Indian Cricket - A Game For Some And A Religion For Most

Indian cricket has come along way since the firstsaw India emerge as a formidable team in the
match recorded match in 1721 that was playedinternational scene. Indian cricket made its mark in the
among some sailors in Western India. The first testworld cricket scene by winning the prestigious World
match was played by the Indian national team muchCup in 1983 under the able captaincy of Kapil Dev.
later in 1932 at Lord's and it has been a long andSome of the leading cricketers in the world are a
fulfilling journey till date. Indian cricket has evolvedpart of the Indian cricket team. International players
into a much bigger proportion than simply alike Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid
'gentleman's game'. In India it is more of a religionand Anil Kumble who hold many world records have
where the players are the gods. The passionate fansadded more feathers to the Indian cricket cap.
of Indian cricket are spread across the globe andIndian cricket has always held a special place in the
they indulge in idol worship when the players win aheart of every cricket enthusiast. Cricket lovers
match against the rival team. The same fans canfondly talk about the 1960's and 70's when the Indian
however demolish their gods when the performancespin quartet consisting of eminent Indian spin bowlers
has been poor and a match has been lost, especiallyErapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bhagwat
against equally popular rivals like Pakistan, Sri Lanka orChandrasekhar and Bishen Singh Bedi formed one of
even Australia.the most deadly combinations in world cricket. These
Traditionally the Indian team has been much strongerplayers had major contributions in elevating the
on home grounds than abroad and a track record ofpopularity of Indian cricket among the cricket fans.
only 35 matches won out of the 196 matches playedThe dismal performance of Indian team in the
against Australia and England in the first fifty years ofrecently concluded 2007 World cup has not been able
Indian cricket, prove this point to a certain extent.to diminish the popularity and the adoration that the
The emergence of legendary figures like SunilIndian cricketers receive from their fans worldwide.
Gavaskar and Kapil Dev in the Indian cricket scene