On this day: India's first One Day International at Leeds fifty years ago

A One Day International (ODI) is a limited-overs cricket match between two international teams, each with ODI status given by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Unlike Test matches, ODIs have a set number of overs per team, and each team plays only one innings.

India played their first ODI in 1974. Since then, 255 players have represented India in ODIs. India has played 1,055 ODIs, with 559 wins, 443 losses, 9 ties, and 44 no results. Their first series win was against England in 1981.

They won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and 2011, and were runners-up in 2003 and 2023. India also won the ICC Champions Trophy in 2013 and shared the title with Sri Lanka in 2002. They have won the Asia Cup seven times.

Sachin Tendulkar debuting at 16 is India’s youngest ODI player, while Farokh Engineer debuting at 36 is the oldest. Anil Kumble is India’s top wicket taker in ODIs with 337 wickets. Sachin Tendulkar is the top run scorer with 18,426 runs and holds the record for most ODIs played (463) and most Man of the Match awards.

Rohit Sharma’s 264 runs against Sri Lanka is the highest individual ODI score. Sourav Ganguly holds the highest score by an Indian in a World Cup match with 183 runs against Sri Lanka.

India’s irst ODI match

On this day in 1974, India played its first ODI against England at Leeds, marking an important moment in Indian cricket history. Although ODIs started in 1971, it took three years for India to join this format.

England won the toss and decided to field first. India began steadily, with openers Sunil Gavaskar and Sudhir Naik putting together a 44-run partnership. Naik was the first to go, dismissed for 18 by Robin Jackman. Gavaskar followed soon after, bowled for 28 by Geoff Arnold.

Gundappa Vishwanath was out for a low score by Bob Woolmer, leaving India at 60/3. Ajit Wadekar and Farookh Engineer then had a 70-run partnership. Engineer was bowled by Chris Old for 32. Wadekar, who scored India’s first ODI fifty, was eventually out for 67 to Jackman at 181/5.

After Eknath Solkar’s dismissal, Brijesh Patel and Syed Abid Ali added 52 runs, taking India to 246. Ali was dismissed by Woolmer for 17. Patel’s 82 off 78 balls helped India reach a total of 265.

Chris Old was England’s best bowler, taking 3-43. Arnold, Woolmer, and Jackman each took two wickets, and Tony Greig took one.

England’s chase turning points and key players

Chasing 266, England’s Dennis Amiss was out for 20 by Eknath Solkar, leaving England at 37/1. David Lloyd and John Edrich steadied the innings with a 47-run partnership before Solkar dismissed Lloyd for 34. Mike Denness was dismissed for 8 by Madan Lal, caught by Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

England was at 96/3, but Edrich and Keith Fletcher built an 83-run stand. Bedi dismissed Fletcher for 39. Edrich, ten runs short of a century, was the fifth wicket to fall at 212, dismissed by Venkataraghavan.

Despite Tony Greig’s dismissal for 40 by Bedi, Alan Knott (15) and Chris Old (5) guided England to a four-wicket victory.

Eknath Solkar was India’s best bowler with 2-31.

Although India lost their first ODI, they have improved steadily over the years and by the 2020s, they became a formidable force in international cricket.