August 15 (CRICKETNMORE) - India played first test in 1932 against England when the country was under British rule. Post Independence, as India progressed on all fronts, the growth of cricket also also flourished in the country.
In current scenario, cricket is no less than a religion in India with cricketers treated as demi-gods. Lets look at top Iconic Moments of Indian Cricket Post Independence:
1. First Test Victory against England in 1952
It took 20 years for India to register their first test victory. The iconic moment came in 1952 against England, when team India led by Vijay Hazare demolished England by an innings and 8 runs with Vinoo Mankad picking up 12 wickets. It was the first time that India also drew the 5-match series 1-1.
2. First Test Victory on foreign soil in 1968
Under the leadership of young Tiger Pataudi, Indian cricket team defeated New Zealand by 5-wicket at Dunedin in 1968. It was not only India's first Test win in New Zealand but also on foreign soil.
3. First series win on foreign soil (1970-71)
India registered their first series victory on foreign soil on the 1970-71 tour of West Indies where they won the five match series by 1-0. The series is also remembered as Sunil Gavaskar made an impressive debut by scoring 774 runs in the series against the fearsome West Indies pace attack.
4. First series win in England (1971)
After drawing the first two tests, India beat England at the Oval to register their first series win in England.
5. Prudential World Cup (1983)
In 1983, India stunned the world when they beat defending champions West Indies in the final of Prudential Cup. The victory is considered as a turning point of Indian cricket.
6. World Championship of Cricket (1985)
The World Championship of Cricket was held in Australia to commemorate 150 years of European settlement in Victoria. India beat arch-rivals Pakistan in the final to lift the trophy of World Championship. Ravi Shastri was adjudged the Player of the Series, which was at the time called 'The Champion of Champions' for his all-round performance of 182 runs and 8 wickets.
7. Hero Cup (1993)
To commemorate the Cricket Association of Bengal's diamond jubilee, a five nation ODI tournament was played in India in 1993. India won the Tournament by comprehensively beating West Indies by 102 runs in the final at Eden Gardens, Calcutta.
8. ICC Champions Trophy (2002)
Because of interruption by rain, the final of the ICC Champions Trophy 2002 couldn't be completed and the Trophy was shared between Sanath Jayasuriya’s Sri Lanka and Sourav Ganguly’s India.
9. ICC World T20 (2007)
India won the inaugural ICC World T20 Championship by beating Pakistan by 5 runs in a thrilling final at Johannesburg, South Africa.
10. India achieved Number-One in ICC Test Ranking (2009)
On 6th December 2009, India became the third team after Australia and South Africa to reach the top of the ladder since the Test Championship was first introduced in May 2001.
11. ICC World Cup (2011)
In 2011, India won their second World Cup title after 28 years and this time under the inspirational leadership of MS Dhoni. it was Sachin Tendulkar's last World Cup and his world cup journey ended on a high note.
12. ICC Champions Trophy (2013)
India beat England by five runs in the final at Edgbaston in June 2013 to win the Champions Trophy. This was their second Champions Trophy title.
13. First Away Series Sweep (2013)
India complete 3-0 series sweep against Sri Lanka. This is India’s first ever clean-sweep away from home in a series with atleast three Tests. Shikhar Dhawan of India scored most runs in the series.
Sahir