List of Players who scored WC debut Century !!!!

1975
Dennis Amiss Eng v Ind Lord's
Glen Turner NZ v EAf Birmingham

1983
Alan Lamb Eng v NZ The Oval
Trevor Chappell Aus v Ind Nottingham

1987-88
Geoff Marsh Aus v Ind Madras

1991-92
Andy Flower Zim v SL New Plymouth

1995-96
Nathan Astle NZ v Eng Ahmedabad
Gary Kirsten SAf v UAE Rawalpindi

2002-03
Scott Styris NZ v SL Bloemfontein
Andrew Symonds Aus v Pak Johannesburg

2007
Jeremy Bray Irl v Zim Kingston

2011
Virat Kohli Ind Vs Bangladesh

How India Can Win the World Cup ???

Is there such a thing as a template for good results in a World Cup? West Indies had exceptionally strong batting and vicious pace. In 1983, India batted deep and had many swing and seam bowlers. Australia in 1987 didn't lose a single tight match with their deceptive slow bowlers. Pakistan peaked late in 1992, but did it with steady build-ups and explosive finishes. Between 1999 and 2007, Australia were — well — Australia.

Since Sri Lanka won the last Cup in the sub-continent, it is important to analyse how they did it. They had explosive openers, a middle order that didn't let the momentum slip and an army of slow bowlers. Compare that with India in 2011. After the two warm-up games, it seems MS Dhoni has finally found the template for World Cup success — dominating the middle overs.

In ODIs, all teams look to make the most of the first and last 10 overs. But this World Cup will be won by the team that controls the middle overs and Powerplays the best. A month back in South Africa, these were India's pain-points. But on spin-friendly wickets in Bangalore and Chennai, they seem to have hit upon their magic formula — confident starts, aggressive build-ups, and a strong spin attack to bamboozle their opponents.

Dominating the middle overs --- batting

In Chennai against New Zealand, Gambhir and the middle order lifted India from a slow start much like Gurusinha, Aravinda and Ranatunga did many times in 1996. From a rate of 4.5 when Sehwag fell, Gambhir and Kohli pushed the rate to 5, before Dhoni and Raina blew it threw the roof.

Power-hitting, wise strike rotation and a low percentage of dot balls did the trick. Gambhir, master of the short single, had 33 dots, 39 singles and three twos in his 89.

Dhoni in his brilliantly paced hundred had just 15 dots and 28 singles. He and Raina placed the Powerplay perfectly, not leaving it for the end. This is the exact opposite of what India were doing in South Africa: not rotating strike, losing middle order wickets cheaply and timing their Powerplays badly.

If India can replicate their Chennai methods again, they have Dhoni, Pathan, Raina and Yuvraj waiting down the order to provide the RDX for the slog overs. Yuvraj isn't in top form yet, but with the spinners and Zaheer batting deep, India finally seem to have a sturdy line-up.

Decoding the Powerplays

Let's throw a look back at what winning teams have done with the batting Powerplay recently. In the series against England, Australia lost just one game out of seven. In Adelaide, they had Cameron White and David Hussey going strong while chasing 300. They didn't take the Powerplay. Wickets fell. They lost by 21 runs.

This wasn't an aberration for Australia. They'd always taken the Powerplay late in this series — five times in or after the 42nd over, at other times in the 37th and 38th.

South Africa beat India 3-2 recently. In Durban, Duminy and de Villiers took the Powerplay in the 27th. The result: 45 runs, no wickets, and the run rate shot from 5.5 to 6 in the middle of the innings. India lost by 135 runs.

When India beat New Zealand 5-0 recently, they took the Powerplay just twice in five games — in the 40th over in the first ODI, and in the 38th in the fourth where Pathan blasted the bejesus out of New Zealand.

This gives us the indication that it is best to claim the Powerplay in the middle overs when you have set batsmen. Anything else is an opportunity lost, as Australia discovered in Adelaide.

As Harbhajan said about timing the batting Powerplay in this excellent interview to Cricinfo:

"The best way to take it is to keep wickets in hand. If after 25 overs the team is 150 for 2, and say, one batsman is on 60 and the other on 50, I will take the batting Powerplay straightaway. Those two batsmen are settled and have the momentum with them, so if they keep going 350 is possible, because in the last 10 overs batsmen will go for the slog in any case."

Dominating the middle overs --- bowling

The traditional approach to bowling the middle overs in the sub-continent has been to employ slow bowlers — often part-timers — defend the boundaries and save your best bowlers for the slog.

India can run away with the Cup by turning this method upside down.

Put the spinners on attack, employ a slip and leg-slip, put more fielders in the ring and tell the batsmen to go over the top if they'd like. When he led India against New Zealand, Gambhir used this ploy to perfection. The Black Caps were sitting ducks against Ashwin, Pathan and Yuvraj who took 24 wickets between them in five ODIs.

Dhoni has tended to be more defensive. But in the two warm-up games, he followed the Gambhir route, causing the batsmen to self-destruct under pressure. It's also to India's benefit that they've found a spinner who means to attack all the time. Ashwin could be India's best spinner since Harbhajan.

Sri Lanka in 1996 had mastered slowing down the opposition with their spinners. New Zealand in 1992 had stunned the world by opening with an off-spinner. Tied down with the slow bowling, successive batsmen threw away their wickets. In 2011, India now has the best spin attack along with Sri Lanka. It would be hard to stop these two teams.

Brothers at the World Cup

Australia's Steve Waugh (left) and his twin brother Mark (right) are the only siblings to have won the World Cup playing together in 1999. They had also played together in the 1996 World Cup.

New Zealand's dashing opener Brendon McCullum (left) and his older brother off-spinner Nathan have much to do to pull their team out their ODI slump at the World Cup.

Pakistan's Umar (left) and older brother Kamran Akmal add strength to their batting. Umar is a middle order attacking batsman while Kamran is their wicketkeeper

Ireland's Niall O'Brien (left) is a wicketkeeper and left-hand batsman while younger brother Kevin is a right-handed middle order batsman and seam bowler. Both played important roles in beating Pakistan in the 2007 World Cup.

Kenya have David (left) and Collins Obuya (right) playing their third World Cup together. Kennedy Obuya Otieno (centre) was their veteran wicketkeeper and opening batsman. In 1996, they had two sets of brothers: captain Maurice and Edward Odumbe, and Steve and David Tikolo.

Kenya also have the Ngoche brothers, James and Shem. James is an off-spinner while Shem is a left-arm orthodox spinner.

West Indies have the Bravo brothers. The right-handed Dwayne (left) has been one of their leading all-rouders while his half-brother, the left-handed Darren is a rookie who has been compared to Brian Lara.

India missed out on fielding these brothers who had played their part in winning the 2007 World Twenty20. The right-handed Yusuf is now an important lower-order batsman and off-spinner while his half-brother Irfan, recovering from a back injury, is a left-handed seamer and batsman

Australia too missed out on having the Hussey brothers at the World Cup. The right-handed David (left) is a middle-order batsman while his older brother, the left-handed Mike is a solid opener turned middle-order batsman. Mike injured his hamstring just before the World Cup.

The Chappell brothers Greg (left) and Ian (right) played together in the 1975 World Cup. Their younger brother Trevor also played for Australia.

New Zealand's great all-rounder Richard Hadlee played with his elder brothers in the 1975 World Cup. In the match against England, Barry the batsman and Dayle the pacer, played with Richard. New Zealand lost the game.

Pakistan's great batsman, the right-handed Mushtaq Mohammad played with his younger brother, the left-handed Sadiq in the 1975 World Cup

Jeff Crowe captained New Zealand in the 1987 World Cup while his more talented younger brother Martin (above) captained them to the semifinals of the 1992. Both were right-handed batsman.

Zimbabwe had the Flower brothers playing together in the 1996, 1999 and 2003 World Cup. Andy was a left-handed wicketkeeper batsman while Grant was a right-handed middle order batsman and left-arm spinner.

Zimbabwe also had the Strang brothers. Paul (above) was their leg-spinner and Bryan was the left-arm seamer. They played together in the 1996 World Cup

History of Cricket in India

Cricket, now termed as the unofficial national sport of India, has got an old history associated with its existence in the country. The oldest references to the sport in India can be dated as early as the year 1725 when some sailors played a friendly match at a seaport in Kutch. By the year 1792, the Calcutta Cricket and Football Club had been formed, and a yet another Cricket club had been formed at Seringapatam by the year 1799.

Beginning of First Class Cricket
As far as the beginning of First Class Cricket in India is concerned, it was marked by a match played between Madras and Calcutta in the year 1864. In the year 1877, the Bombay Presidency Match was played for the first time. Later, it first changed into the Bombay Triangular and then the Bombay Quadrangular. In the year 1892-93 it was awarded with the First Class status.

First foreign team arrives at India
In the year 1889-90 an English team arrived at India. The captain of this team was George Vernon, which eventually was the first foreign Cricket team to arrive India, although the matches that it played over here are not considered to be First Class Cricket matches.

In the year 1892-93 two matches had been played between Europeans team and Parsees team at Bombay (now Mumbai) and Poona (now Pune). This is considered to be the regular beginning of First Class Cricket in the country. After this, four First Class matches were played between an English team led by Lord Hawke and an All India team between 26th and 28th of January 1893.

The Bombay Presidency Saga
Bombay Presidency Matches were played since 1892-93 till 1906-07. In the year 1907-08 the name of these matches was changed to Bombay Triangular Matches, which continued till the year 1911-12. Since the year 1912-13 the Matches came to be known as Bombay Quadrangular Matches, only to be changed again in the year 1937-38 into Bombay Pentangular Matches.

Ranji Trophy
Ranji Trophy was yet another leg of First Class Matches in Indian Cricket, which began in the year 1934-35 and still continues today. The Bombay team was the winner of first two Ranji Trophy championships.

Indian Cricket team in international arena
As far as the presence of Indian team in the international Cricket arena is concerned, the team played the MCC tour since October 1926 till February 1927. Within the tour, the Indian team played 26 First Class matches in India and 4 First Class Matches in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Captain of the team was Arthur Gilligan, which included Andy Sandham, Arthur Dolphin, Bob Wyatt, George Geary, Ewart Astill, George Brown and Maurice Leyland as the other players.

The Indian team started playing Test Cricket in the English Season of the year 1932. The team played against the English team at Lord’s Cricket Ground. The English team defeated the Indian team in the match by 158 runs.

Continuing its presence in the International Cricket arena, Maharaj Kumar of Vizianagaram (real name Lt. Col. Sir Vijayananda Gajapathi Raju) formed his own team of accomplished Cricket players including Jack Hobbs and Herbert Sutcliffe. The team visited Ceylon and played some matches in India too during 1930-31.

The Post Independence Era
After gaining independence, India made its first ever Test Series victory against the arch rival Cricket team of Pakistan in the year 1952. The victory gave a great boost to the game in the nation, as some of the All Time Gems of the Indian Cricket showed their remarkable skills during this Test Series. These players included Vijay Manjarekar, S.M.Gupte and Polly Umrigar.

1960’s
Over the next decade of 1960’s the Indian Cricket team proved its strength upon the home ground as well as upon foreign pitches too. During this decade, the team defeated New Zealand and stretched the matches with teams such as England, Australia and Pakistan to a draw.

1970’s
During the decade of 1970’s, the Indian Cricket team got one of its most cherished possessions of all times – The Spin Quartet comprising of E.Prasanna, B.S.Chandrasekhar, Srinivas Venkataraghavan and Bishan Singh Bedi. Apart from them, the Indian Cricket team also got two of its most gifted Batsmen of all times during the decade of 1970’s itself – Sunil Gavaskar and Gundappa Vishwanath.

1980’s
The decade of 1980’s saw the Indian Cricket team scaling new heights in the One Day International (ODI) Cricket, and under the captainship of Kapil Dev, the team even managed to grab the 1983 Cricket World Cup. A number of accomplished players such as Kapil Dev, Madan Lal and Mahinder Amarnath made their presence felt during the decade.

1990’s
If there has to be taken one name for whom the 1990’s decade of Indian Cricket shall always be remembered, it would surely be none other than the same of Sachin Tendulkar. Still playing for team India and considered to be one of the All Time Greatests of the World Cricket, Sachin simply outclassed every other Batsman’s record, and the saga still lingers on. Apart from Sachin, some other wonderful Cricket players such as Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Sourav Ganguly and Javagal Srinath emerged in the Indian Cricket team in the decade of 1990’s, and paid their contribution in getting the Indian team clinching several international championships during the period.

2000’s
The Cricket team of India continued to show its brilliant performance in the new millennium, and the new youthful squad has seen some new faces and remarkable victories. The new talented players who joined the team include Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the new captain of the Indian Cricket team both in Test Cricket and One Day International (ODI) Cricket, S.Sreesanth, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Gautam Gambhir, Irfan Pathan and Yousuf Pathan among others. Under the enthusiastic captainship of Dhoni, the new young team successfully won the first Twenty-20 Cricket World Cup held in the year 2007.

History of India's WC Opening Matches From 1975 to 2007

1)India vs England, June 7, 1975: At the Lord’s, Madan Lal bowled the first ball in World Cup history. England racked up the highest ODI score - 334-4 with Dennis Amiss’ 137 and Chris Old's 30-ball 50. Sunil Gavaskar then played the most infamous innings of his life - 36 not out from 174 balls as India finished at a miserable 132-3 in 60 overs.

2) India vs WI, June 9, 1979, Edgbaston: It’s the first match of the World Cup. Only Gundappa Vishwanath shows spine, with his 75 taking India to 190 after being inserted by Clive Lloyd. Michael Holding takes 4-32, Gordon Greenidge scores 106 and India lose by 9 wickets.

3)India vs West Indies, June 9, 10, 1983, Old Trafford: India hand West Indies their first defeat in a World Cup. Yashpal Sharma’s 89 takes India to 262-8. The last wicket pair of Joel Garner and Michael Holding add 74 runs but India win by 34 runs on the reserve day.

4)India vs Australia, October 9, 1987, Chennai: Geoff Marsh’s 110 takes Australia to 270. India begin well with Srikkanth and Sidhu, who smashes five sixes on ODI debut. Craig McDermott takes 4-56 to lead a middle order collapse and Steve Waugh bowls out last man Maninder Singh to give Australia a one-run win.

5) India vs England, Feb 22, 1992, Perth: It’s the first day of the Cup and Robin Smith scores a swift 91 to take England to 236-9. India begin well with Srikkanth and Shartri, but the middle order collapses as they finish nine runs short in the final over.

6)India vs Kenya, Feb 18, 1996, Cuttack: Steve Tikolo’s 65 takes the ODI debutants to 199-6. India make short work of it with Sachin Tendulkar’s 127 and Jadeja’s 53.

7)India vs South Africa, May 15, 1999, Hove: Sourav Ganguly’s delectable 97 sets up India who finish poorly to reach 253-5. Despite two early wickets, Jacques Kallis’ 96 steers SA to safety before Jonty Rhodes and Lance Klusener seal a four-wicket win.

8)India vs Netherlands, Feb 12, 2003, Paarl: India’s batsmen facing a severe form problem struggle to 204 with just Tendulkar crossing 50. Luckily the bowlers save the day for India with J Srinath and Anil Kumble taking four wickets each leading to a comfortable 68-run win.

9)
India vs Bangladesh, March 17, 2007, Port of Spain: Bangladesh cause a massive upset, shooting India out for just 191 with Mashrafe Mortaza taking 4-38. Tamim Iqbal, Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan score fifties leading to a comfortable five-wicket win.

ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 opening ceremony exclusive photos

Bangladesh showcased the most successful opening ceremony in the history of Cricket World Cup, when prime minister Sheikh Hasina opened the 10th edition of ICC Cricket World Cup in front of the packed Banganadhu Stadium in Dhaka on Thursday, 17th February 2011.

Internatioanl rock star Bryan Adams entertained the crowd with his hit numbers after politicians bored them initially. Indian singer Sonu Nigam and Bangladesh vocalists Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin and Mumtaz also performed.

Indian musicians Shankar-Ehsan-Loy showcased world cup theme song "De Ghuma Ke", composed by trio after Bangladeshi singer Ebrar Tipu sing the welcome song, "O Prithibi, Ebar Eshey Banglake Nao Chiney..." (Hey world, come and know Bangladesh).

Each of the 14 captains arrived in each decorated cycle rickshaw started by Australian captain Ponting with big applause for Indian captain MS Dhoni but the biggest applause goes to home team captain Shakib Al Hasan who arrived last.

ICC President Sharad PawarSharad Pawar and Bangladesh Cricket Board president also enthralled the packed stadium with their speeches. During the opening event captains of 14 teams arrived in rickshaws at the ground. Watch the exclusive photos attached. Do leave your comments.

A brilliant laser show was the highlight of the ceremony in which cricket was played by laser light on the 24 storey Bangladesh Development Bank Building. 2011 Cricket World Cup will begin after 2 days with the match between title favorite India and Bangladesh at Mirpur.

                                    14 Nation's Cricket Captions

                                       Our Caption Cool - MS Dhoni

           
                                                Afridi,Dhoni and Smith

                                        Aerial View :)

World Cup Lifting Moments

                                              1975 - Lifted By Clive Hubert Lloyd

Cricket World Cup Final Match 1975,
Venue : Lords, England, Finals : Between West Indies led by Clive Lloyd and Australia led by Ian Chappell on June 21, 1975.
Winner : West Indies beat Australia for 17 runs
Man of the match : Clive Lloyd scoring 102 runs off just 85 balls
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                                                   1979 - Lifted By Clive Hubert Lloyd
Cricket World Cup Final Match 1979,
Venue : Lords, England,
Finals : Between West Indies led by Clive Lloyd and England led by Mike Brearley on June 23, 1979. Winner : West Indies beat England by 92 runs,
Man of the match : Vivian Richards scoring an unbeaten 138 runs
*************************************************************

                                            1983- Lifted By Kapildev Ramlal Nikhanj
Cricket World Cup Final Match 1983.
Venue : Lords, England...,
Finals : Between West Indies led by Clive Lloyd and India led by Kapil Dev on June 25, 1983...,
Winner : India beat West Indies by 43 runs...,
Man of the match : Indian Vice Captain Mohinder Amarnath for picking 3 wickets for 12 balls. Also scored 26 runs
**************************************************************

                                                     1987 - Lifted By Allan Robert Border
Cricket World Cup Final Match 1987
Venue : Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India
Finals : Between Australia led by Allan Border and England led by Mike Gatting on November 8, 1987.  Winner : Australia beat England by 7 runs
 Man of the match : David Boon scored 75 runs
***********************************************************

                                                  1992 - Lifted By Imran Khan Niazi
Cricket World Cup Final Match 1992
Venue : Australia
 Finals : Between Pakistan led by Imran Khan and England led by Graham Gooch on March 25, 1992.  Winner : Pakistan beat England by 22 runs
 Man of the match : Wasim Akram, who picked up three wickets
************************************************************

                                            1996 -Lifted by Arjuna Ranatunga
 Cricket World Cup Final Match 1996
Venue : Lahore, Pakistan
 Finals : Between Srilanka led by Arjuna Ranatunga and Australia led by Mark Taylor on March 17, 1996. Winner : Srilanka beat Australia by 7 wickets.....,
Man of the Match : Aravinda da Silva
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1999 Lifted By-Steve Waugh

Cricket World Cup Final Match 1999
Venue : Lords, England
Finals : Between Australia led by Steve Waugh and Pakistan led by Wasim Akram on June 20, 1999. Winner : Australia beat Pakistan by 8 wickets.
 Man of the match : Shane Warne
****************************************************************

2003 Lifted By -Ricky Ponting

Cricket World Cup Final Match 2003
Venue : Johannesburg, South Africa
Finals : March 23 between Indai led by S.Ganguly and Australia led by Ricky Pointing
Winner : Australia beat India by 125 runs.
Man of the match : Ricky Ponting for scoring 140 runs from 121 balls
**********************************************************

2007 - Lifted By -Ricky Ponting

Cricket World Cup Final Match 2007
Venue : West Indies
 Final : April 28' 2007
. Winner : Australia beat Sri Lanka by 53 runs
Man of the match : Adam Gilchrist

Cricket World Cup Firsts

• The first world cup was held in 1975 in England.
• The first world cup held outside England was in 1987 in India and Pakistan
• The first time day/night matches was used was in 1992.
• The first tournament to use white cricket balls and colored team uniforms was 1992.
•  The first tournament to feature an African Test nation, South Africa, was in 1992.
•  The first tournament held in the Southern hemisphere was 1992, when it was co-hosted in Australia and New Zealand.
• The first team to remain undefeated throughout the whole tournament was Australia in 2003. They repeated this feat in the 2007 tournament.
• The first hat-trick at the World Cup was by Indian Chetan Sharma in a game against New Zealand in 1987
• The first hat-trick plus one (4 wickets in 4 balls) was by Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga against South Africa (Super Eights: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Providence, Mar 28, 2007)

 

10 ways a batsman can be declared "out" in cricket:

1. Caught
2. Bowled
3. Leg Before Wicket
4. Hit Wicket
5. Timed Out (wonder what is this?)

6. Handling the ball
7. Obstructing the field
8. Hit the ball twice
9. Run Out
10. Stumped

Interesting Facts

• West Indies batting great Vivian Richards scored 1013 runs in 23 World Cup innings, at an average of 63.31, with a strike rate of 85. The 138 he scored against England in the 1979 World Cup is considered by Wisden as the best World Cup innings.
• Herschelle Gibbs smeared the Dutch leg-spinner Dan van Bunge for six sixes in an over in the 2007 World Cup to become the first to achieve the feat in an ODI.
• India last defeated Australia in a World Cup match 24 years ago on October 22, 1987. India trumped eventual champions Australia by 56 runs.
• West Indies legend Vivian Richards is the only player who had played both FIFA World Cup and ICC World Cup. Richards represented Antigua in football and West Indies in cricket.
• Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar batted through the full 60 overs in the opening match of 1975 World Cup against England at Lord's to score just 36 runs.
• One of the greatest knocks of World Cup history, Kapil Dev's 175 against Zimbabwe during 1983 World Cup, was neither recorded nor broadcasted because the BBC cameramen were on strike at the time.
• Kepler Wessels played for Australia in the 1983 World Cup before playing for South Africa in the 1992 World Cup.
• India's Madan Lal bowled the first ball of the World Cup history to England's Denis Amiss at Lord's on June 7, 1975.
• Australia is the only team thus far in the history of World Cup to remain undefeated throughout the World Cup (in both 2003 and 2007 World Cups).
• Australian seamer Glenn McGrath (71) is the highest wicket-taker in World Cups so far.
• The 1992 World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand was the first World Cup where matches were played under lights.
• The 1992 World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand was the first World Cup in which white cricket balls and coloured team uniforms were introduced.
• Australia is the only country to win three consecutive World Cup titles. Aussies have won the tournament in 1999, 2003 and 2007.
• All players had worn the traditional white uniform and red balls were used during the initial four editions of the cricket World Cup.
• Mohammad Kaif has held most catches in a World Cup match. He took 4 catches against Sri Lanka at Johannesburg on March 10, 2003.
• England have played the World Cup final three times - in 1979, 1987 and 1992 - but have never won it.

• Wasim Akram completed his 500 ODI wickets during the 2003 World Cup.
• Sunil Gavaskar's only ODI century came off 85 balls and it came in the same match in which Chetan Sharma took the World Cup's first hat-trick.
• Chetan Sharma took the World Cup's first hat-trick. He achieved the feat against New Zealand at Nagpur on October 31, 1987.
• Since their 10-run loss to Pakistan on May 23, 1999, Australia have not lost even a single match at the World Cup.
• Making his debut during the 1975 edition, Javed Miandad has played in most World Cups - six.
• Ricky Ponting and Glenn McGrath have played 39 matches each in the World Cup, the most for players.
• In the 2003 World Cup, Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar, bowled cricket's first recorded 100 mph delivery. At the receiving end was England's Nick Knight.
• Sri Lanka became the first side batting second to win the World Cup when they beat Australia in the 1996 World Cup final.