| Indian cricket has come along way since the first | | | | emerge as a formidable team in the international |
| match recorded match in 1721 that was played among | | | | scene. Indian cricket made its mark in the world cricket |
| some sailors in Western India. The first test match | | | | scene by winning the prestigious World Cup in 1983 |
| was played by the Indian national team much later in | | | | under the able captaincy of Kapil Dev. Some of the |
| 1932 at Lord’s and it has been a long and fulfilling | | | | leading cricketers in the world are a part of the Indian |
| journey till date. Indian cricket has evolved into a much | | | | cricket team. International players like Sachin Tendulkar, |
| bigger proportion than simply a ‘gentleman’s | | | | Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble who |
| game’. In India it is more of a religion where the | | | | hold many world records have added more feathers |
| players are the gods. The passionate fans of indian | | | | to the Indian cricket cap. |
| cricket are spread across the globe and they indulge in | | | | Indian cricket has always held a special place in the |
| idol worship when the players win a match against the | | | | heart of every cricket enthusiast. Cricket lovers fondly |
| rival team. The same fans can however demolish their | | | | talk about the 1960’s and 70’s when the Indian |
| gods when the performance has been poor and a | | | | spin quartet consisting of eminent Indian spin bowlers |
| match has been lost, especially against equally popular | | | | Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bhagwat |
| rivals like Pakistan, Sri Lanka or even Australia. | | | | Chandrasekhar and Bishen Singh Bedi formed one of |
| Traditionally the Indian team has been much stronger | | | | the most deadly combinations in world cricket. These |
| on home grounds than abroad and a track record of | | | | players had major contributions in elevating the |
| only 35 matches won out of the 196 matches played | | | | popularity of Indian cricket among the cricket fans. The |
| against Australia and England in the first fifty years of | | | | dismal performance of Indian team in the recently |
| Indian cricket, prove this point to a certain extent. The | | | | concluded 2007 World cup has not been able to |
| emergence of legendary figures like Sunil Gavaskar | | | | diminish the popularity and the adoration that the Indian |
| and Kapil Dev in the Indian cricket scene saw India | | | | cricketers receive from their fans worldwide. |