243 incidents documented
Royal Challengers Bengaluru vs Mumbai Indians
10 May 2026
Tim David was fined 30% of his match fee and handed two demerit points after appearing to raise his middle finger towards the Mumbai Indians dugout as RCB's two-wicket win sealed MI's exit from IPL 2026 — a gesture broadcast cameras caught live and social media amplified within minutes.
South Africa, West Indies, England
10 March 2026
South Africa and West Indies stranded in India 8-11 days after T20 WC 2026 while England departed in 48 hours, sparking ICC bias claims.
Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
14 April 2026
Tim David fined 25% of match fee for twice refusing to hand the ball to umpires in the same match — a Level 1 Code of Conduct breach.
Kolkata Knight Riders vs Mumbai Indians
20 May 2026
Hardik Pandya fined 10% of match fee for knocking bails off in frustration during MI vs KKR — a Level 1 equipment abuse offence in IPL 2026.
Punjab Kings vs Mumbai Indians
15 May 2026
Punjab Kings fast bowler Arshdeep Singh sparked a national controversy when a video from a pre-match interaction before PBKS's IPL 2026 encounter with Mumbai Indians went viral on 15 May 2026. In the clip, Arshdeep greeted Mumbai Indians batter Tilak Varma by calling him "Andhere" — Hindi slang meaning "dark one" or "darkness" — before asking whether he had applied sunscreen and then holding him next to teammate Naman Dhir, saying "This is the real glow of Punjab." The remarks, directed at Tilak's dark skin tone, were condemned by former India spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan as a racial slur and generated widespread public debate about the normalisation of colourism in Indian cricket. Mumbai Indians' social media response — a viral post showing Tilak emerging from darkness — was itself criticised for amplifying rather than defusing the controversy.
Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings
15 May 2026
Mumbai Indians batting coach Kieron Pollard was fined 15 per cent of his applicable match fee and given one demerit point after directing audible abusive language at the fourth umpire during MI's tense last-ball IPL 2026 victory over Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on 15 May 2026. The offence — a Level 1 breach of Article 2.3 of the IPL Code of Conduct — occurred during the 19th over of the second innings. Pollard admitted the offence and accepted the sanction imposed by match referee Pankaj Dharmani.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
3 May 2026
A 10th-over flashpoint between Tilak Varma and Jamie Overton during MI's innings against CSK at Wankhede produced one of the most replayed clips of IPL 2026 — and a backstory CSK captain Ruturaj Gaikwad later admitted he had personally lit. After Tilak struck Overton for a four, Gaikwad told Overton from the boundary that the all-rounder ought to "go home and skip the IPL". Overton, infuriated, took it onto the field; the next over, Tilak nudged the ball towards midwicket, looked for a second run, and had to swerve past Overton at the non-striker's end. Words flew. Suryakumar Yadav and the umpires intervened.
Mumbai Indians
29 April 2026
A pre-match practice session at the Wankhede produced one of IPL 2026's most circulated bystander clips. Quinton de Kock, in middle practice ahead of a Mumbai Indians home game, hit a towering straight six that cleared the practice area and headed for the back wall. A ball boy, repositioning behind the boundary, attempted a leaping catch and instead caught his shoulder against a TV set on a stand, sending the monitor toppling onto the grass. The ball, untouched, rolled away. The TV survived. The clip did not.
Mumbai Indians vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
29 April 2026
Ryan Rickelton smashed the fastest century by a Mumbai Indians batter in IPL history — 100 off 44 balls — in MI's clash against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 29 April 2026. Rickelton finished unbeaten on 123 off 55 deliveries, the highest individual score by an MI batter in IPL history.
Mumbai Indians
5 May 2026
Hardik Pandya's IPL 2026 with Mumbai Indians has produced the lowest captaincy win rate in MI's franchise history — 40.54 per cent — and a four-match losing streak that left the side on the wrong side of the playoff race. Speculation about whether Rohit Sharma or Suryakumar Yadav should take back the captaincy ran through the season, sharpened by a public Bumrah-Pandya field-placement clash on 16 April and Ravichandran Ashwin's "underwhelmed" comment on broadcast.
Mumbai Indians vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru
12 April 2026
Rohit Sharma sustained a hamstring injury during MI's 12 April 2026 match against Royal Challengers Bengaluru and missed at least three subsequent matches as a result. The injury, suffered during a stretching shot, came at a moment when MI's struggling 2026 campaign could not afford the loss of its most experienced batter.
Mumbai Indians
April 2026
Ravichandran Ashwin, working as a broadcast analyst during IPL 2026, said publicly that he was "underwhelmed" with Hardik Pandya's Mumbai Indians captaincy — a rare on-air criticism from a fellow active senior international that became a recurring reference point in MI's mid-season captaincy debate.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
April 2026
Mumbai Indians' use of Shardul Thakur as concussion replacement for Mitchell Santner during their Wankhede match against CSK in April 2026 placed the IPL's like-for-like concussion-substitution rule under public scrutiny. Critics argued that an all-rounder for a frontline spinner was not a like-for-like swap. MI's coaching staff, led by Mahela Jayawardene, defended the call as procedurally correct.
Mumbai Indians
April 2026
Mumbai Indians head coach Mahela Jayawardene used the post-match press conference following the Santner-Thakur concussion substitution at Wankhede to publicly clarify the IPL's like-for-like protocol — confirming MI had followed the rule exactly and that the match referee's approval had been procedurally sound.
Mumbai Indians vs Punjab Kings
16 April 2026
Mumbai Indians captain Hardik Pandya and senior bowler Jasprit Bumrah were involved in a visible on-field disagreement over field placements during MI's defeat to Punjab Kings at the Wankhede Stadium on 16 April 2026. The incident, broadcast live, came during PBKS's chase as Prabhsimran Singh — eventually 80 not out and player of the match — was building his innings. After Bumrah dropped a catch from Pandya's bowling, Pandya was filmed reacting angrily towards his senior bowler. The defeat was MI's fourth in a row.
India vs Australia
19 November 2023
Several contentious DRS decisions during the 2023 World Cup Final added to India's frustration as they lost to Australia despite being unbeaten throughout the tournament.
India vs Australia
7-11 June 2023
India were penalized for a slow over rate during the WTC Final, continuing a pattern of teams being docked championship points for failing to meet the required overs per day.
Australia vs India
9 June 2023
Travis Head and Mohammed Siraj had a heated exchange during the WTC Final at The Oval, with aggressive celebrations and verbal jousting.
India Women vs Bangladesh Women
25 July 2023
India captain Harmanpreet Kaur kicked the stumps after being given out LBW, earning a match ban and widespread criticism for her on-field behaviour.
India Women
5 June 2023
Reports of multiple India women's cricketers failing mandatory fitness tests sparked debate about whether the standards were appropriate and whether adequate training resources were provided.
India Women
27 October 2022
The BCCI announced equal match fees for men and women cricketers in 2022, but the disparity in central contracts and overall compensation remained massive, sparking debate.
India Women vs England Women
24 September 2022
Jhulan Goswami's farewell match at Lord's was overshadowed by the Mankad controversy, and many felt India's greatest fast bowler deserved a more befitting send-off.
India Women vs England Women
24 September 2022
Deepti Sharma ran out Charlie Dean at the non-striker's end to seal an ODI series sweep. The dismissal reignited the Mankad debate globally.
England Women vs India Women
24 September 2022
Deepti Sharma ran out Charlotte Dean at the non-striker's end for backing up too far, sparking a fierce global debate about the spirit of cricket versus the laws of the game.
India U19 vs England U19
5 February 2022
India U19's exuberant celebrations after winning the 2022 U19 World Cup went viral, with some senior commentators criticising the youngsters for being 'over the top' while fans found it endearing.
India vs England
24 February 2021
The third Test between India and England at the newly rebuilt Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad ended inside two days, with 30 wickets falling on a pitch that turned sharply from the first session.
India (internal)
8 December 2021
Virat Kohli was stripped of the ODI captaincy and replaced by Rohit Sharma in a move he claimed was made without prior consultation, exposing rifts within the BCCI and Indian cricket's power structure.
India vs England
24-25 February 2021
Multiple controversial LBW decisions in the pink-ball Ahmedabad Test that finished inside two days, with questions about ball tracking accuracy on a turning pitch.
India vs England
5-9 March 2021
The on-field umpire's 'soft signal' of out for a Ben Stokes catch that appeared to have been grassed was upheld by the third umpire, sparking fury over the soft signal rule.
South Africa vs West Indies
28 October 2021
Quinton de Kock withdrew from South Africa's T20 World Cup match against the West Indies after Cricket South Africa mandated players take a knee before matches.
India vs Various
5 February 2021
Virat Kohli was regularly caught on stump microphones delivering animated verbal volleys to opponents, becoming both celebrated and criticised for his intensity.
Australia Women vs India Women
8 March 2020
Shafali Verma's stumping off Alyssa Healy's gloves in the T20 World Cup Final was controversial, with questions about whether the ball had been gathered cleanly before the bails were removed.
India U19 vs Bangladesh U19
9 February 2020
The 2020 U19 World Cup Final between India and Bangladesh descended into ugly scenes after the match, with players from both sides involved in a physical altercation on the field.
India (selection controversy)
16 April 2019
After being overlooked for the 2019 World Cup squad in favor of Vijay Shankar — whom selectors described as a '3-dimensional' player — Ambati Rayudu posted a sarcastic tweet about ordering '3D glasses' for watching the World Cup.
Mumbai Indians vs Chennai Super Kings
12 May 2019
Lasith Malinga appeared to overstep on the crucial final over but the no-ball was not called, potentially costing CSK the IPL 2019 title.
India vs New Zealand
10 July 2019
MS Dhoni's run out by Martin Guptill's direct hit in the World Cup semi-final was upheld by the third umpire after a close review that many felt could have gone either way.
India vs Various
2019-06-16
MS Dhoni's stump microphone picked up his constant instructions, tactical chatter, and hilarious commentary from behind the stumps, entertaining fans worldwide.
Australia vs India
14 December 2018
Kohli and Paine had a running battle throughout the 2018-19 series, including a shoulder bump at Perth and Paine calling Kohli the most immature captain.
Australia vs India
29 December 2018
Tim Paine sledged Rishabh Pant behind the stumps by offering to babysit Pant's kids so he could come play for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash.
India Women
24 November 2018
India's greatest women's cricketer Mithali Raj was sensationally dropped from the T20 World Cup semi-final, leading to a bitter public war of words with coach Ramesh Powar.
India Women vs England Women
23 July 2017
India controversially demoted Mithali Raj in the batting order during the World Cup Final at Lord's, a decision that many blamed for India's defeat.
India (internal)
20 June 2017
Anil Kumble resigned as India head coach citing an 'untenable' relationship with captain Virat Kohli, in one of the most public coach-captain breakdowns in cricket history.
India vs New Zealand
2017-10-25
MS Dhoni was caught on stump mic directing Kuldeep Yadav ball-by-ball, essentially captaining from behind the stumps and predicting exactly what the batsman would do.
India vs England
November 2016
The third umpire failed to check for a front-foot no-ball on a wicket-taking delivery, a standard protocol that was missed. The dismissal stood without the check being made.
West Indies vs England
2016-04-03
After Carlos Brathwaite hit four sixes to win the T20 World Cup Final, Marlon Samuels celebrated by draping himself in a blanket-like flag and sitting in a chair with his feet up.
West Indies / Various IPL
2016-04-03
Dwayne Bravo released a calypso song called 'Champion' and performed the dance after every wicket, making it one of cricket's most infectious and entertaining celebrations.
India vs South Africa
25 November 2015
The Nagpur Test pitch for the 2015 India-South Africa series was rated 'poor' by the ICC after the match ended in under three days on a pitch that crumbled and turned square from day one.
West Indies / KKR
1 November 2014
West Indian spinner Sunil Narine was reported for a suspect bowling action multiple times across various tournaments, highlighting the ongoing challenges of policing bowling actions in modern cricket.
England vs India
12 July 2014
An alleged physical altercation between Ravindra Jadeja and James Anderson in the players' tunnel at Trent Bridge led to charges, counter-charges, and a messy ICC hearing that satisfied nobody.
India / ICC / Multiple Nations
1 February 2014
The BCCI's dominance of world cricket through its financial muscle has repeatedly shaped ICC governance, culminating in the controversial 'Big Three' restructuring that gave India, Australia, and England disproportionate control.
West Indies (internal)
1 June 2014
The West Indies cricket team abandoned their tour of India in 2014 over a pay dispute with the WICB, highlighting decades of conflict between the board and its players that contributed to West Indian cricket's decline.
India, Australia, England vs Rest of Cricket World
8 February 2014
India, Australia, and England pushed through a radical ICC restructuring that gave them a vastly disproportionate share of revenue and governance power, undermining smaller cricketing nations.
West Indies / Kolkata Knight Riders
2014-2015
Sunil Narine's bowling action was reported multiple times, leading to suspensions and modifications to his action that significantly impacted his international career.
England vs India
17 July 2014
Virat Kohli and James Anderson had intense verbal exchanges throughout the 2014 series in England, with Kohli accusing Anderson of being abusive and disrespectful.
Australia vs West Indies
1 February 2014
Mitchell Starc threw the ball at Kieron Pollard in frustration after Pollard obstructed him during a run, leading to an ugly exchange.
England vs India
13 July 2014
James Anderson allegedly pushed Ravindra Jadeja in the players' corridor at Trent Bridge during the 2014 Test series, leading to ICC charges and hearings.
West Indies U19
15 February 2014
A group of West Indies U19 players staged a walkout during a regional youth tournament, protesting poor accommodation, inadequate food, and substandard playing facilities.
India vs Various
2013-06-20
Ravindra Jadeja's sword-twirling celebration after milestones became one of cricket's most recognizable and entertaining trademark celebrations.
West Indies vs Australia
2012
Kieron Pollard was given out hit wicket in a controversial decision where it was unclear whether his bat or body dislodged the bails.
India vs Pakistan
30 March 2011
Sachin Tendulkar survived multiple contentious decisions in the World Cup semi-final against Pakistan, including a caught-behind appeal that Pakistan chose not to review.
India vs Sri Lanka
2 April 2011
Sachin Tendulkar survived an LBW decision via DRS review in the 2011 World Cup Final, with ball tracking showing the ball just missing the stumps.
India vs Various
26 March 2011
Virender Sehwag was famous for his devastating counter-sledging, often delivered with deadpan humor that left opponents speechless.
India vs Various
6 April 2011
Sachin Tendulkar showed visible frustration with umpiring decisions on multiple occasions, particularly with Billy Bowden, despite his generally calm demeanour.
India vs Sri Lanka
2 April 2011
Former Sri Lankan sports minister alleged that the 2011 World Cup final between India and Sri Lanka was fixed, triggering an investigation by Sri Lanka Cricket and the ICC.
India vs Pakistan
2 March 2010
Gambhir and Afridi had multiple heated confrontations across several matches, including a famous shoulder bump during the Asia Cup 2010.
Sri Lanka vs India
2010-07-22
Murali needed one wicket to reach 800 in his final Test but kept being denied, creating incredible tension before Pragyan Ojha finally became his 800th victim with the last ball.
Indian Premier League
1 April 2009
A strategic timeout in cricket is a brief, scheduled break in play during a T20 innings — most prominently used in the Indian Premier League — that allows the fielding and batting teams to consult tactically and that gives broadcasters a defined window for advertising. The IPL introduced the strategic timeout in its second season in 2009, and the rule has since become a defining structural feature of the tournament. Each innings has two strategic timeouts of two and a half minutes each, one taken by the bowling side and one by the batting side, both within fixed over-windows.
Kings XI Punjab vs Mumbai Indians
25 April 2008
Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth after an IPL match in 2008, with Sreesanth photographed crying on the field, in one of the most infamous player-on-player incidents in cricket history.
India vs Various / ICC Governance
24 November 2008
India refused to use the Decision Review System for nearly eight years after its introduction, citing concerns about the technology's reliability, while critics accused the BCCI of blocking progress.
Australia vs India
6 January 2008
Harbhajan Singh was accused of racially abusing Andrew Symonds during the Sydney Test, leading to India threatening to abandon the tour and one of the ugliest diplomatic incidents in cricket history.
Australia vs India
2-6 January 2008
One of the most controversial Tests ever — terrible umpiring decisions, racial abuse allegations, and India threatening to abandon the tour.
Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab
25 April 2008
Harbhajan Singh slapped Sreesanth after an IPL match, leaving Sreesanth in tears on the field. Harbhajan was banned for the remainder of the IPL season.
Australia vs India
17 January 2008
A young Ishant Sharma bowled a magical spell to Ricky Ponting at Perth, laughing at the Australian captain after beating him repeatedly.
Australia vs India
6 January 2008
Andrew Symonds accused Harbhajan Singh of calling him a 'monkey' during the infamous Sydney Test, triggering one of cricket's biggest racial controversies.
West Indies
15 May 2008
West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels was banned for two years by the ICC for providing information to a bookmaker during a series against India in 2007.
Mumbai Indians vs Kings XI Punjab
25 April 2008
Harbhajan Singh was caught on camera slapping Sreesanth after an IPL match, leading to Harbhajan's suspension and a tearful Sreesanth becoming a viral image.
Australia vs India
2008-03-27
Andrew Symonds flattened a streaker who ran onto the field during an ODI, shoulder-charging him with the force of a rugby player and sending him sprawling.
Australia vs India
2008-01-06
Steve Bucknor's string of poor decisions in the infamous 2008 Sydney Test became so comically one-sided that even neutral fans were laughing in disbelief.
India vs England
2007-09-19
Yuvraj Singh hit Stuart Broad for six consecutive sixes in a single over during the 2007 T20 World Cup, the fastest fifty in T20I history.
Bermuda vs India
2007-03-19
Bermuda's 20-stone Dwayne Leverock defied physics to take a spectacular one-handed diving catch at slip, then celebrated like he'd won the World Cup.
England vs India
2007-09-05
Just days after Yuvraj Singh's six sixes, Dimitri Mascarenhas hit five sixes off one Yuvraj Singh over in an ODI, in a delicious irony that cricket fans loved.
India (internal)
6 October 2005
India coach Greg Chappell's leaked email to the BCCI recommending Ganguly's removal as captain created a massive controversy that split Indian cricket and eventually led to Ganguly being dropped entirely.
India vs Pakistan
28 March - 1 April 2004
Sachin Tendulkar was controversially declared caught behind for 194 when replays suggested the ball may not have hit his bat, denying him a double century in Pakistan.
India vs Pakistan
16 March 2004
Shoaib Akhtar and Virender Sehwag had epic confrontations across multiple India-Pakistan matches, with Shoaib's raw pace against Sehwag's fearless counter-attack.
India vs Australia
20 January 2004
Indian batsman Rahul Dravid was caught on camera applying what appeared to be a lozenge or cough sweet to the ball during the Adelaide Test against Australia.
India vs England
1 March 2003
Sachin Tendulkar was given out LBW off a ball that appeared to be going well over the stumps, sparking outrage among Indian fans.
Australia vs India
23 March 2003
Ricky Ponting survived a caught-behind appeal early in his innings during the 2003 World Cup Final. He went on to score 140 as Australia demolished India.
India vs Kenya
18 March 2003
Steve Bucknor's umpiring during the 2003 World Cup reinforced his reputation as an umpire who frequently made errors in high-profile matches involving India.
India vs Pakistan
1 March 2003
In the 2003 World Cup India-Pakistan match, Sachin Tendulkar was bowled by Shoaib Akhtar early in his innings, but Pakistan failed to appeal for an LBW earlier, and there were claims Akhtar was overstepping throughout.
West Indies vs Australia
25 April 2003
McGrath sledged Sarwan about his personal life. Sarwan reportedly responded with a comment about McGrath's wife Jane, who was battling cancer at the time.
India vs England
13 July 2002
Sourav Ganguly removed his shirt and waved it from the Lord's balcony after India's dramatic NatWest Trophy victory, in response to Andrew Flintoff's similar act in Mumbai.
India vs South Africa
20 November 2001
Match referee Mike Denness charged Sachin Tendulkar with ball tampering and imposed bans on six Indian players after the Port Elizabeth Test, leading India to demand Denness' removal and nearly causing a diplomatic crisis.
India vs Australia
11-15 March 2001
Several contentious LBW decisions went both ways during India's historic follow-on victory against Australia in Kolkata 2001, one of the greatest Tests ever played.
India vs South Africa
16 November 2001
Sachin Tendulkar was charged with ball tampering by match referee Mike Denness during a Test in South Africa, causing a diplomatic crisis between India and the ICC.
India vs Various
5 December 2000
Indian all-rounder Ajay Jadeja was banned for five years by the BCCI after CBI investigation found evidence of links with bookmakers — the most high-profile cricketer caught in India's 2000 match-fixing purge alongside Azharuddin.
South Africa vs India
2000-04-07
On April 7, 2000, the Delhi police Crime Branch announced they had recordings of South African captain Hansie Cronje discussing match-fixing arrangements with London-based Indian bookmaker Sanjeev Chawla. The wiretap had been placed for an extortion case unrelated to cricket. A police officer's son recognised Cronje's voice on a tape brought home — and the biggest scandal in cricket history began.
India
5 December 2000
Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life from cricket after a CBI investigation found he had been involved in match-fixing, ending the career of one of India's most stylish batsmen.
India vs Various
5 December 2000
Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin was banned for life by the BCCI after the CBI found evidence of his involvement in match fixing, based on revelations from the Hansie Cronje investigation.
South Africa vs India
19 March 2000
Hansie Cronje offered Herschelle Gibbs $15,000 to score fewer than 20 runs in an ODI against India. Gibbs agreed but then scored 74, failing to carry out the fix.
South Africa vs India
9 March 2000
Delhi Police intercepted phone calls revealing Hansie Cronje had been in contact with bookmaker Sanjay Chawla during the 2000 India tour of South Africa, sparking the global match-fixing crisis.
India vs Pakistan
1999-02-07
On February 7, 1999, Anil Kumble took all ten Pakistani second-innings wickets — 10 for 74 in 26.3 overs — to become only the second bowler in Test history to claim a 'Perfect Ten' after Jim Laker (1956). India won by 212 runs.
West Indies vs Australia
1999-03-04
In February 1999 Mark Taylor retired and Steve Waugh became Australia's Test captain. His first series — the Caribbean tour — was a 2-2 dramatic draw featuring Brian Lara's 213 and 153 not out. From there Waugh built the most dominant Test team in cricket history, including a record 16 consecutive Test wins.
India vs Pakistan
8 June 1999
Sachin Tendulkar was given out caught behind in the high-stakes India-Pakistan World Cup match despite replays suggesting the ball brushed his pad, not bat.
India vs South Africa
1999-06-05
Herschelle Gibbs dropped a catch off Sachin Tendulkar after celebrating prematurely, reportedly prompting Tendulkar to tell him 'You've just dropped the World Cup, mate.'
West Indies vs Australia
1999-03-29
Brian Lara and Jimmy Adams were involved in one of cricket's most comically bad run-out mix-ups, with both batsmen ending up at the same end while the fielders watched in amusement.
South Africa vs West Indies
1998-11-01
On November 1, 1998 in Dhaka, South Africa beat West Indies by four wickets in the inaugural ICC KnockOut Trophy final — the tournament that would become the Champions Trophy. It was also the first ICC senior tournament hosted by Bangladesh, a strategic gift to the Test-aspirant nation.
West Indies
1998-11-05
On November 5, 1998, West Indies' touring squad — heading to South Africa for their first post-apartheid tour — refused to board the connecting flight from London to Johannesburg. Captain Brian Lara and vice-captain Carl Hooper led nine players in a stand-off with the West Indies Cricket Board over allowances and tour fees. The team holed up at Heathrow's Excelsior Hotel for almost a week. The board sacked Lara and Hooper, then reinstated them, and the squad arrived in South Africa demoralised and unprepared. They lost the Test series 5-0.
India vs Australia
22 April 1998
In the first of the two Sharjah finals, Sachin Tendulkar was given out LBW to a ball that appeared to be heading down leg. The decision denied fans a potentially historic innings.
India vs Australia
6-10 March 1998
Michael Slater claimed a low catch to dismiss Sachin Tendulkar, but replays suggested the ball had bounced before reaching his hands. The on-field decision was out.
India vs Pakistan
1997-05-21
On May 21, 1997, Saeed Anwar slammed 194 off 146 balls against India in Chennai, breaking Viv Richards' 13-year-old record (189 not out vs England 1984) for the highest individual score in an ODI. He hit 22 fours and 5 sixes and used a runner for half of his innings.
Sri Lanka vs India
1997-08-06
On August 6, 1997 at Colombo's R Premadasa Stadium, Sri Lanka declared at 952 for 6 — the highest team total in Test history. Sanath Jayasuriya made 340; Roshan Mahanama 225. Their second-wicket partnership of 576 was a then-Test world record. The Test was drawn.
India (internal)
1 January 1997
Sachin Tendulkar's brief and unhappy stint as India captain in the late 1990s, replacing Azharuddin, was marked by poor results, factional politics, and the eventual return of captaincy to Azharuddin.
India vs Pakistan
15 October 1997
Inzamam-ul-Haq charged into the crowd with a bat after being persistently taunted by an Indian spectator with a megaphone during a Sahara Cup match in Toronto.
India vs Pakistan
15 September 1997
Inzamam-ul-Haq climbed into the crowd with a bat to confront a spectator who had been abusing him during the Sahara Cup match in Toronto.
India vs Various
1 May 1997
Former Indian all-rounder Manoj Prabhakar alleged widespread fixing in Indian cricket and claimed Kapil Dev had offered him money to underperform, triggering a major investigation.
India vs Pakistan
1997-09-14
Inzamam-ul-Haq stormed into the crowd with his bat after being heckled by a spectator in Toronto.
Sri Lanka vs Australia / West Indies
1996-02-17
After a Tamil Tigers truck bomb killed 91 people at Colombo's Central Bank on January 31, 1996, both Australia and West Indies refused to travel to Sri Lanka for their 1996 World Cup group matches. The ICC awarded Sri Lanka both games on forfeit — a decision that propelled the eventual champions into the knockouts unbeaten on points.
India vs Pakistan
1996-03-09
On March 9, 1996, Pakistan's Aamer Sohail cut Venkatesh Prasad for four, then pointed his bat at the boundary as if to say 'I'll do it again'. Next ball Prasad bowled him, then animatedly waved him off the field. The send-off became the defining image of the India-Pakistan 1996 World Cup quarter-final, won by India by 39 runs.
England vs India
1996-06-22
On June 22, 1996, Sourav Ganguly (131) became only the third batter to score a Test hundred on debut at Lord's, while Rahul Dravid fell five short of a debut century with 95. The pair added 94 for the fifth wicket — the first chapter in a partnership that would underpin Indian cricket for the next 15 years.
India vs Sri Lanka
1996-03-13
On March 13, 1996, an estimated 110,000 spectators at Eden Gardens watched India collapse from 98/1 to 120/8 chasing 252 against Sri Lanka. As the Indian innings disintegrated, sections of the crowd set fire to the stands and threw bottles onto the field. Match referee Clive Lloyd halted play, returned briefly, and finally awarded the semi-final to Sri Lanka. Vinod Kambli walked off in tears.
India vs Sri Lanka
13 March 1996
The 1996 World Cup semi-final at Eden Gardens was effectively decided by the match referee after the crowd rioted when India collapsed in the chase.
India vs Sri Lanka
13 March 1996
The 1996 World Cup semi-final at Eden Gardens was abandoned after Indian fans rioted, hurling bottles and setting fires when India's batting collapsed against Sri Lanka's spinners.
West Indies vs Australia
1995-05-03
On May 3, 1995, Australia beat the West Indies by an innings and 53 runs at Sabina Park to take the four-Test series 2-1 — and end West Indian dominance of Test cricket after 15 years and 29 unbeaten series. Steve Waugh's 200 and a 231 stand with twin Mark anchored the win.
West Indies vs Australia
28 April 1995
Curtly Ambrose got in Steve Waugh's face after being told to go back to his mark. Richie Richardson had to pull Ambrose away. Ambrose then bowled a devastating spell.
West Indies vs England
1994-04-18
On April 18, 1994, Brian Lara hooked Chris Lewis to the leg-side boundary to move from 365 to 375, breaking Sir Garfield Sobers' Test batting record that had stood since 1958. The 24-year-old left-hander batted nearly 13 hours and faced 538 deliveries before edging Andy Caddick to wicketkeeper Jack Russell.
India vs Australia
1994-09-09
After 78 ODI innings without a hundred, Sachin Tendulkar finally got his first one-day century — 110 off 130 balls against Australia at the R Premadasa Stadium during the 1994 Singer World Series. Wisden later called it 'an innings that changed ODI cricket forever.'
India vs Sri Lanka
1994-02-08
On February 8, 1994 at Motera, Kapil Dev had Hashan Tillakaratne caught at slip by Sanjay Manjrekar to claim his 432nd Test wicket and pass Sir Richard Hadlee for the all-time Test wicket-taking record. He was 35; he had been chasing the record for two seasons.
Australia vs West Indies
1993-01-30
On January 30, 1993, Curtly Ambrose produced one of the great fast-bowling spells of the modern era — 7 for 1 in 32 balls — to demolish Australia from 85 for 2 to 119 all out in the Perth Test. He finished with 7 for 25; West Indies won by an innings and 25 runs to seal the Frank Worrell Trophy 2-1.
Australia vs West Indies
1993-01-05
On January 5, 1993, a 23-year-old Brian Lara made his maiden Test hundred at the SCG — and turned it into 277 off 372 balls before being run out. The innings, his fifth Test, announced the arrival of the most exciting batter of the 1990s.
Australia vs West Indies
1993-01-26
On January 26, 1993, West Indies beat Australia by one run at Adelaide — the narrowest victory by runs in Test history. Australia, chasing 186, were 102 for 8 when Tim May (42 not out) and Craig McDermott (18) added 40 for the ninth wicket and then 42 for the tenth before McDermott was given out caught behind off a Courtney Walsh bouncer with two runs needed.
West Indies vs England
18 November 1993
Curtly Ambrose refused to remove his white wristbands when asked by the umpire, leading to a standoff that required captain Richie Richardson's intervention.
Australia vs India
1992-02-03
On the fastest pitch in the world, an 18-year-old Sachin Tendulkar made 114 off 161 balls against Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes and Mike Whitney while teammates wilted. India lost the Test by 300 runs but Tendulkar's innings became a generational reference point — he himself rates it among his very best.
South Africa vs India
1992-11-14
On November 14, 1992 at Kingsmead, Sachin Tendulkar became the first batter in cricket history to be given out by a third umpire. Cyril Mitchley referred a tight run-out call upstairs to Karl Liebenberg, who confirmed Tendulkar was out for 11. The technology era of decision-making had begun.
West Indies vs South Africa
1992-04-18
On April 18-23, 1992, South Africa played their first Test match in 22 years — against the West Indies in Bridgetown. They lost by 52 runs after collapsing from 122/2 to 148 all out chasing 201. Curtly Ambrose took 6/34 in the second innings; Barbadian fans largely boycotted the game in protest at Anderson Cummins' omission.
Pakistan vs India
1992-03-04
Javed Miandad mocked Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More's jumping celebrations by doing exaggerated frog-like jumps at the crease, creating one of cricket's most iconic comedy moments.
India vs South Africa
1991-11-10
On November 10, 1991, South Africa returned to international cricket after 22 years of apartheid-era isolation, playing India in front of more than 90,000 spectators at Eden Gardens, Calcutta. The Proteas lost by three wickets — but cricket's lost nation was back.
England vs India
1990-08-14
On August 14, 1990, a 17-year-old Sachin Tendulkar scored an unbeaten 119 to save the Old Trafford Test for India. It was his first international century — the start of a tally that would grow to 100 across formats. He shared an unbroken 160-run seventh-wicket stand with Manoj Prabhakar.
India, Pakistan
1989-11-15
Aged 16 years and 205 days, Sachin Tendulkar walked out at Karachi to face Wasim Akram, Imran Khan, Waqar Younis and Abdul Qadir on Test debut — the youngest Indian Test cricketer and the start of a 24-year career.
England, West Indies
1988-06-04
On a damp Old Trafford pitch in 1988, Malcolm Marshall produced what many of his peers consider his masterpiece — 7 for 22 in 18.3 overs to bowl England out for 93.
India, New Zealand
1988-11-12
On 12 November 1988 at Bangalore, Richard Hadlee took his 374th Test wicket — overtaking Ian Botham as the leading wicket-taker in Test history.
India, Pakistan
1987-03-07
Sunil Gavaskar reached 10,000 Test runs against Pakistan at Ahmedabad in March 1987, becoming the first batsman in history to cross the mark and recalibrating cricket's notion of longevity.
West Indies vs Pakistan
1987-11-01
Courtney Walsh refused to run out Pakistan's non-striker Saleem Jaffar who was backing up too far, costing West Indies a World Cup spot in one of cricket's greatest acts of sportsmanship.
England, West Indies
1986-04-15
Eighteen months after the 1984 Blackwash, West Indies repeated the 5-0 in the Caribbean, this time with the debutant Patrick Patterson making the Sabina Park pitch genuinely terrifying for England's batsmen.
West Indies, England
1986-02-21
Replacing the rested Michael Holding at Sabina Park in February 1986, Patrick Patterson took 4 for 30 and 3 for 44 on his Test debut on what Graham Gooch later called 'the only pitch I have ever feared for my life on'.
India vs Australia
18-22 September 1986
The second-ever tied Test in history featured several close umpiring decisions that could have changed the outcome either way.
England vs West Indies
1986-07-03
After Greg Thomas told Viv Richards he'd missed the ball, Richards smashed the next delivery out of the ground and told Thomas to go find it.
West Indies
1985-06-30
Standing six feet eight inches, Joel Garner — 'Big Bird' — bowled the most accurate Test yorker of the 1980s, took 259 Test wickets at 20.97 and was the second pillar of Clive Lloyd's pace cartel alongside Malcolm Marshall.
West Indies
1985-01-20
Clive Lloyd retired from international cricket and the West Indies captaincy at the end of the 1984-85 Australian tour, ending an 11-year reign that included two World Cup finals, the Blackwash, and the most successful captaincy in cricket history at the time.
West Indies
1985-02-15
Viv Richards inherited the West Indies captaincy from Clive Lloyd in 1985 and led the side through a six-year peak in which he never lost a Test series — a captaincy distinction unique in modern cricket history.
England, West Indies
1984-08-13
Clive Lloyd's West Indies became the first touring side to win every Test of a five-match series in England, sweeping the home team 5-0 in a result that was instantly nicknamed the 'Blackwash'.
England, West Indies
1984-07-12
With his left hand encased in a plaster cast after a double fracture, Malcolm Marshall came out to bat one-handed at Headingley, helped Larry Gomes to a century, then took 7/53 to win the Test.
England, West Indies
1984-07-02
Set 342 in 78 overs by David Gower's declaration, Gordon Greenidge made an unbeaten 214 at better than a run a ball to win the Lord's Test for West Indies with two overs to spare.
India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
1984-04-06
Emirati businessman Abdul Rahman Bukhatir built a cricket stadium in Sharjah and, between 1981 and 1984, turned it into the first major neutral venue for international cricket — culminating in the inaugural 1984 Asia Cup.
India, Zimbabwe
1983-06-18
India were 17 for 5 against Zimbabwe at Tunbridge Wells in the 1983 World Cup when Kapil Dev walked in and made an unbeaten 175 — the highest individual ODI score at the time and the innings that turned the tournament.
India, West Indies
1983-06-25
Bowled out for 183 against the two-time defending champions, India dismissed West Indies for 140 — Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal taking three wickets each — to win the 1983 World Cup and change Indian sport forever.
Pakistan, India
1983-01-14
Javed Miandad made his career-best 280 not out at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad, against India in January 1983 — the innings ended only when captain Imran Khan declared with Miandad 20 short of a triple century.
India, West Indies
1983-06-25
Madan Lal's 3 for 31 — including the wicket of Viv Richards — and Mohinder Amarnath's 3 for 12 in seven overs ripped through the West Indies in the 1983 World Cup final and made an unlikely 183 enough to win the trophy.
West Indies, South Africa
1983-01-19
Captained by Jamaican batsman Lawrence Rowe, two unauthorised West Indies XI tours of apartheid South Africa in 1982-83 and 1983-84 led to lifetime bans by the WICB and the social ostracism of all 18 squad members across the Caribbean.
Pakistan, India
1982-12-30
Imran Khan's 8 for 60 in the second innings at Karachi headlined a 40-wicket series in which he averaged 13.95 — one of the most dominant individual fast-bowling performances in Test history.
India, Sri Lanka
1982-09-17
Duleep Mendis became the only batsman in Test history to score identical centuries — 105 and 105 — in both innings of a Test, in Sri Lanka's first ever Test in India at Madras in September 1982.
South Africa vs England/Sri Lanka/West Indies/Australia rebel XIs
6 March 1982
Multiple international teams sent unofficial rebel squads to play in apartheid-era South Africa, leading to lengthy bans for participating players and deepening cricket's political fault lines.
India
1 March 1981
Sunil Gavaskar became the first Indian batsman to reach 6,000 Test runs in 1981, during India's overseas tour of Australia and New Zealand — joining the elite group of Bradman, Sobers, Cowdrey, Hammond, Hutton and Boycott. The milestone came at Basin Reserve, Wellington on 1 March 1981.
Australia vs India
7 February 1981
Sunil Gavaskar was given out LBW to Dennis Lillee off a ball that clearly hit his bat first. He was so furious he tried to take his batting partner Chetan Chauhan off the field with him.
Australia vs India
7 February 1981
Sunil Gavaskar was so furious with an LBW decision that he tried to take his batting partner Chetan Chauhan off the field with him in protest.
New Zealand vs West Indies
12 February 1980
Michael Holding kicked the stumps out of the ground in frustration after an LBW appeal was turned down against John Parker.
West Indies vs England
23 June 1979
Vivian Richards' 138 not out off 157 balls and Collis King's 86 from 66 balls in a 139-run fifth-wicket partnership took West Indies to 286/9 in the 1979 Prudential World Cup final at Lord's. England, in reply, were dismissed for 194 — the chase undone by the slow-batting opening pair of Geoffrey Boycott (57 from 105 balls) and Mike Brearley (64 from 130). West Indies retained the World Cup with a 92-run victory.
India vs West Indies
7-12 April 1976
India chased down 403 to win at Port of Spain in April 1976, finishing on 406/4 to claim the third Test by six wickets — the second-highest successful fourth-innings chase in Test history at the time, after only Bradman's 1948 Invincibles. Gavaskar 102, Mohinder Amarnath 85, Gundappa Vishwanath 112, and Brijesh Patel 49 not out drove the chase across the final two days against a four-spinner West Indian attack. The result so embarrassed Clive Lloyd that, three weeks later at Kingston, he selected four genuine fast bowlers — the moment generally identified as the start of the West Indian pace strategy of the next two decades.
West Indies (vs Australia, India, England)
January-December 1976
Vivian Richards scored 1,710 runs in eleven Tests in 1976 at an average of 90.00, with seven centuries — a record that stood for thirty years until Mohammad Yousuf's 1,788 in 2006. The aggregate included 556 in Australia, 384 in the Caribbean against India, and 829 against England in four Tests, capped by 291 at the Oval. Richards missed the Lord's Test of the English summer with glandular fever; the seven centuries broke Garry Sobers' previous record of six in a calendar year.
India vs West Indies
21-25 April 1976
At Sabina Park in April 1976, three weeks after India's chase of 406 at Port of Spain, Bishan Bedi declared India's first innings closed at 306/6 and effectively forfeited the second at 97 — five Indian batsmen recorded as "absent hurt" — in protest at what he considered intimidatory short-pitched bowling. Anshuman Gaekwad was hit behind the ear and hospitalised, Brijesh Patel struck in the mouth, and Vishwanath's finger broken. It was Clive Lloyd's first Test as captain with four genuine fast bowlers — Roberts, Holding, Daniel and Holder — and the moment is generally identified as the start of the West Indian pace strategy of the next two decades.
Australia vs West Indies
31 January - 5 February 1976
Lance Gibbs took his 309th Test wicket — Gary Gilmour caught Fredericks — in the sixth Test of the 1975-76 series at the MCG, passing Fred Trueman's previous record of 307 and becoming the first spinner to lead the all-time Test wicket-takers' list. The wicket was his last in international cricket. He retired at the end of the tour, holding the record until Dennis Lillee passed him in December 1981.
England vs West Indies
3 June 1976
Tony Greig infamously said he intended to make the West Indies 'grovel,' a comment with racial undertones that provoked an incredible West Indian response.
West Indies vs Australia
21 June 1975
The first Cricket World Cup — the Prudential World Cup of 1975 — culminated in a 60-overs-a-side final at Lord's on 21 June, in which West Indies beat Australia by 17 runs. Clive Lloyd's 102 from 85 balls anchored West Indies' 291/8; Vivian Richards ran out three Australian batters, including the Chappell brothers; Australia were dismissed for 274 in 58.4 overs. The match finished after 8.43 pm under summer twilight and crowned West Indies as the inaugural one-day champions.
Australia vs West Indies
12-16 December 1975
Roy Fredericks made 169 from 145 balls at the WACA in December 1975, opening the West Indian innings against Lillee and Thomson at their fastest. He hooked the second ball of the innings, from Lillee, for six. His hundred came in 71 balls and remains, alongside Adam Gilchrist's 57-ball century at the same ground in 2006, among the fastest in WACA Test history. Lindsay Hassett, broadcasting on the ABC, called it "the greatest innings I have seen in Australia". West Indies won by an innings and 87 runs.
West Indies vs Pakistan
11 June 1975
At Edgbaston on 11 June 1975, West Indies — chasing 267 to beat Pakistan in the first World Cup — fell to 203/9 with sixteen overs left and were within one wicket of an exit from a tournament they would, ten days later, win. Deryck Murray (61 not out) and Andy Roberts (24 not out) added 64 for the unbroken last wicket; West Indies won by one wicket with two balls remaining. The match is the first acknowledged thriller in World Cup history and is the moment without which the 1975 tournament has no Caribbean ending.
India vs West Indies
March-April 1971
Sunil Gavaskar made his Test debut for India in the West Indies in March 1971 and scored 774 runs in four Tests at an average of 154.80, a debut series aggregate that has not been beaten in the more than five decades since. He made centuries in three successive Tests and a double-century-plus-century pair at Port of Spain in the final match. India won the series 1-0 — their first ever rubber win in the Caribbean.
England vs India
19-24 August 1971
Bhagwath Chandrasekhar took 6 for 38 in 18.1 overs as India bowled England out for 101 on the third day of the Oval Test in August 1971, setting up a four-wicket Indian victory that delivered the country's first ever Test series win in England. The 1971 calendar year, including the earlier Caribbean series win, marked the moment Indian cricket became a touring power.
India vs West Indies
February-April 1971
India won a Test series in the West Indies for the first time in their history in 1971, taking the five-Test series 1-0 with the second Test at Port of Spain decided by seven wickets. Dilip Sardesai's 642 runs and Sunil Gavaskar's 774 in four matches set up the win; Eknath Solkar held the lower order together; and the spin of Erapalli Prasanna and Salim Durani, with Durani dismissing Sobers and Lloyd in successive overs at Port of Spain, completed Ajit Wadekar's defining triumph as captain.
England vs West Indies
1969-07-10
Ray Illingworth was appointed England captain for the second Test against West Indies in July 1969, replacing the injured Colin Cowdrey. The appointment was supposed to be temporary — Cowdrey was expected to return — but Illingworth won the match and kept the captaincy for the next three years. He went on to win the 1970-71 Ashes in Australia, England's first Ashes win in Australia since 1954-55.
England vs West Indies
1969-08-22
England defeated West Indies 2-0 in the 1969 home series — their first series win over West Indies since 1957. The victory, under Ray Illingworth's newly assumed captaincy, was built on John Snow's pace bowling (seven wickets in the series), Boycott's batting (318 runs at 53.00) and Illingworth's own off-spin in helpful English conditions.
New Zealand vs India
1968-02-20
On 20 February 1968 at Carisbrook, Dunedin, India beat New Zealand by five wickets to win their first overseas Test in 12 attempts. They went on to take the four-Test series 3-1 — India's first away series win in cricket history. Captain Pataudi played three spinners (Prasanna, Bedi and Nadkarni) on every ground and was rewarded with 22 wickets from Erapalli Prasanna alone.
England vs India and England vs Pakistan
1967-08-25
England enjoyed their most successful home season of the decade in 1967, winning both their series — 3-0 against India and 2-0 against Pakistan. Brian Close captained with aggression and tactical clarity; Geoff Boycott scored heavily; and England's bowling — Trueman in his last Test season, Higgs, Snow and Underwood — overwhelmed two sides that lacked experience of English conditions.
West Indies
1967-03-13
Sir Frank Worrell died of leukemia in Kingston, Jamaica on 13 March 1967, aged 42. The first Black man to captain West Indies in a full Test series, he had been knighted in 1964 and was working as Warden of the University of the West Indies' Mona campus when his illness was diagnosed. Two months after his death he became the first sportsman ever to have a memorial service at Westminster Abbey, with Learie Constantine reading the lesson.
England vs India
1967-06-08
On 8 June 1967 at Headingley, Geoff Boycott carried his bat for an unbeaten 246 against India in 573 minutes. The selectors, watching the same innings from the Long Room, dropped him for the next Test. It was the only time in Test history that an unbeaten double-centurion was omitted from the next match for slow scoring.
England vs West Indies
1966-07-01
Garry Sobers's 1966 England tour was the greatest all-round series by any player in Test history up to that date. He scored 722 runs at 103.14 — including a double century at Headingley — and took 20 wickets with his three different bowling styles. West Indies won 3-1 and Sobers was on another level. One England selector described it as watching a man play a different sport from everyone else.
West Indies vs Various
1966-07-01
Charlie Griffith of Barbados was the fastest bowler in the world in the mid-1960s, but his career was permanently shadowed by accusations that his bouncer and yorker were thrown rather than bowled. Several senior umpires, players and administrators — including Don Bradman — stated publicly that Griffith threw; the West Indies Cricket Board and ICC declined to take formal action. His career never fully recovered from the controversy.
England vs West Indies
1966-06-16
Tom Graveney, recalled to the England side at 39 after a four-year absence — he had been dropped in 1962 for a county match in which his county had put him in without permission — scored 96 in England's only victory of the 1966 series at Lord's. His fluent strokeplay was in stark contrast to the struggle of younger colleagues, and his recall confirmed that county cricket's older generation still had things to teach the Test side.
England vs West Indies
1966-08-04
Derek Underwood of Kent made his Test debut at Headingley in August 1966, at 21, and immediately demonstrated the slow-medium left-arm bowling that would make him one of England's greatest post-war wicket-takers. On any surface with moisture in it, Underwood was unplayable; his 'Deadly Derek' nickname arrived within his first few county seasons and his Test career of 297 wickets at 25.83 would span seventeen years.
India vs West Indies
1966-12-13
Clive Lloyd of British Guiana made his Test debut against India in Bombay in December 1966, at 22. The tall left-hander — six feet five in his socks, with the wrists and timing of a much lighter man — scored 82 not out in his first innings and announced a presence that would dominate West Indian cricket for the next fifteen years. Lloyd would go on to captain West Indies through their most dominant era.
West Indies vs Australia
1965-03-03
When Bob Simpson's Australia arrived in the Caribbean in early 1965, Garfield Sobers led West Indies into a Test for the first time as full-time captain. He inherited the job from the retired Frank Worrell and within five Tests had won the Frank Worrell Trophy 2-1 on home soil — the first time West Indies had ever held it.
India vs England
1964-02-08
On 8 February 1964 at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla, India captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi made an unbeaten 203 against England in the fourth Test — the first double century by an Indian batsman in India and the highest individual score by an Indian Test captain at the time. Pataudi was 23 and had been playing with one effective eye for two and a half years.
England vs West Indies
1963-06-25
England needed 15 runs from the last eight-ball over to beat West Indies, with two wickets standing, Colin Cowdrey at the crease with a broken arm in plaster. Wes Hall bowled. Six runs came, two wickets fell. The match ended in a draw with England 9 wickets down. Cowdrey never had to face the last ball. It was the most famous finish at Lord's in the post-war era.
England vs West Indies
1963-08-26
Frank Worrell's 1963 England tour was his farewell as West Indies captain — and the finest series a West Indies side had ever played in England. West Indies won three Tests, drew one and lost one, outclassing England with Hall and Griffith's pace and Sobers, Kanhai and Worrell's batting. Worrell retired as captain after the tour, aged 39, and was knighted. He had transformed West Indian cricket in four years.
West Indies vs England
1963-07-01
Rohan Kanhai of British Guiana was, on the 1963 England tour, the most exciting batsman in the world — a right-hander capable of playing every shot in the manual and several that were not, including his famous falling sweep that he played while sitting on the ground having lost his footing. On the 1963 tour he scored 497 runs in five Tests at 49.70, including a dazzling 77 at Headingley and 92 at The Oval.
England vs West Indies
1963-06-25
On 25 June 1963 at Lord's, England number eleven Colin Cowdrey walked out to face Wes Hall with two balls to bowl, his left arm in plaster after Hall had broken it earlier in the day. Six runs were needed; one wicket stood. David Allen blocked the last two balls; Cowdrey did not have to face one. The Test was drawn — the most famous draw in English Test cricket history.
Barbados vs India
1962-03-17
On 17 March 1962, Indian captain Nari Contractor was struck on the right temple by a short-pitched delivery from 23-year-old Charlie Griffith in a tour match between Barbados and India at Kensington Oval. The blow fractured Contractor's skull, sent him into a three-day coma and required emergency surgery to relieve pressure on the brain. He survived but never played another Test. He was 28.
West Indies vs India
1962-03-23
Six days after Charlie Griffith's bouncer fractured Nari Contractor's skull, India promoted the 21-year-old vice-captain Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi to lead the side in the third Test at Bridgetown on 23 March 1962. At 21 years and 77 days he became the youngest Test captain in history — a record he held for 42 years. Pataudi had lost the use of his right eye in a car crash in Hove eight months earlier.
Australia vs West Indies
1961-01-28
Lance Gibbs of British Guiana became the first West Indian to take a Test hat-trick when he dismissed Kline, Misson and Mackay in consecutive deliveries in the fourth Test against Australia at Adelaide in January 1961. He took 5 for 66 in the innings; West Indies won the match — part of the famous series that had already produced the first Tied Test at Brisbane.
Australia vs West Indies
1960-12-14
On 14 December 1960 at the Gabba, Australia and West Indies produced the first tied Test in the 83-year history of the format, with West Indies' Joe Solomon running out Ian Meckiff from side-on with the scores level and one ball remaining. Wes Hall bowled the final eight-ball over with Australia needing six and three wickets in hand; the over produced two run-outs, a single, a missed catch and a tie. The result revived a flagging Test format and gave the world a template for how the game could be played.
West Indies
1960-09-15
After more than three decades of West Indies Test cricket being captained exclusively by white men, Frank Worrell was appointed as the regular captain for the 1960-61 tour of Australia. The decision followed a year-long campaign by C.L.R. James in the Trinidad newspaper The Nation, which framed the colour bar in West Indies captaincy as a colonial relic that had to fall. Worrell would justify the choice with a tour that revived Test cricket and earned the team a half-million-strong farewell parade in Melbourne.
Australia vs West Indies
1961-02-17
Midway through the 1960-61 series — and impressed by the spirit Worrell's tourists had brought to Australia after the Tied Test — Sir Donald Bradman and the Australian Cricket Board commissioned a perpetual trophy from former Test fast bowler turned silversmith Ernie McCormick. They named it the Frank Worrell Trophy. It was the first major Test trophy named for a West Indian and remains the prize for every Australia v West Indies series.
West Indies vs Pakistan
1958-03-01
On 1 March 1958 at Sabina Park, the 21-year-old Garry Sobers turned his maiden Test century into 365 not out against Pakistan, beating Len Hutton's 364 from the 1938 Oval Test by a single run. Sobers batted for 10 hours and 14 minutes and added 446 for the second wicket with Conrad Hunte (260). The record stood for 36 years until Brian Lara's 375 in 1994.
West Indies vs Pakistan
1958-01-23
Asked to follow on 473 runs behind in the first Test at Bridgetown in January 1958, Hanif Mohammad batted for 970 minutes — 16 hours 10 minutes across nine consecutive sessions — to score 337 and save the match. It remains the longest innings in Test history and the highest score by a Pakistan batsman away from home.
India vs New Zealand
1956-01-09
On 6-7 January 1956, Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy added 413 for India's first wicket against New Zealand at Madras — a world-record opening partnership that would stand for 52 years. Mankad made 231 (then India's highest individual Test score) and Roy 173. The stand allowed India to declare at 537 for 3 and win the match by an innings and 109 runs.
New Zealand vs West Indies
1956-03-13
On 13 March 1956 at Eden Park, New Zealand beat West Indies by 190 runs to record their first Test victory in their 45th match — 26 years after Test debut. Wicketkeeper Sam Guillen, a former West Indian himself, stumped Alf Valentine off Harry Cave to seal the result. Captain John Reid's first-innings 84 was the platform.
England vs West Indies
1954-04-01
Fred Trueman's 1953-54 tour of the West Indies under Len Hutton was a personal disaster. The 22-year-old Yorkshire fast bowler clashed with hosts, opponents, umpires and even his own captain. At the end of the tour MCC withheld his Good Conduct Bonus — a public censure that probably cost him his place on the next two overseas tours and which Trueman resented for the rest of his life.
West Indies vs England
1954-02-26
On 26 February 1954 at the Bourda ground in Georgetown, the run-out of local hero Clifford McWatt — going for the single that would have brought his stand with John Holt to 100 — set off a barrage of bottles flung from the popular stands. Police fired tear gas. Captain Len Hutton refused to leave the middle, telling fielders he wanted a couple more wickets before the close.
England vs India
1952-06-05
When MCC named Len Hutton to lead England in the first Test against India in June 1952, it broke a tradition that had governed English cricket for more than half a century — only amateurs led the national side. Hutton, a Yorkshire professional and the country's leading batsman, refused to relinquish his professional status to take the job. The decision marked a quiet but decisive crack in cricket's class divide.
England vs India
1952-07-19
On 17 July 1952 at Old Trafford, the 21-year-old Yorkshire fast bowler Fred Trueman tore through India's first innings to take 8 for 31 in 8.4 overs — at the time the best Test innings figures by an England fast bowler since Jim Laker's spin and the best by an out-and-out paceman in Test history. India were dismissed for 58 and 82 in a single day's play, beaten by an innings and 207 runs. Trueman's series haul of 29 wickets at 13.31 announced the most charismatic English fast bowler of his generation.
England vs India
1952-06-24
In the second Test of India's miserable 1952 tour of England, Vinoo Mankad almost single-handedly turned the match into a contest. After being recalled from Lancashire League cricket at the last moment, he scored 72 and 184, bowled 73 overs of left-arm spin in England's first innings to take 5 for 196, and still finished on the losing side. The Lord's Test became known forever as 'Mankad's Match'.
India vs Pakistan
1952-10-26
Just weeks after their Test debut in Delhi, Pakistan beat India by an innings and 43 runs at Lucknow on 26 October 1952 to record their first Test victory. Fazal Mahmood took 12 for 94 in the match — 5 for 52 and 7 for 42 — on a matting wicket that he treated as a private playground. Captain A. H. Kardar, who had played for India before partition, became the first Pakistan captain to lift a Test win.
India vs England
1952-02-10
On 10 February 1952, in their 25th Test match, India recorded their first Test victory by beating England by an innings and 8 runs at Madras. Vinoo Mankad took 12 for 108 in the match — including 8 for 55 in the first innings — and Pankaj Roy and Polly Umrigar made centuries. The win came twenty years after India had been admitted to Test cricket and signalled the start of India's gradual climb into the top tier of the international game.
England vs West Indies
1950-06-29
On 29 June 1950, West Indies beat England by 326 runs at Lord's to record their first Test victory on English soil. Two unheralded spinners — Sonny Ramadhin (21) and Alf Valentine (20) — bowled the hosts out twice, taking 18 of the 20 wickets between them across the match. The triumph was sealed by Lord Beginner's calypso 'Cricket, Lovely Cricket', sung in the streets around the ground, and signalled the arrival of West Indies as a serious cricketing power.
Australia v India
1948-01-23
Against an Australian total of 674 — built on Bradman 201 and Hassett 198 not out — Vijay Hazare made 116 and 145 in successive innings to become the first Indian to score twin centuries in a Test. He did so against Lindwall and Miller at their fastest, watching wickets fall constantly at the other end (six teammates failed to score across his second-innings 145), and earned an oft-quoted compliment from Bradman about his batting. India still lost by an innings and 16, but Hazare's innings remain a touchstone of Indian batsmanship.
Australia v India
1948-01-23
On 23-24 January 1948 at the Adelaide Oval, Don Bradman made 201 against India — his last Test double hundred and his final Test innings on Australian soil over fifty. Coming after his 100th first-class hundred at Sydney in November 1947, the innings cemented the post-war Bradman as a different kind of batsman: less feverishly fast-scoring, more patient, but no less ruthless against attacks short of front-line bowlers.
India v Australia
1948-02-06
Vinoo Mankad's first overseas tour was a masterclass of all-round cricket. On the 1947-48 tour of Australia he scored 583 Test runs at 44.84 (centuries in the third and fifth Tests at Melbourne, 116 and 111), took 17 Test wickets with his slow left-arm, ran out Bill Brown twice for backing up too far at the non-striker's end — coining the now-famous term 'Mankading' — and finished with over 1,400 first-class runs and 50 wickets across the trip.
An Australian XI v India
1947-11-15
On 15 November 1947 at the Sydney Cricket Ground, Don Bradman became the first Australian — and the first non-Englishman — to make 100 first-class centuries. He reached the milestone with a single off the off-spin of Gogumal Kishenchand, a player Lala Amarnath had brought on for that very over despite Kishenchand having bowled barely an over all tour. Bradman went on to 172 in 177 minutes; he would finish his first-class career with 117 hundreds, a figure no Australian has approached since.
India v Australia
1947-11-28
Lala Amarnath became Independent India's first Test captain when he led the tour party to Australia in November 1947, only weeks after Partition. Vijay Merchant's withdrawal had thrown the captaincy open; Amarnath was confirmed by the new Indian Cricket Board ahead of departure. India lost the series 0-4, but Amarnath's personal contributions — 228 not out v Victoria and 172 not out v Queensland — and his courteous handling of Bradman's century moment at Sydney made him a popular figure on tour.
Australia vs India
13-17 December 1947
Vinoo Mankad ran out Bill Brown at the non-striker's end during India's tour of Australia, creating a dismissal type that would bear his name for decades.
England v West Indies
1939-06-24
Across three days at Lord's in June 1939, George Headley scored 106 and 107 against England, becoming the first batsman to make two centuries in a Test at headquarters and reasserting the case that he was, ball for ball, Bradman's only post-Hammond peer. West Indies still lost by eight wickets, but Headley's twin centuries against Bowes, Copson and Verity remained for half a century the gold standard of West Indian Test batting.
India
1936-06-21
On 21 June 1936, midway through India's tour of England, Lala Amarnath — the country's first Test centurion — was ordered home by tour captain the Maharajkumar of Vizianagaram (Vizzy) and tour management. The decision, made on disciplinary grounds that almost no contemporary account took at face value, became one of the worst administrative episodes in Indian cricket and set the political tone for the BCCI's later reform.
England v India
1936-06-27
The 1936 Indian tour of England was captained by the Maharajkumar of Vizianagram — 'Vizzy' — a princely Test cricketer whose 8-Test record at 8.25 was earned through an absurd political appointment. Vizzy mismanaged a talented squad, alienated CK Nayudu, sent the brilliant Lala Amarnath home before the first Test on a discipline charge, and led India to a 2-0 series defeat. The tour became a byword for princely interference in Indian cricket and was cited for decades afterward in arguments for democratic selection.
Indian first-class teams
1934-07-10
On 10 July 1934 the Indian Cricket Control Board, meeting at Simla, voted to inaugurate a national first-class championship in memory of KS Ranjitsinhji, who had died in April 1933. The first 'Cricket Championship of India' — known almost immediately as the Ranji Trophy — was contested in 1934-35 with 15 teams; Bombay won it, beating Northern India in the final at Bombay Gymkhana. The trophy itself, a gold cup donated by the Maharaja of Patiala, modelled the structure of Indian first-class cricket for the next nine decades.
West Indies
1934-06-01
From the early 1930s English newspapers, and then much of the cricketing world, called George Headley 'the Black Bradman.' Headley, polite and reserved, never publicly objected; in private and in CLR James's account, he and many West Indian writers preferred to invert the formula — Bradman as 'the white Headley.' The nickname is a small case study in how race coloured even the most generous compliments paid to inter-war Caribbean cricketers.
England v West Indies
1933-07-22
Six months after Bodyline, Learie Constantine and Manny Martindale opened up with sustained leg-theory bouncers at Douglas Jardine in the Old Trafford Test. Jardine, captaining England, stood up and made 127 — his only Test century — proving, at considerable physical cost, that he could face the tactic he had unleashed on Australia.
India v England
1933-12-17
On 17 December 1933 Lala Amarnath, batting at No. 5 on his Test debut, scored 118 to become the first Indian to make a Test century. The innings, made out of 219 added with C.K. Nayudu, came against an MCC attack of Nichols, Clark and Verity and was greeted by spectators tearing off jewellery to throw onto the field.
India / England
1933-04-02
On 2 April 1933 Ranjitsinhji — Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, England Test cricketer, leg-glance pioneer and the most famous Indian-born sportsman of his generation — died at Jamnagar at the age of 60. His death prompted a global cricket obituary and gave the Ranji Trophy, founded the next year, its name.
England v West Indies
1933-06-24
The 1933 West Indies tour of England — three Tests, fifteen first-class fixtures, Headley's 169 not out at Old Trafford and Constantine's bouncer-led attack at Jardine — established the Caribbean side as more than a touring novelty and set the template for the West Indies team that would, a generation later, dominate the game.
India v England
1933-12-15
On 15 December 1933 India played its first home Test, against Douglas Jardine's MCC at the Bombay Gymkhana Ground, a colonial members' club from which most Indians were excluded by membership rules. Lala Amarnath produced India's first Test century, 118 in 117 minutes on debut, and the new ground hosted only this single Test before the Brabourne Stadium took over Bombay's international cricket. England won by nine wickets; Indian Test cricket finally had a home address.
England v India
1932-06-25
On 25 June 1932 Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu led India onto Lord's for India's first Test match, the first non-white captain of an Empire side at headquarters. Mohammad Nissar's three early wickets reduced England to 19 for 3 and India lost by only 158 runs in a result that took English critics by surprise.
England v India
1932-06-25
On 25 June 1932 India played its first Test, against England at Lord's, captained by Cottari Kanakaiya Nayudu after the Maharaja of Porbandar quietly stood aside on the morning of the match. India lost by 158 runs, but Mohammad Nissar took 5 for 93 with raw fast bowling, Amar Singh chipped in with 2/75 and 74 with the bat, and CK Nayudu stiffened the order. India had become the sixth Test-playing nation, after Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand.
West Indies v England
1930-02-21
On 21 February 1930, in the second Test of MCC's tour of the Caribbean, West Indies beat England by 289 runs at Bourda in Georgetown — their first Test victory, three years after admission to Test status. George Headley, on debut at 20, scored 114 and 112; Clifford Roach made 209 in the first innings; Learie Constantine took 9 wickets in the match. West Indies cricket had its founding win.
Jamaica and West Indies
1929-12-15
Through the 1929 Caribbean season the 20-year-old George Headley scored consistently for Jamaica against the visiting Tennyson XI and in inter-colonial matches. By December 1929 he had been selected for the West Indies' first home Test series against MCC the following month — a tour that would produce his breakthrough.
MCC and West Indies
1929-10-15
MCC's 1929-30 tour party, captained by the Honourable Freddie Calthorpe, sailed for the Caribbean in late 1929 — the first Test series ever played in the West Indies. The four-Test series produced the West Indies' first home Test win and the breakthrough series of George Headley.
BCCI and Indian provincial cricket associations
1929-08-15
In the first year after its foundation the Board of Control for Cricket in India began discussions on a national first-class competition modelled on the County Championship and Sheffield Shield. The Ranji Trophy was eventually launched in 1934-35, but its founding deliberations began in mid-1929 with the BCCI's first executive meeting.
England v West Indies
1928-06-23
On 23 June 1928 the West Indies played their first ever Test match, against England at Lord's. Bowled out for 177 and 166, they lost by an innings and 58 — but the team led by Karl Nunes and including the young Learie Constantine had crossed the threshold from regional cricket into Test cricket.
BCCI / Indian cricket administration
1928-12-04
On 4 December 1928 representatives of regional cricket associations met in Delhi and constituted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Within 18 months the BCCI had been admitted to the Imperial Cricket Conference, secured Test status for India, and laid the foundation for what would become the wealthiest cricket administration in the world.
Hindus v MCC
1926-12-01
On a December afternoon in 1926, the 31-year-old C.K. Nayudu hit eleven sixes in an innings of 153 against the touring MCC at the Bombay Gymkhana. Watched by Arthur Gilligan and an emotional crowd of 50,000, the innings is regarded as the single performance that secured India's case for Test status — granted three years later.
MCC and Indian XI
1926-11-15
Arthur Gilligan's MCC side toured India in the winter of 1926-27 — the formal trial of Indian cricket for Test status. Across 31 first-class and other matches the tourists played the major Indian XIs, watched the leading players, and on Gilligan's return the recommendation that India be granted Test status went to Lord's.
Hindus, Parsis, Muslims, Europeans
1925-12-01
Through the 1920s the Bombay Quadrangular — between teams chosen on the religious and ethnic lines of the city's communities (Hindus, Parsis, Muslims, Europeans) — was the most important annual cricket competition in India and the principal showcase for the country's emerging Test players.
India
1915-01-01
While Bombay's Quadrangular dominated Indian cricket headlines in the 1910s, Calcutta Cricket Club — founded in 1792 and one of the oldest in the world — continued as the centre of cricket in eastern India, hosting touring sides through the war and providing a meeting point for the British and increasingly Indian elites of Bengal.
India
1912-09-01
The Bombay tournament — long contested between Europeans and Parsis — became a Triangular in 1907 with the addition of the Hindus, and a Quadrangular in 1912 with the addition of the Muslims. Through the 1910s it grew into the most important regular cricket event in India and the immediate precursor of all-India representative cricket.
Parsis, Hindus, Europeans, Muslims
1907-09-15
The annual cricket tournament played in Bombay was the principal organised cricket of pre-independence India. It began in the 1890s as a Parsi-vs-European fixture, became a Triangular when the Hindus joined in 1907, and was extended into a Quadrangular when a Muslim side was admitted. Through the 1900s it was the most-watched cricket in the subcontinent and the platform on which a generation of Indian cricketers earned the right to be considered for Test cricket once India was admitted to the ICC.
England, Sussex, India
1897-06-22
Published in June 1897 to coincide with Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, Ranjitsinhji's Jubilee Book of Cricket was the most ambitious cricket manual ever produced and the first to be illustrated with photographs. Dedicated to the Queen, the 474-page volume codified Ranji's leg-glance technique, set out the first modern explanation of batting against pace and spin, and remained the definitive cricket coaching book for thirty years. Ranji's ghost-writer was the cricket journalist C.B. Fry.