India's cricket team has gone from a weak side that lost its first Test by 158 runs to one that has won three T20 World Cups. These are the dates that mark that journey.
1926 to 1932: joining the club
India were invited to the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1926 and played their first Test, against England at Lord's, on 25 to 28 June 1932, under C.K. Nayudu. They lost by 158 runs.
The spin quartet and the 1970s
India's bowling in the 1970s revolved around Bishan Singh Bedi, E.A.S. Prasanna, B.S. Chandrasekhar and Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan. Indian pitches suited spin and the four used that to create collapses. The decade also brought Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Viswanath.
25 June 1983
India won the World Cup, beating the two-time defending champions West Indies in the final at Lord's, mostly through a strong bowling performance. It changed how many Indians thought about the sport.
The 1980s and 1990s
India built a more attacking batting line-up in the 1980s, with stroke makers such as Mohammad Azharuddin, Krishnamachari Srikanth and Dilip Vengsarkar, and all-rounders Kapil Dev and Ravi Shastri. Even so, India stayed a weak Test side for years. The 1986 series win in England was the last Test series win outside the subcontinent for the next 19 years. Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble joined the team in 1989 and 1990, and Javagal Srinath followed a year later.
The 1990s were uneven. India failed to reach the 1992 World Cup knockouts. In the 1996 World Cup semi-final in Kolkata, rioters burnt part of the stadium as India were heading for defeat against Sri Lanka. Tendulkar was the tournament's leading run scorer, the first Indian to be, and Kumble led the wicket-taking. In 1999 India failed to reach the knockouts again, even though Rahul Dravid was the leading run scorer.
Rebuilding under Ganguly
In 2000, Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja were implicated in a match-fixing scandal and given a life ban and a five-year ban. The BBC called it Indian cricket's worst hour. The new core of Tendulkar, Dravid, Kumble and Sourav Ganguly rebuilt the side, helped by India's first foreign coach, John Wright. Under Ganguly India reached the 2000 Champions Trophy final, the first ICC final since 1983, and lost to New Zealand despite Ganguly's century. That run led into the 2002 Champions Trophy and the 2003 World Cup final.
2000 to 2013: the ICC trophies
- 2002: Champions Trophy, the first of a record three.
- 2003: World Cup final, lost to Australia. Sachin Tendulkar set the record for most runs in a single World Cup.
- 24 September 2007: inaugural T20 World Cup, beating Pakistan by five runs in the final.
- 2 April 2011: World Cup at home, beating Sri Lanka in the final.
- 19 June 2013: Champions Trophy. MS Dhoni became the first captain to win all three ICC white-ball trophies.
India reached the 2014 T20 World Cup final in Bangladesh and lost to Sri Lanka. Virat Kohli was player of the tournament and set the record for most runs in a single edition, with 319. In late 2014, MS Dhoni stepped down as Test captain to focus on white-ball cricket.
The numbers today
India have played 1,084 ODIs, winning 577 and losing 453, with 10 ties and 44 no-results. They have played in four World Cup finals and won two, in 1983 and 2011. They have played 297 T20Is, winning 198, and have won the T20 World Cup a record three times, in 2007, 2024 and 2026. They have also won the ODI Asia Cup a record seven times and the Champions Trophy a record three times, in 2002, 2013 and 2025.
2024 to now
India won the 2024 T20 World Cup, unbeaten, beating South Africa in the final on 29 June 2024. They won the 2025 Champions Trophy and then the 2026 T20 World Cup (final report).
Test cricket has been less steady. India lost 3-0 at home to New Zealand in 2024, drew the 2025 England series 2-2, beat the West Indies 2-0 at home and then lost 0-2 at home to South Africa.
Facts are from India national cricket team (Wikipedia).
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