Cricket is India’s biggest and most beloved sport, with billions of people watching it on TV every year, showing up on grounds or playing local matches themselves.
Cricket is a favorite pastime for the Indian people. Still, it is an important part of society and a significant factor in bringing together international relations.
The history of cricket in India is worth taking a look at to see how far the game has come, with modern TV coverage, expanding leagues, and online cricket betting games.
Arrival and development
Cricket, an English invention sometime around the 16th century, was eventually introduced to India. It was a vital component of the British Empire after World War II until 1947.
Although there is no clear date as to when India took to the sport, the country’s first recorded cricket match was in 1721, in Kutch, where Western India, a group of English sailors relating to the East India Trading Company, played against each other. While there was no doubt that cricket was played all over the nation in the years after, the first official team was not established until 1848, when the Oriental Cricket Club was founded by the Parsi community in Bombay.
The OCC was ultimately invited to play in Europe, after which new teams began to develop in India. That included Calcutta’s (now Kolkata) likes, showing India’s commitment to cricket on the world stage.
New competitions
India began widening its tournaments to include more teams and players after being given their test match status in 1932. They played England’s international team at Lord’s in London.
Indian rulers created the Ranji trophy in 1935, after impressive Test match attendances against Pakistan and New Zealand.
The trophy was titled after Sir Ranjitsinhji, Prince of Nawanagar. He at that time was considered one of the finest batsmen in the world, even though he played for England and was made a symbol of his home country.
The Board for Cricket Control in India (BCCI) also created the Iranian trophy and the Ranji Trophy, a series to the Ranji trophy, which would be played between that winner and the rest of India.
Becoming a force
In 1932, India hosted its first official Test series. Still, until 1952, when the Indian national team beat England on home soil in a test match, it could not succeed on the international level.
Later that year, they went on to win their first entire Test series against Pakistan. As a result, when playing a team on their field, India started becoming a formidable enemy, producing high-quality players and winning multiple test series throughout the 60s and 70s.
India had to adapt their typically defensive-style tactics to visibly attack ones with One Day Internationals’ introduction. This also proved a stroke of tremendous luck for the country. In 1983, in the third official ICC Cricket World Cup, they continued to beat the favorite West Indies.
India has produced many legendary players who are considered to be some of the best in the sport’s history in the late 20th century and into the 21st. These players include Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev.
Indian Premier League
In 2008, by establishing India’s very own cricket premier league, the BCCI capitalized on the increasing success of the newly launched Twenty20
SINCE ITS LAUNCH, the IPL, which has taken place annually, runs from March or April to May and has eight teams competing in a league format to determine who is going through to the playoffs and then the final.
.Although the development of the tournament calculates to cost about $400 million, in recent years, its emphasis on franchises and its ability to bring in the best players the sport has to offer has seen its popularity rise like rockets. The IPL is watched worldwide and is generally hailed as the best national league that cricket has to offer. Its status is a gift to Indian cricket. It illustrates just how much the nation loves and supports the sport, with more future improvements.
