When you live in a nation like India -- with its vast landmass, varied people and ancient history -- it's quite possible that there are many things you may not know about her. In this series, we hope to satisfy your curiosity with interesting nuggets of information about India:
For all you cricket enthusiasts, here's some info on the official origin of the game in India.
1911: An Indian team went on its first official tour of England [Images]. However, they only played against the English county teams.
June 25, 1932: Led by the legendary C K Nayadu, India makes its debut as a cricket playing nation. Again, they played against England. India lost her first official Test match by 158 runs.Incidentally, Bombay-born Douglas ('Bodyline') Jardine was part of the English team. In the first innings, he is the highest scorer with 79 runs, before he fell to Nayadu. In the second innings, he is again the highest scorer with 85 runs, not out.
Check out the scorecard of the game
February 6, 1952: India records its first Test victory against England at Madras.Later that year, India also wins its first Test series against Pakistan. Incidentally, this was the year Pakistan began playing Test cricket.
In the five match series, India won two matches, Pakistan one and last two were drawn.
Check here for the detailed stats
July 13, 1974: India plays its first One Day International. Again, they play against England. This time, the venue is Headingley, Leeds. Ajit Wadekar leads the Indian team, which loses the match by four wickets.Brijesh Patel scores a brave 82, Wadekar scores 67, but their effort is not enough to bring victory to India's door.
The scorecard for the match
One last nugget:
1848: Mumbai's Parsi community forms the Oriental cricket club. It is the first cricket club in what becomes a cricket-crazy nation. However, it is only 29 years later, in 1877, that the Europeans eventually invite them to play a match.Information courtesy Cricinfo.org, Wikipedia
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