. Eden Gardens in Kolkata has hosted the most Tests (34), and also has the largest capacity of any cricket stadium in the world, being capable of holding more than 100,000 spectators.
Fan following
Cricket is the de facto national sport of India and has a very wide following among the population of India. As a result, the Indian cricket team has considerable moral advantage in its home matches. Stadiums are generally packed at matches played in India; due to large Indian diaspora in nations like Australia and England, a large Indian fan turnout is expected whenever India plays in each of these nations as well.
There have been a number of official fan groups that have been formed over the years, including the Swami Army or Bharat Army, the Indian equivalent of the Barmy Army, that were very active in their support when India toured Australia in 2003/2004.
However, there are downsides to having such a cricket-loving population. Many Indians hold cricket very close to their hearts and losses are not received well with the Indian population. In some cases, particularly after losses to Pakistan or after a long string of weak performances, there have been reports of player effigies being burnt in the streets in response to the performance. In many cases, players have come under unbearable attention from the media for all the wrong reasons, this has been considered as one of the reasons for Saurav Ganguly being left out of the Indian team. However, it should be noted that a successful string of results, victories against arch-rivals Pakistan or victory in major tournaments such as the World Cup are greeted with particular ecstasy from the Indian fans.
Indian women's cricket team
The Indian women's cricket team has a much lower profile that the men's team. For all national women's cricket teams, the female players are paid much less their male counterparts, and the women's teams do not receive as much popular support or recognition as the men's team. The women's teams also have a less packed schedule compared to men's teams and play fewer matches. The Indian women's cricket team played its first Test match in 1976/7, when they drew with the West Indies in a six-match series.
The Women's Cricket World Cup was held in India in 1978 and featured 4 teams. Despite this, India failed to win either of their two matches. Their next appearance in the Test and ODI circuit was against Australia in 1984, in which the Test series was tied but the ODI series was lost in a humiliating whitewash.
The Indian women's cricket team has since picked up some form, reaching the finals in the last World Cup, but then losing to Australia. The Women's Asia Cup of 2005-06 was won by India, who beat Sri Lanka in the final. They also beat the West Indies in the 2004-05 season, winning the 5 ODI series 5-0.
National records
Sachin Tendulkar is easily the batsman with the most national achievements. He holds the record of most appearances in both Tests and ODIs, most runs in both Tests and ODIs and most centuries in tests and ODIs. The highest score by an Indian is 309, scored by Virender Sehwag, India's only triple century in Test cricket. The team's highest score ever was a memorable 705 against Australia in Sydney, 2004, while it's lowest was an embarrassing 42 against England in 1974. In ODIs, the team's highest was 376 against New Zealand in 1999.
India also has very strong bowling figures, with spin bowler Anil Kumble being a member of the elite group of 4 bowlers who have taken 500 wickets. Many Indian bowling records are held by Irfan Pathan, a paceman who is relatively new to the Indian line-up. Irfan Pathan is currently ranked withiin the top five all-rounders in both Test matches [3] and One-day Internationals [4] in the LG ICC Player Rankings and is rising as a much needed all rounder in the Indian team. India's strength has traditionally been with its spin bowlers, which explains the records achieved by Anil Kumble and Bishen Singh Bedi.
Many of the Indian cricket team's records are also world records, for example Sachin Tendulkar's century tally and run tally. Roy and Mankad's first wicket partnership of 413 is a world record for the first wicket, although it was close to being broken by Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid in 2006. However, interviews with the players later on revealed that they were unaware of the situation. The Indian cricket team also has the record of being the team with the largest number of consecutive, successful run-chases in ODIs (17), a streak which ended recently in the second ODI of the ongoing series against the West Indies.
Recent performances
Historically, the Indian team has not performed as well overseas as it has in India. Since about 2000, the Indian team has undergone a resurrection under the guidance of former coach John Wright and former captain Saurav Ganguly. As a sample of their newly acquired confidence, they drew a Test series with Australia in Australia, which is usually considered a tough tour. It was followed by a historic Test and ODI series win against arch-rivals Pakistan on the tour.
India has had a very good record against Australia and, before the 2004/05 tour, had never let Australia beat them in a Test Series in India since 1969. This was the reason for Australian captain Steve Waugh labelling India as the "Final Frontier". [5] The famous 2001 Australian tour of India started a good run for the team, as India beat Australia 2-1. India also came runners up to Australia in the final of the 2003 Cricket World Cup.
However, since 2004, India has not been doing as well in One-day Internationals. The Indian team improved its rating to #3 on the ICC rankings on the back of recent performances, while it is at #3 in Test cricket. The players who took India to great heights over the past 10 years such as Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble are growing older and not consistently maintaining form and fitness. Under the new coach, Greg Chappell, who took over from John Wright in 2005, India faces a challenge to build a winning team before the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.
The series against Sri Lanka in 2005 is probably the best ODI series for India for quite a long time now. They had taken hold of the series by winning 6 out of the 7 one day internationals. The best part about this series has been the discovery of the young talent of the team, including Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir and Irfan Pathan. The team also beat the Sri Lankans in the test series 2-0 to displace England from its position in second place in the ICC Test rankings, but India slipped back by losing the high-profile series to Pakistan. Despite the loss, the Indian team has continued it's good form in ODIs, beating Pakistan 4-1 in their country. India chased down 17 successful targets making it a world record. India convincingly won England's tour of India winning the series 5-1. Although after leveling the DLF Cup series 1-1 in Abu Dhabi, India travelled to West Indies where they lost the ODI series 1-4 to a weak West Indies team which was ranked 8th in the ICC ODI Ranking. The series loss again questioned the Indian team's ability to play away from the Sub-continent and the chances of the Indian team to win the 2007 Cricket World Cup. However, the Indian team managed to answer its critics by clinching the test series against West Indies 1-0.
Current squad
| Name | Batting Style | Bowling Style |
|---|---|---|
| Captain | ||
| Rahul Dravid | RHB | OB |
| Wicket-keeper | ||
| Mahendra Singh Dhoni | RHB | - |
| Opening batsmen | ||
| Sachin Tendulkar | RHB | LB, LBG, OB |
| Virender Sehwag | RHB | OB |
| Robin Uthappa | RHB | RMF |
| Wasim Jaffer | RHB | OB |
| Specialist middle-order batsmen | ||
| V. V. S. Laxman | RHB | OB |
| Yuvraj Singh | LHB | SLA |
| Mohammed Kaif | RHB | OB |
| Suresh Raina | LHB | OB |
| Venugopal Rao | RHB | OB |
| All-rounder | ||
| Irfan Pathan | LHB | LMF |
| Seamers | ||
| Vikram Singh | RHB | RFM |
| Ajit Agarkar | RHB | RFM |
| Rudra Pratap Singh | RHB | LMF |
| Shanthakumaran Sreesanth | RHB | RFM |
| Munaf Patel | RHB | RMF |
| Spin Bowlers | ||
| Anil Kumble | RHB | LBG |
| Harbhajan Singh | RHB | OB |
| Ramesh Powar | RHB | OB |
| Piyush Chawla | RHB | LB |
The team has completed the West Indian tour.West Indies Though it lost the ODI series 4-1, it won the Test Series 1-0.
The Indian team has won a series in West Indies after a gap of 35 years. The last series victory against West Indies at the Carribean Soil was in 1971.
Tests Win/Draw/Loss Record Under Current Captain: 5/5/3
ODIs Win/Loss Record Under Current Captain: 18/13
Captains
Twenty-eight men have captained the Indian cricket team in at least 1 Test match, although only 6 men have led the team in more than 25 or more matches, and 5 men have captained the team in ODIs but not Tests. India's first captain was CK Nayudu, who led the team in four matches against England, one in England in 1932 and a series of 3 matches at home in 1933/4. Lala Amarnath, India's fourth captain, led the team in its first Test match after Indian independence. He also captained the side to its first Test victory and first series win, both in a 3-match series at home against Pakistan in 1952/3.
The Nawab of Pataudi was captain for 36 matches from 1961/2 to 1969/70, returning for a final 4 matches against West Indies in 1974/5. India played its first ODI in 1974, under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar. India won its first ODI under the captaincy of Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan in the 1975 Cricket World Cup, against East Africa.
Sunil Gavaskar took over as Test and ODI captain in the late 1979s and early 1980s, leading India in 47 Test matches and 38 ODIs, winning 9 Tests and 14 ODIs. He was succeeded by Kapil Dev in the 1980s, who continued for 34 Test matches, including 4 victories. Kapil Dev led India to victory in 40 of his 74 ODIs in charge, including the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
India has had only four regular Test captains since Mohammad Azharuddin took charge in 1989. Azharuddin led the team in 47 Test matches from 1989/90 to 1998/9, winning 14, and in 173 ODIs, winning 89. He was followed by Sachin Tendulkar, who captained India in 25 Test matches and 73 ODIs in the late 1990s; Tendulkar was relatively uncuccessful as a captain, winning only 4 Test matches and 23 ODIs. He was replaced as ODI captain by Ajay Jadeja and then Sourav Ganguly; Ganguly became the regular captain in both forms of cricket in 2000. Ganguly remained captain for the first 5 years of the 2000s and was much more successful, winning 21 of his 49 Test matches in charge and 73 of his 141 ODIs. The current captain, Rahul Dravid, took over as Test captain in 2005.
Ancillary members
The current coach of the Indian cricket team is Australian Greg Chappell who succeeded John Wright in 2004. India has recently developed a strategy of using foreign expertise in order to build the team. In the recent series against the West Indies, the touring squad included Ian Frazer as bio-mechanical expert, John Gloster as team physiotherapist and the manager of the team Ranjib Biswal.
See also
External links
References
- ^ "ICC - Test Cricket". ICC. http://www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved April 09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|publisher=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "ICC - One-Day International Cricket". ICC. http://www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved April 09.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|publisher=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "ICC - Test Cricket". ICC. http://www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved April 23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|publisher=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "ICC - One-Day International Cricket". ICC. http://www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved April 23.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); External link in|publisher=|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Cricinfo Steve Waugh Column 10 April 2001