Heist of 1983, IPL and Dhoni's epic triple: India's greatest cricketing feats in post-independence era

Economic Times

10 hours ago

ANI Heist of 1983, IPL and Dhoni's epic triple: India's greatest cricketing feats in post-independence era
India's cricketing journey post-independence is truly a movie, full of highs and lows that captivated the public! From iconic World Cup wins to unforgettable Test series victories, the nation has supported its cricketing heroes like no other country does. In the history of India cricket after independence, Team India has made the nation proud, raised the tricolour high on many occasions. Be it team performances or individual milestones, there is nothing that the Men in Blue have not achieved.
Here are some of the most important moments of the nations' post-Independence era cricket history.
1952, when India won its first-ever Test and Test series: After gaining international status back in 1932, India's grind paid off when they achieved their first-ever Test win over England at Chepauk in 1952. Vinoo Mankad's 12-wicket haul helped India take down England by an innings and eight runs, levelling the five-match series 1-1. It was in the same year that Team India also won their first-ever Test series and what a better way to do it by defeating arch-rivals Pakistan on home soil? After the win in the first Test, Pakistan managed to level the series in Lucknow during 2nd Test, while India took a lead in the next Test. The final two Tests ended in draws, giving Team India a highly cherished 2-1 series win. All-rounder Mankad's 25 wickets in the series, including a 13-wicket haul in the Delhi Test, were a massive standout. Legends like Polly Umrigar and Vijay Hazare also got their coveted Test tons.
India's first moment of glory outside the subcontinent:
After India started winning more frequently in Tests, their triumphs were mostly at home. Their first series outside Asia came in New Zealand back in the 1967-68 season under a fiery captain, Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. The four-match series concluded with India winning 3-1. A grand total of 40 wickets shared between spin wizards Erapalli Prasanna (24) and Bishan Singh Bedi (16) and Ajit Wadekar's glorious 143 at Wellington contributed majorly in team's series win. Iconic series wins in West Indies and England back-to-back under Ajit Wadekar in 1971:Ajit Wadekar's team first defeated West Indies 1-0 in a five-game series in the Caribbean in the first quarter of 1971. It was during this series that Sunil Gavaskar announced his arrival in cricket, peeling off a record 774 runs in eight innings with four centuries and three fifties against a formidable Windies attack.After that, India overcame Ray Illingworth's formidable English team that had won the Ashes with a score of 1-0 in a three-game test series. The dominance of the Indian spin trio of S Venkataraghavan, BS Chandrasekhar and Bedi is something that India still talks about till this day and their dominance paved the way for many future spin greats like Harbhajan Singh, Ravichandran Ashwin, Anil Kumble, etc.
The first World Cup victory for India in its cricket history stands out among all other accomplishments.In 1983, at Lord's, Kapil Dev's men defeated the most powerful team of that time, the West Indies, by 43 runs to win the World Cup. With just one win in the previous two editions, the Indians headed into the tournament as massive underdogs, but crushed giants like WI, Australia and England on their way to the title, shifting the power-centre of the sport forever and snatching it from the older powers with their sheer determination and self-belief.
India's rise as an Asian cricket power: By lifting the inaugural Asia Cup title, defeating Sri Lanka in the final held at the UAE and co-hosting the Cricket World Cup 1987 along with Pakistan, India sealed its status as a rising power in world cricket. Bringing the World Cup cricket to the Asian audiences proved to be revolutionary as the subcontinent wasted no time in becoming one of sport's biggest markets, and other nations started to get hosting rights for World Cups.
Gavaskar becomes first to score 10,000 Test runs: On March 7, 1987, the 'Little Master' made history by being the first batsman in Test cricket to reach 10,000 runs in his 124th game, against Pakistan in Ahmedabad. Gavaskar played a knock of 63 in a drawn Test.
The Kolkata Marathon which restored faith: After match-fixing saga, the public's faith in their beloved sport was at all-time low heading into the Australia series at home. A 10-wicket loss at Chennai did not help either. It was the marathon effort from VVS Laxman (281) and Rahul Dravid (180) at the iconic Eden Gardens, which helped India convert a 274-run deficit to a 383 run lead as they put on a massive 376 runs for the fifth wicket. Harbhajan's six-fer sealed India a series-levelling win by 171 runs. A hungry top-order's heavy run-scoring and Harbhajan's 15 wickets in the final Test helped India seal an iconic series win.
Virender Sehwag's triple delight: In 2004 at Multan, the 'Nawab of Najafgarh' smashed a powerful Pakistattack powered by Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq to pieces, becoming the first Indian to reach 300-run mark in Tests, scoring 309 in 375 balls, with 39 fours and six sixes. India won the first Multan Test by an innings and 52 runs and captured their first-ever Test series win in Pakistan. This win, which still resides in the minds of cricketing fans and has left them craving yet another Test series between these two sides.
Dhoni's historic triple from 2007-13: Once a ticket-collector with the Railways, MS Dhoni turned into a trophy collector real soon, taking India to the ICC T20 World Cup win in its inaugural edition back in 2007. After that, he brought the 50-over WC back home after 28 years, beating Sri Lanka at the home soil. The Champions Trophy win in the UK in 2013 made him the first-ever captain to win all major ICC white-ball titles. Best part about these wins? All of them team efforts to the core.
Introduction of the Indian Premier League: In 2007, BCCI unveiled the Indian Premier League (IPL). The concept's audacity lies in its franchise-based T20 league, which involves cities instead of states or provinces and features the world's top players. IPL currently is the biggest franchise-based league across the globe and has paved the way for several T20 leagues worldwide. In recent times, many IPL team owners have invested heavily in other T20 leagues worldwide as well.
Sachin turns Superhuman: With a double century in One Day International (ODI) cricket on February 24, 2010, Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar became the first male cricketer to accomplish this feat. In a second ODI match in Gwalior, he accomplished this feat against South Africa. With 25 fours and three sixes off 147 balls, Tendulkar finished unbeaten on 200 runs. India won the match by 153 runs and the pacing of Sachin innings served as a blueprint for future double centurions.
Special century for Sachin: In 2012, Tendulkar became the first batsman to hit 100 centuries in international cricket. The Master Blaster accomplished the feat against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2012. Team India's dominant Test run from 2013-2024: After a heartbreaking loss to England in 2012-end, Team India bounced back with an unbeaten Test run at home that lasted till 2024. Between February 2013 and October 2024, the Indians were victorious in 18 straight Test series played on their turf, with a new generation of stars like Virat, Rohit, Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara serving as the architects of this brilliant run. In the late 2024, NZ ended the run by whitewashing a Rohit-led India 3-0
Rohit's heroics in Kolkata: Propelled by Rohit Sharma's magnificent double-century in 2014, India marched to a 153-run win in Kolkata against Sri Lanka. While Eden Gardens celebrated 150 years, Rohit lit up the stadium with a well-paced 264 off 173 to make the occasion memorable, smashing the highest-ever ODI score. His knock had 33 fours and nine sixes.
Virat Kohli makes history Down Under: Veteran batter Virat Kohli became the first Indian captain to lead his team to a Test series win in Australia, downing them 2-1 in 2018-19. It was a series win, and India also became the first Asian side to win a Test series in Australia.
Team India breaks trophy drought: During the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup at home, Team India performed their hearts out in their 10-match win streak, but fell victim of a Travis Head counter-attack and stunning bowling, fielding by Aussies in the final at Ahmedabad. However, Team India bounced back from adversity, going on an undefeated run in their T20 WC win at Barbados last year and Champions Trophy win in Dubai this year. At Barbados, a Virat masterclass knock of 76 took India to 176/7, and India's pace choke left Proteas seven runs short. In the CT final, Rohit's match-winning 76 helped India chase down 251 set by the Kiwis, their long-time rivals in ICC events.