CRICKET SINCE AGES

As  you  all  know  that  the  cricket  was  originated  in  ENGLAND . But the  history  of  cricket  in  INDIA  is  known  to  very  few !! So , here  is  an  article  on  the  glorious  past  of  the  indian  cricket .  Hope  you  will  enjoy  it !!!!  Do  let  me  know  your  comments ( I  personally  accept  them  to  be  kind ..... hehehe)



Cricket began in the eighteenth century in India, courtesy of the arrival of the British Empire, and it is thought that the first game of cricket there took place in 1721. Cricket developed further when the Oriental Cricket Club was formed by Indians of the Parsi community in 1848.

There was a quadrangular event staged in 1912 when the Parsis took on the Hindus, Muslims and Europeans in Mumbai, which became an annual event.

In that generation, the highlight for Indian cricket, which undoubtedly inspired Indians to play the sport, was when Ranjitsinhji and KS Duleepsinhji represented England after being educated there.

Their names still adorn the two key domestic competitions in the country - the Ranji Trophy (where players represent local teams) and the Duleep Trophy (contested between five regional zones in the country - West Zone, East Zone, North Zone, South Zone and Central Zone).

India made their first tour to England in 1911 under the captaincy of the Maharaja of Patiala, though they didn't play any internationals. Their first game was against Oxford University on June 1 and they completed the tour against Gloucestershire on August 24. An indication of where they were at then was demonstrated by an innings defeat to Cambridge University.

India made their Test cricket-playing baptism in England in 1932 when CK Nayudu was skipper.

The match was played over just three days but was still long enough for England to win the only Test of the tour before a reciprocal visit in 1933.

India went on to develop some of the best players in the world such as Subhash Gupte, Bishan Bedi, Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, world record-breaking batsman Sachin Tendulkar and current skipper Rahul Dravid.

They are especially renowned to have nurtured some of the best spin bowlers of all time, like Gupte, Bedi, Erappali Prasanna and Anil Kumble. India's greatest success was winning the World Cup at Lord's in 1983 against an all-conquering West Indies side.

India Create History with World Record Run Chase

India's six-wicket victory in the third Test against West Indies at Trinidad in 1975/76 was no average Test win and was more than just a series-squaring triumph.

Their successful pursuit of the 403 West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd had set them made history when they reached 406-4. Their mark surpassed the 404 that a Don Bradman-inspired Australia chased against England at Headingley in 1948.

Although the same would have been an unlikely scenario half a decade later when Lloyd had the likes of Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and Michael Holding to call on, in this match Lloyd had only Holding at his disposal of the fearsome pace attack that was soon to terrorise batsmen of world cricket.

In fact, this match is said to have been such a hurtful event to the West Indies and Lloyd that it motivated them all to ensure they were never beaten like that again.

So maybe the hapless batsmen of the next generation should blame India for setting the hostile bowling trend that was to follow.

For now, Gundappa Viswanath (112), Sunil Gavaskar (102) and Mohinder Amarnath made hay.

Even the great Holding, albeit a raw model of the great that was to blossom, was rendered helpless and finished with figures of 0-82 from his 21 overs.

The third-wicket partnership of 159 between Amarnath and Viswanath was the pivotal stand in which the match finally swung away from West Indies.

The home side, though, had their revenge in the fourth and final match when they won by ten wickets, albeit courtesy of a controversial decision by India skipper Bishan Bedi to virtually forfeit the match because of the West Indians' so-called intimidatory pace bowling.