India played its 1000th ODI cricket match against the West Indies in Ahmedabad and they easily won that match and made the 1000th ODI match a memorable one for the whole team. We will however take a look into the 48 year journey which started in 1974 and in 2022 India became the first country in the world to play 1000 ODIs considering the fact that they did not play many ODIs for the first 8-9 years till their historic win in 1983 which changed the face of Indian cricket.
The journey for the Indian cricket team to get to the landmark 1000th ODI match was one which is filled with lots of ups and downs and in this long journey India have won 519 ODI matches out of the 1000 they have played which is over 50% and that is very impressive to keep it going for a 1000 matches and there are a lot more matches that will happen. One incredible stat among these 1000 ODIs is that Sachin Tendulkar has played in 463 ODI matches which is more than 46% of the total ODIs India has played in its history.
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Let's look at some of the most incredible moments in Indian ODI cricket history.
The 1983 World Cup
The one that changed it all and the one which enabled them to play a 1000 ODIs so this will forever be the greatest moment in India’s ODI history. Kapil Dev and his team of champions achieved something that was considered impossible at that time, beating the mighty West Indies team and scripting history. That one win alone inspired every generation of cricketers following them and it is something that will never ever be forgotten.
1985 World Championship
After winning the World Cup in 1983, 2 years after that they played in the Bensen and Hedges World Championship event in Australia and in this tournament as well the Indian team were not the favorites but they punched above their weight and won that tournament as well rounding off a couple of incredible years for the Indian team and it was the time Ravi Shastri got an Audi and the team drove that around the ground.
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2002 NatWest Trophy
The one ODI match which changed the face of modern Indian ODI cricket as before this tournament India used to lose a lot of final matches and not able to chase down big scores and then came thus tournament in England and India played really well to get to the final and in the first innings they conceded 325 runs to England and it looked all lost yet again but this team was determined to create history that day in Lord’s. Sourav Ganguly and Virender Sehwag gave the team a great start but then wickets keit falling, however 2 young stars in Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh stood up for India and scored amazing half centuries and took India home to win an improbable match and then we got the iconic shot of Sourav Ganguly twirling his shirt in Lord’s.
2008 CB Series
This would be a monumental series in Australia as it was the initial preparation for the 2011 world Cup and there were a few changes in the Indian team as well and this Indian team stood up and played some amazing cricket led by the Greatest Sachin Tendulkar who was just sensational and was ably supported by the others and then came the finals and Ricky Ponting famously said that there won’t be a third final required. And in the first two final matches Sachin Tendulkar played two of his finest knocks and the Bowlers made sure that India won the finals 2-0 and there wouldn’t be a third one needed.
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2011 World Cup
How can we talk about the glorious run of India’s ODI history and not talk about the 2011 world Cup? This was the crowning moment for the once in a lifetime career of Sachin Tendulkar and everyone wanted to win it for him. India were one of the favorites as well and India reached the knockout stages with ease and in the QF match they knocked out the Three time defending champions Australia with a great Chase and then came the SF match against Pakistan at Mohali and India beat them comfortably and it was Sachin Tendulkar again who scored 85 valuable runs. Then came the world cup final in Mumbai and the Gautam Gambhir stood up for India with a brilliant 97 and the captain saved his best for last with a splendid 91* and that Six to win India the World Cup and a fitting farewell to the Master Sachin Tendulkar.
