The first ever One Day International (ODI) cricket match was played on January 5, 1971, between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). The hosts won that ODI match by five wickets after chasing down England’s total of 190 runs with four balls to spare. Since then, more than 4000 ODI matches have been played between more than 25 teams.
Currently, the twelve Test-playing nations have permanent ODI status. These nations are Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, West Indies, India, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland. India gained permanent ODI status in the year 1974.
Most successful ODI teams
Australia has won the most ODI matches in history, with 592 wins in 975 matches. They are followed by India with 538 ODI wins in 1026 games and Pakistan with 499 wins in 948 matches.
India’s first ODI match
India played their first ODI match on July 13, 1974, against England at Headingley in Leeds. Batting first, the visitors posted a score of 265-10, thanks to some brilliant performances by captain Ajit Wadekar and Brijesh Patel who scored 67 and 82 respectively. England went on to chase the target with four wickets in hand.
The team featured the likes of Bishan Singh Bedi, Gundappa Viswanath, Farokh Engineer, Abid Ali and Madan Lal among others. The second match of the series at the Oval was also won by England, for whom pace bowler Chris Old took six wickets in two games.
Two ODI World Cup Wins – in 1983 and 2011
India’s victory in the 1983 ODI World Cup was a defining moment in Indian cricket history. Led by Kapil Dev, India were seen as one of the weakest teams in the tournament. However, they went on to create history by winning the trophy, which brought about a revolution of sorts in Indian cricket. India played the then-mighty West Indies thrice in the tournament and won two of the matches, including their opener and the final.
Put into bat first in the final, the Indian team was bowled out for just 183 runs with none of the batsmen except Kris Srikkanth able to make a significant contribution. However, the Indian bowlers did a terrific job to defend the target. Mohinder Amarnath and Madan Lal took three wickets each India managed to keep the opponents restricted to 140. Not many people had given India a chance in the build-up to the World Cup.
Domination in ODI cricket – World Cup after 28 years
After winning the 1983 World Cup, India had to wait a long 28 years to win their second ODI World Cup. India started the 2011 World Cup with a convincing win over Bangladesh but tied with England in their second match. They then lost to South Africa, but beat Australia in the second quarter-final to set up a semi-final clash with Pakistan and also winning it. In the final, India met Sri Lanka at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. They were helped by match-winning knocks by Gautam Gambhir and MS Dhoni, who finished the run-chase with a huge six.
“Dhoni……….finishes off in style…..a magnificent strike into the crowd…..India lifts the world cup after 28 years….the party starts in the dressing room…and it’s the Indian Captain who has been absolutely magnificent in the night of the final,” Ravi Shastri roared in the commentary box.
Currently world’s best ODI team
As of March 2023, India is the world no. 1 ODI team in the ICC rankings. The top spot in the ICC ODI bowler rankings also belongs to an Indian – Mohammed Siraj. The current captain of India’s ODI team is Rohit Sharma, while the head coach is Rahul Dravid.
