India’s Performance on Different Cricket Formats

India has been known to be one of the countries who had embraced cricket so much. In fact, some people treat cricket as a religion in the country rather than just a sport. Most people in India have the tendency to worship cricket so much that it already becomes a part of their daily lives.

The sport had been so popular in the country to the point that everyone tunes in to updates that concern cricket and the Indian National Cricket Team. In India, cricket serves as something that binds them together. Each victory of the Indian team calls for a celebration that lights up the entirety of the country.

The sport may be simple but it is with no doubt that the Indians had already built a stable legacy in the cricketing world. In fact, the Indian team had already proven themselves throughout the years as they seem to be irreplaceable on the top of cricket leaderboards across various formats.

Having almost perfected their craft on cricket, the Men in Blue didn’t just capture the hearts of the Indians as their popularity also took the world by storm. Cricket is said to be the second-most popular sport in the world. In line with that, it may also be said that the Indian National Cricket Team is the most-watched cricket team in the world.

In fact, some statistics show that about 400 million people tune in to their television screens to watch. That’s just the number of those who watch on television screens. Aside from those, there are also countless cricket fans who happen to tune in to the internet instead.

India cricket odds are also watched out for aside from cricket updates. This is due to the fact that sports betting had been favoured upon by most Indians. Needless to say, cricket has deemed to be the most sport for Indians despite some issues on its illegality.

More often than not, cricket odds tend to be in favour of India because of the team’s reputation on the field. To understand it more, let us take a look at India’s current standing across the different formats of cricket as well as their best performances.

Test Matches

Currently, India ranks first among other countries in the Test format of cricket. Test matches serve to literally test the skills of cricket players as it is played for 5 consecutive days. It is also considered to be the most complete format of cricket. In this format, 90 overs are being bowled each day and a day is divided into 3 sessions of two hours each which includes two breaks between them. In the middle of the session, there is also a 5-minute drink break. In Test matches, each team needs to bat and bowl for two innings each.

One memorable match that had been played by the Indian National Cricket Team was played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata in 2010. The game had been captained by MS Dhoni who served to be one of India’s greatest captains. In this match against South Africa, the Men in Blue dominated the game by 57 runs as they scored 643 runs against South Africa’s total of 586 runs. In that game, the Men in Blue dominated by pulling off four impressive centuries on the course of the game.

Another remarkable Test match for the Indian team occurred in 2013 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. It was a match that had been watched by millions of Indian cricket fans with heavy hearts. That match marked Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th Test match and it served to be his final one. The stadium had incredibly been filled with fans who wish to witness the final playing moments of the much-loved player that had been dubbed as the Cricket God.

In a match against the West Indies, the Indian team had dominated the game. The victory that had been attained that day seemed to have been bittersweet for the fans as it marked the end of the Tendulkar era.

One Day International (ODI)

Falling next to England, the Indian team ranks second among the countries that take part in ODIs. ODI matches is one type of limited-overs cricket. As the name suggests, an ODI game only lasts for one whole day. The game is played by two teams with an international status. In this type of game, each team faces a fixed number of 50 overs to push through the game. Hence its name, the game takes place from day to night.

One ODI match that Indians know by heart is the game that changed everything. The greatest victory in Indian Cricket History is an ODI match at the 1983 World Cup Finals held at the Lord’s Cricket Ground. In that match, India won against the West Indies. That victory served to be the first-ever major win of the Indian team and it had paved the way for cricket’s popularity in their country and on the whole world. Initially seen as the underdogs of the game, team captain Kapil Dev and the team proved to everyone that they were true cricket champions.

Since that victory, India continued making headlines across sports news and their popularity became unstoppable. Ever since that victory happened, the Indian team continued to dominate the cricket scene until they became recognized as one of the most remarkable teams in the world.

Twenty-20 (T20) or Twenty-20 International (T20I)

Right now, India takes the fifth top spot in the T20 rankings. They come shortly after Pakistan, Australia, England, and South Africa. T20s are considered to be the most popular format of cricket as they tend to be shorter and faster. The short duration of the game draws more attention from the cricket fans. In a T20 game, each team only has 20 overs or 120 balls that can be played. Scoring more runs against the opponent still remains to be the basic objective. It is also one type of a limited-overs game which follows the same rules as the ODI but with few differences. The T20 takes place between two playing teams. However, when the game takes place between two international playing teams, the game is called a Twenty-20 International or a T20I.

India may have played a lot of T20Is but their match against Bangladesh at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru in 2016 may be counted as a memorable one. The game proved to be a really great match where India was able to go home victoriously as they won by one run. The sweet victory can well be credited to MS Dhoni’s quick thinking and sharp skills. The magical run that led to India’s victory totally surprised the Bangladeshi team.

Those are just some of India’s remarkable stunts that made them so engaging to watch. It is undeniable that the impact of the Indian team had on cricket is massive. Throughout the years, India continues to prove their worth inside cricket stadiums by dominating their matches. With that, it can be easily understood why the team never fails to leave a great impression on cricket fans from all the world every single time.