Indian Cricket: a Game for Some and a Religion for Most

Indian cricket has come along way since the first match recorded match in 1721 that was played among some sailors in Western India. The first test match was played by the Indian national team much later in 1932 at Lord’s and it has been a long and fulfilling journey till date. Indian cricket has evolved into a much bigger proportion than simply a ‘gentleman’s game’. In India it is more of a religion where the players are the gods. The passionate fans of indian cricket are spread across the globe and they indulge in idol worship when the players win a match against the rival team. The same fans can however demolish their gods when the performance has been poor and a match has been lost, especially against equally popular rivals like Pakistan, Sri Lanka or even Australia.

Traditionally the Indian team has been much stronger on home grounds than abroad and a track record of only 35 matches won out of the 196 matches played against Australia and England in the first fifty years of Indian cricket, prove this point to a certain extent. The emergence of legendary figures like Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev in the Indian cricket scene saw India emerge as a formidable team in the international scene. Indian cricket made its mark in the world cricket scene by winning the prestigious World Cup in 1983 under the able captaincy of Kapil Dev. Some of the leading cricketers in the world are a part of the Indian cricket team. International players like Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble who hold many world records have added more feathers to the Indian cricket cap.

Indian cricket has always held a special place in the heart of every cricket enthusiast. Cricket lovers fondly talk about the 1960’s and 70’s when the Indian spin quartet consisting of eminent Indian spin bowlers Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Bishen Singh Bedi formed one of the most deadly combinations in world cricket. These players had major contributions in elevating the popularity of Indian cricket among the cricket fans. The dismal performance of Indian team in the recently concluded 2007 World cup has not been able to diminish the popularity and the adoration that the Indian cricketers receive from their fans worldwide.

The Indian cricket scenario has always been greatly unpredictable with the players performing in an inconsistent manner in every game and tournament in which they have participated. The fans of Indian cricket are always assured of a passionate game and nail-biting experience as the results of the match remain unpredictable till the very end depending on the unexpected performance of Indian cricketers. The unpredictability of the game is perhaps a key ingredient in the passion for the game. The fans have completely accepted the cricketers as one of their own - their own gods who can be berated when they don’t perform and worshipped when they do. This endearing relationship between the players and the fans of Indian cricket has given it a special place in the heart of every cricket enthusiast.