India and ODI cricket: How the love affair began

Dilip Vengsarkar top scored for India in their first ever one-day game at home

India might have taken giant strides in the ODI format of the game today, but when one-day cricket first started off in 1971, it was not taken as seriously by India as it was by England and Australia at the time.

The first day of the inaugural World Cup in 1975 can be given as evidence for the above statement. Chasing 334 in 60 overs, Sunil Gavaskar crawled his way to 36 not out as India finished at 132 for 4 at the end of their 60 overs, falling way behind the target. India’s performance in the following World cup in 1979 was also unimpressive, even losing to new-comers at the time, Sri Lanka.

The World Cup win of 1983 did prove to be a significant moment in the history of Indian one-day cricket. Going into the tournament, few gave India a chance to win the event, but through some spirited performances, India went on to win the trophy and became the first team to do so after the West Indies.

India’s reluctance to try out the new format

India did play one day games on overseas trips those days, however, the Indian board were reluctant to conduct matches in their own backyard. One of the reasons being that the board was not as strong as it is today, financially. Test matches in India brought in a lot of spectators to the stadiums and the board feared that staging of one day games could reduce crowds and thereby, lead to loss in revenue.

England arrived in India in the winter of 1981-82 and the by this time, 2 World Cups had been conducted and Indian fans were eager to watch limited overs matches being played back home. The visitors, too, wanted to play one-day games along with the Tests and after much deliberation, 3 one-day games were scheduled along with 6 Test matches.

However, in a first, the matches were 50 over affairs, with fielding restrictions until the 15th over and two three-and-half hours sessions.

Who knew that, 33 years on, almost identical set of rules would be employed throughout the world in limited overs Internationals.

"It is the first occasion that the Indians have staged a limited-over match between two countries," the Times correspondent at the match noted. "But they have not been prepared to accept advice from the tourists despite their great experience of this type of cricket."

India’s first ODI at home

So, on the 25th of November 1981, India played its first One-day International at home against England in Ahmedabad. England did however get their way a bit as the match was reduced to 46 overs a side due to a delayed start. It proved to be a dull game in the end with England winning by 5 wickets.

However, contrary to the Indian board’s apprehensions, a packed crowd filled in the Motera to witness the match but were rewarded with some boring cricket.

Charged up by the loss, India came back strongly to win the remaining 2 games to win the series 2-1.

The impact of One-day cricket on the fans in India was seen two years later when Pakistan came visiting and spectators flocked the stadiums for the One-day games.

33 years on, India have gone to become a superpower in the ODI format, winning every single tournament there is to win and are without a doubt the financial powerhouse of the world.