Madhya Pradesh is a fascinating place that basks in its own glory of natural beauty and sporting brilliance. There are a number of amazing places to visit in the second largest state of India coupled with numerous great cricket matches featuring the Indian cricket team.
If you are cricket lover who also happens to be a connoisseur of natural beauty, then Madhya Pradesh is just the place for you to visit when India plays in the state. Looking at the number of amazing games that have happened in the past, one can be almost certain that their visit won’t be futile—and then there is always the option of showering in the exquisiteness of nature after the game.
Don’t believe us? Just take a look at 5 of the best games in Madhya Pradesh:
#5 India vs Australia, 2001 – Sachin reaches 10,000
Sachin Tendulkar has broken a great many records in his long and illustrious career that spanned over two decades. Apart from being the first man to reach 200 in ODIs, he was also the first person to reach 10,000 in the same format.
It was an incredibly transcendental sight watching the master blaster break the 10,000 barrier. In the match that took place at the Nehru Stadium in Indore, Sachin scored 139 runs in just 125 balls as India cruised to a 118-run win.
It was double joy for the Madhya Pradesh locals as they got to witness ‘God’ score his 10,000th run in yet another Indian win over Australia.
#4 India vs South Africa, 2015 – Dhoni masterclass
It is almost impossible to recall a game where MS Dhoni was at his best while batting and India lost. This is a combination that rarely—if ever—happened. However, the thing that never happened was MS Dhoni having a great game with both the bat and the gloves and India losing in the process.
Against the Proteas at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, MS Dhoni led India to a well-made 247 on an extremely difficult batting track. The former India captain made 92* off just 86 balls and helped the team put up a fighting total.
But that wasn’t all. While the spinners took most of the plaudits for dismantling the South African batsmen, Dhoni assisted them by displaying supersonic speed behind the stumps as he registered four stumpings in the game to help India win by 22 runs.
#3 India vs New Zealand, 2016 – India play as World No. 1
Ask any diehard cricket fan and she/he will reiterate the commonly known fact: Test cricket is the hardest format of the game. Hence, when India reached the top spot, there was a feeling of pride in every Indian and the tickets for the match against New Zealand in Indore was the most sought after.
One of the most heart-warming and soul-satisfying sights for an Indian is watching their team play as the best nation in the world, and it becomes even sweeter when this happens after a gap of 7 years (the last time India were ranked World No. 9 was in 2009)!
Now, what made this even more memorable? Firstly, India had displaced Pakistan as the top-ranked nation, and secondly, they ended up winning the match by 321 runs at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. A massive milestone in India’s rich cricketing history.
#2 India vs South Africa, 2010 – Sachin’s 200*
We were all waiting for it. Watching Sachin score a double hundred in an ODI game was a dream come true for many. After all, he is the format’s greatest ever exponent. The 175 against Australia and 163* against New Zealand were signs that the monumental achievement was around the corner.
And when it finally happened, it happened on the soil of Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The master blaster scored almost half the team’s runs by smashing an unbeaten 200 from 147 balls as India beat South Africa by 153 runs.
Sachin’s bat was the medium that wreaked havoc as the little master created history by becoming the first ever batsman to cross the double century mark in limited overs cricket.
#1 India vs West Indies, 2011 – Sehwag’s 219
After Sachin Tendulkar broke the hoodoo of 200, the floodgates opened and the mark was breached five more times. Among them, the one who shattered it the second time, immediately after Sachin Tendulkar, was his former opening partner Virender Sehwag.
The man from Delhi was always touted to be the first man to reach the milestone, but Sachin beat him to it. However, Sehwag did it less than two years later when he smashed 219 runs from just 149 balls against West Indies and became the second ever man to cross the 200-run mark.
Sehwag’s innings of 219 totally dismantled the West Indian bowlers and in the process, India put up a humongous total of 418. The hosts ended up winning the match by 153 runs to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-match series.
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