It has been a long time since ODIs were introduced in cricket and we have seen plenty of exciting action in this format. India played its first game in 1974 and now 48 years later, they are all set to become the first team to play 1000 ODIs when they take the field against West Indies on 6th February 2022 in Ahmedabad. Here we take a look back at India’s performance in its milestone ODIs starting with the first. So, here we go…
1st ODI – England vs India in 1974 (Headingley, Leeds)
After a long time of playing Test matches, the world was introduced to ODIs and India played their first game ever against England. It did not go well for the Indians though as the Englishmen defeated them quite comfortably. India scored a respectable 265 in their 55 overs, yes, the over limit in the 1970s and the 80s was 55. Ajit Wadekar played a fine hand but it was Brijesh Patel who was the star, scoring a quickfire 82. It was not enough though as a collective batting effort from England saw them home with 4 wickets and 23 balls in hand.
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100th ODI – India vs Australia in 1986 (Sher-I-Kashmir Stadium, Srinagar)
India were having a wonderful time after their victory in the 1983 World Cup and in 1986, they played their 100th ODI against Australia. But just like they lost their 1st ODI, this was no different. After being put into bat, India managed only 222 on the board with the highest scorer being Sunil Gavaskar. India fought really hard with the ball in hand with Kapil Dev, Roger Binny and Ravi Shastri giving it their all but the Aussies managed to cross the line in the end.
200th ODI – India vs Australia in 1992 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
This game was a part of the 1992 World Cup but as was the trend, India continued to lose in their milestone ODIs. They had lost to England in their first-ever ODI and then to Australia in their 100th. In this match, they were once again facing Australia and after losing the toss, India were made to bowl and the bowlers did a terrific job, restricting Australia to just 208. Manoj Prabhakar and Venkatapathy Raju were the pick of the bowlers and many expected that India will be able to overhaul the target but it was not to be. Apart from Shastri and Azharuddin, nobody got going and eventually, India fell short by 4 runs.
300th ODI – India vs South Africa in 1996 (Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot)
Another milestone ODI, another loss for India. Till now, they hadn’t tasted victory in any of their milestone ODIs and the wait continued. After opting to bat first against South Africa, India faltered as they could only finish on 185 with Javagal Srinath, the only player to score a fifty in that innings. South Africa took their time to chase down the score and even though, they lost 5 wickets, the result was never in doubt.
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400th ODI – India vs Kenya in 1999 (County Ground, Bristol)
India won a milestone ODI, I repeat, India won a milestone ODI. India breathed a sigh of relief when they beat Kenya in their 400th ODI. This was the game which saw Sachin Tendulkar score a fine 140 despite losing his father a few days back before this game. That showed his determination to win games for his country. Rahul Dravid too scored a ton and India posted 329 runs in their 50 overs. The target proved to be too much for Kenya as they could only muster 235 in their 50 overs. Sachin Tendulkar was rightly adjudged the Man of the Match for his brilliant knock.
500th ODI – India vs England in 2002 (Riverside Ground, Chester-Le-Street)
Unfortunately, rain had the last laugh in this game as it ended in a no-result. But, India did manage to get to bat and boy, was it a treat! Opting to bat first, India riding on a century from Sachin Tendulkar, scored 285 in their 50 overs. They would have felt that they have enough on the board. England were 53 for 1 when the heavens opened up and did not relent and forced the umpires to call the match off.
600th ODI – India vs Sri Lanka in 2005 (Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground, Rajkot)
India love playing against Sri Lanka and they continued their love affair with them in the country’s 600th ODI as well. After opting to bowl first, RP Singh’s splendid bowling spell helped India restrict the Lankans to just 196 on the board in their 50 overs. India came out all guns blazing and they needed just 34.5 overs to overhaul the target with Yuvraj Singh scoring 79 runs in just 67 balls.
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700th ODI – India vs England in 2008 (M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore)
This match was a reduced affair due to a certain party-spoiler known as rain. Reduced to 22 overs, India were put into bat and they did a splendid job with Sehwag blasting the bowlers to all parts of the park. There were some useful contributions from Gambhir and Yuvraj as well and the Indians ended up with 166 runs which is a huge score. For England, Owais Shah gave his best shot with a terrific 72 runs in 48 balls but that was not enough as England fell short by 19 runs.
800th ODI – India vs Australia in 2012 (Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney)
India were having a tough time in the Commonwealth series in 2011-2012 and when they faced Australia in Sydney for their 800th ODI, India struggled. Australia opted to bat first and played decently with David Warner, David Hussey and Matthew Wade scoring fifties. India though came back well to restrict the hosts to 252 but India’s batting struggled once again in the series. Nobody got the hang of the pitch and they were bundled out for just 165, eventually falling short by 87 runs.
900th ODI – India vs New Zealand in 2016 (Himachal Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala)
This game was played in Dharamsala which has one of the most beautiful stadiums in India and perhaps the World. India were playing New Zealand in what was India’s 900th ODI. After opting to bowl first, India’s bowlers repaid the faith as they bowled collectively well and bowled out the Kiwis for 190. Amit Mishra and Hardik Pandya picked up 3 wickets while Umesh Yadav and Kedar Jadhav picked up 2 each. India did not have to break a sweat as they chased down the score in just 33.1 overs with Virat Kohli once more being in the limelight while chasing.
Now with the 1000th ODI against West Indies on the horizon, India would look to win and start the 3-match ODI series with a bang. What will happen? We will find out.
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