Five best moments of India in ODI cricket ahead of its historic 1000th game

Indian team will become the first to play 1000 ODIs.

The Indian team will create history when it walks out on the field to face the West Indies in the first one-day international (ODI) of the three-match series which is slated to begin on February 6 onwards at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad.

When the toss happens, the Indian team will officially become the first-ever to play 1000 ODIs in the history of international cricket. So far, India has won 518 matches out of 999, losing 431 with a win percentage of 54.54.

Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad to host Indian men's 1000th ODI

India played its first ODI match in 1974 under the captaincy of Ajit Wadekar against England at Headingley, Leeds. The Indian board was a bit reluctant to adopt the new format, evident from their performances in the first two World Cups, where they won a grand total of one match cumulatively.

However, things changed after Kapil Dev led India to the 1983 World Cup win and when the country jointly hosted the 1987 World Cup, the fans got the first taste of this new, fast-paced format of the game and then the advent of satellite TV changed the face and popularity of ODI cricket in India.

With Team India preparing for their historic 1000^th ODI, TEAM COC takes a look at the five best moments from the Indian team’s history in ODI cricket

THE 1983 WORLD CUP WIN

One of the biggest reasons why the Indian team and fans embraced the ODI format was because Kapil Dev and his men won the Prudential (now ICC) World Cup in 1983 in England, beating two-time defending champions West Indies in the final.

Apart from the epic victory in the final at Lord’s when Indian bowlers defended a paltry total of 183 runs against a mighty West Indian batting lineup; the way a true underdog Indian team reached the finals was a story in itself.

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India had won a grand total of one match in the previous two editions of the World Cup in 1975 and 1979, with the win coming against East Africa. No one gave the Indian team a chance of going past the league round in the 1983 edition as well.

However, the team defeated West Indies and Australia in the league stages one time each, and then captain Kapil Dev played that amazing knock of 175* to help India beat Zimbabwe from a precarious position.

It gave the captain and the team confidence of going all the way, which they did, by beating England in the semi-finals and finally conquering Clive Lloyd’s men in the final on June 25 at Lord’s.

THE 1985 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF CRICKET VICTORY

If the 1983 World Cup win had started an ODI revolution in Indian cricket, it reached a peak when India came out triumphant in the much-hyped 1985 Benson & Hedges World Championship of Cricket.

The tournament was played in Australia and also featured New Zealand, Sri Lanka, England, and Pakistan apart from India and hosts Australia. India was captained by Sunil Gavaskar this time.

It was the first ODI tournament to feature colored clothing in international cricket and first-time matches were played under lights in an official manner.

India was placed in Group A with Pakistan, Australia, and England and topped the table with 3 wins in 6 matches. It faced New Zealand in the semi-final of the tournament in Sydney and managed to beat them by 7 wickets as Madan Lal took 4/37 and Ravi Shastri, Dilip Vengsarkar, and Kapil Dev scored half-centuries while chasing 207 runs.

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In the final, India faced off against arch-rivals Pakistan in Melbourne Cricket Ground and kept them to 176/9 as Pakistan batted first after captain Javed Miandad won the toss. Kapil Dev and L Sivaramakrishnan took three wickets each.

The total was easily chased down with openers Ravi Shastri and Kris Srikkanth scoring half-centuries, as India won the match and the tournament by 8 wickets.

Ravi Shastri was named the Player of the series and famously won an Audi car. This tournament win featuring all the Test teams of that time solidified Team India’s emergence as a limited-overs giant.

THE 2008 CB SERIES TRI-NATION TOURNAMENT WIN IN AUSTRALIA

Though India has won a multi-nation ODI tournament in 1985, the Men in Blue, as they were dubbed later, hadn’t won a single tri-series in which they featured in Australia.

However, things changed in 2008, when India and Sri Lanka joined Australia in the CB series tri-nation trophy. This was MS Dhoni’s first big series as India’s ODI captain and the memories of the 2007 World Cup debacle was fresh in minds of Indian fan, despite the blow being lessened by the 2007 T20 World Cup win.

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Australia topped the points table with 5 wins in 8 matches, while India beat out Sri Lanka by winning three matches in the league stage. Australia and India were slated to meet in the best of three finals and something interesting happened ahead of the finals.

Sachin Tendulkar starred with the bat in the first two finals, which India won. He made 117* helping India chase down a 240-run target, his first ODI century in Australia. He then made 91 as India made 258/9 in the second final, which India won by 9 runs after Praveen Kumar picked 4/46.

It was a huge monkey off the back of the Indian team who finally conquered the Australians in its den.

WINNING THE ICC WORLD CUP 2011

Perhaps the biggest win in India’s ODI history in recent times has been the 2011 World Cup, as it was the first time a host had won the tournament.

India co-hosted the World Cup 2011 with Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, and started off well, pummeling Bangladesh in the first match in Dhaka, with Virender Sehwag making 175 and Virat Kohli scoring a century on World Cup debut as well.

India lost just one match in the league stage, to South Africa, while one match against England ended up in an exciting tie. But they defeated West Indies, Irelands, and the Netherlands to book a place in the quarter-finals of the tournament.

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Sachin Tendulkar playing his 6^th and last World Cup, scored two centuries in the league stage, while Yuvraj Singh made one century and picked a fifer as well.

India beat Australia in the quarter-finals in an exciting match in Ahmedabad, despite Ricky Ponting scoring a brilliant century on a difficult pitch. Tendulkar, Gambhir, and Yuvraj scored half-centuries as India qualified for the semi-finals with a 5-wicket win.

In the semi-final, which was played in Mohali, India clashed with Pakistan and beat them by 29 runs with Sachin Tendulkar starring with a brilliant 85-run knock.

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Team India met Sri Lanka in the finals of the tournament in Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Mahela Jayawardene’s 103* took Sri Lanka to 274/6 in 50 overs. In reply, Sehwag and Tendulkar were dismissed by Lasith Malinga for cheap, but then Gautam Gambhir (97), along with Virat Kohli and then MS Dhoni, rebuilt the innings.

MS Dhoni remained unbeaten on 91 as India won the final by 6 wickets after he hit Nuwan Kulasekara for a six to seal the victory and made Team India world champions for the second time after 28 years of wait.  

ICC CHAMPIONS TROPHY 2013 VICTORY

Though India had won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2002, they were announced the joint-winners after the final against Sri Lanka was ruined due to rain, two times. Therefore, it was highly satisfying for the Men in Blue, when the MS Dhoni-led side lifted the ICC Champions Trophy in England in 2013.

Indian team started their journey off well, winning both the warmup matches, beating Sri Lanka, and routing Australia in the buildup.

They also remained unbeaten in the group stages, defeating the likes of South Africa by 26 runs, where Shikhar Dhawan made 114. Dhawan scored his second consecutive century against West Indies in the next match, as India won by eight wickets, in a match where Ravindra Jadeja picked 5/36.

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Finally, India defeated Pakistan in the final league match via the D/L method and booked their spot in the semi-final against Sri Lanka. Shikhar Dhawan continued his good form scoring 68 as India chased down a 182-run target against Sri Lanka and advanced to the final.

In a curtailed 20-over per-side final against England, the Indian team was down and out for the majority of the match as they crawled to 129/7 with Virat Kohli making 43. England was cruising to victory with Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara going great guns.

But then Ishant Sharma removed them both in two balls and turned the game for India, helping them win the match by 5 runs in the end. MS Dhoni lifted the ICC Champions Trophy and became the first captain to win all three ICC limited-overs tournaments.

Shikhar Dhawan won the golden bat and Ravindra Jadeja won the golden ball award.