The Best of Indian Cricket Quiz | Cricket

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. At no. 10. The West Indies: A sunny land of easy going friendly people; except when they get a cricket ball in their hand. For long Indian batsmen quaked in their boots at the thought of having to face up to beamers, bouncers, perfume balls and what not. Until a tall, dark, knight, in, I mean short, curly haired Mumbaikar with a rapier for a bat walked in that test in 1971. Fear was absent in his dictionary as the West Indians were given the first taste of ________'s batting. Who is da real master we talkin' bout?

Answer: Sunil Gavaskar

Lord Relator, a noted bard of the Isles (the Caribbean if you haven't caught on already) wrote:
'Gavaskar the Real master,
We couldn't out him at all
Not at all.'
Unsurprisingly, India won the series and Gavaskar scored an amazing 775 runs at an average of 154!
Source: http://www.who2.com/sunilgavaskar.html

2. At no.9. What is this, India in trouble..Against ZIMBABWE!!!! One had to be careful of these giant killers of course, they took down the mighty Australians in the first ever one day match they played. But wait, they are humiliating the Indians...17 for 5 batting first! All hope of a victory is lost at Tunbridge Wells, when out walks captain Kapil Dev with Syed Kirmani, the 'keeper at the other end. What follows next is the definition of all hell breaking loose as Kapil Dev does the dance of destruction on the Zimbabwean bowling attack. How much did Kapil score on that day?

Answer: 175

It was the highest ever one day score by an Indian batsman till another dmunitive chappy overtook the great Kapil. Easily India's greatest all rounder, it maybe that we will not find the likes of him again. Born Kapil Dev Nikhanj in Haryana, he quickly became known for his pace and nippy action.

His batting skills are part of legend, including the 4 sixes he hit of Eddie Hemmings when India needed 24 to avoid follow-on. He was also the highest wicket taker in the world with 436 until overtaken by Courtney Walsh, Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne.

3. At no.8. This one is a personal favourite because I was there on the ground to actually witness it. India-Pakistan quarterfinal in the 1996 World Cup! This match has several unforgettable moments, but can you tell me who won the Man of the Match?

Answer: Navjot Singh Sidhu

Navjot Singh Sidhu's 85 saw India get off to a good start and build a platform from where Ajay Jadeja could simply launch into Waqar Younis whom he hit for nearly 40 runs in his last two overs. The sheer brutality with which Waqar was treated by Jadeja was almost poetic.

In the bowling department, the moment to remember was Venkatesh Prasad's dismissal of Aamir Sohail. After having hit Prasad for a four, Sohail arrogantly pointed to the boundary indicating that was where the next ball would be going. Alas, for his hubris, the next ball sent his off stump cartwheeling. Prasad's celebration war cry is still well-remembered;) It was a great one-day match and was also the first time Bangalore hosted a day-night match.

4. At no. 7 2002, the NatWest Trophy finals. India v. England. The English batsmen have just bludgeoned the Indian bowlers all over and posted a mammoth 324 to win. All seems lost, when despite a good start by Sehwag and Ganguly, India are reduced to 150-5, and the run rate climbing fast. All hope seems lost, when the young guns come firing on all cylinders. Did India beat the record for the highest ever total chased in a one-day match?

Answer: False

The chase was amazing, as Mohammed Kaif and Yuvraj Singh never last hope, (even though most of India , including yours truly had) as they slowly, but surely maintained a healthy run-rate and kept their wits about them to be able to accelerate at the right moment. Even when Yuvraj went, Kaif and Harbhajan kept their cool and with some good hitting and luck, they took India home. What is most memorable about that match? Ganguly taking off his shirt to celebrate, imitating Flintoff's celebration when England had beaten India, in India.

However, the record had been set by Australia a few months back against the South Africans and the Indians had attained the second highest winning total while chasing in a one-day match.

5. At no.6: India are playing former colonial masters, and guess what they are winning! In which year did the Indian cricket team record its first ever Test Win against England?

Answer: 1952

In the home series in 1951-52, India registered its first ever Test win against England in 1952. India won by an innings and 8 runs. Though it was against a less than first string English line-up, it was a win nonetheless.

6. At no. 5, its another India-Pakistan contest. This time its in Delhi. Pakistan have a big target to reach, but they have the batting line-up to match. Or so they thought until they ran up against this bowler who took all the 10 wickets in the innings! Who was the nemesis of the Pakistani batting line-up in Kotla?

Answer: Anil Kumble

Kumble matched English spinner Jim Laker in taking 10-74 in a single innings of a test match. Among the honours bestowed on Kumble for this achievement was to rename St.Mark's Circle in Bangalore as Anil Kumble Circle. The snide point out that it should actually be V.Jayaprakash Circle, the umpire who gave all the LBWs in that innings for Kumble. Of course, those who know the man, know that he didn't an umpire to get where he is now.

7. Next at no.4. The Hero Cup, '94 semi-finals are on, and South Africa needs just 6 from the last over to beat India to the finals. Of course, captain Azharuddin would want his best bowler, Javagal Srinath to bowl this last over and seal an Indian win..but wait, he hand's the ball to Tendulkar? Correction: Tendulkar seems to have just grabbed the ball out of Azhar's hand and already handed his cap to the umpire and marking out his run up. Can this dimunitive genius hope to outwit the big blade of Brian McMillan? How many runs did Tendulkar go for in the final over?

Answer: 3

Well..he did. He gave McMillan a single and then foxed Allan Donald for the next three balls, before only conceding two more runs of the last ball. India won and were through to the finals.

His bowling skills also got India the crucial wicket of Brian Lara in the finals against the West Indies, that triggered a collapse in the West Indian batting order. Kumble came in and cleaned up the rest with 6-12.

8. At no.3. Something's about to happen that hasn't happened in a long time. We can feel it in the air, in the earth, in the wind. No, the Ents aren't marching you Tolkein freak, the Aussies are losing, at home, to India in Adelaide! Only 3 more runs to win and Stuart McGill is bowling to the one man who has made this victory happen single-handedly. Its a leg-spinner, slightly short, and cut away to the point boundary for four! India Wins! Who just scored the winning runs?

Answer: Rahul Dravid

Its a moment etched in my brain at least. I remember screaming and jumping up and down in front of the TV in the last days of 2003 as Rahul Dravid sent that Stuart McGill ball into the point boundary.
After having beaten Australia at home, India were miraculously 1-0 up in a Australia in a series everybody expected them to lose. India nearly went on to win the series, but were hindered only by a superlative effort by outgoing captain Steve Waugh and some inept keeping by Parthi Patel.

9. We are almost to the end now. At no. 2, we have India, once again facing down the barrel. The mighty Aussies are down to conquer the final frontier and are only one innings away from conquering the final frontier. They humiliated the Indians at Bombay, and now Eden Gardens seems all set for another Indian surrender. Another humiliating collapse, another innings defeat looms ahead. Nothing but a miracle from Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, backed up by another miraculous bowling effort by Harbhajan can save the day; Hey even God is not THAT generous with his miracles..or so we thought. Which of these did NOT happen in that unbelievable test match in Kolkata?

Answer: Dravid Scored a double century

Thus began an incredible fightback that's etched in the mind of every Indian old enough to remember it. The mighty Australians were on a rampage and India seemed down and out, but out of the ashes arose Vangipurappu Venkata Sai Laxman (or very very special Laxman as the Aussie press branded him) and Dravid, put on a world record partnership that sent the Aussies on a leather-hunt and frustrated the world's best bowling attack for one and a half days.
Then came harbhajan (or the Turbanator) who bowled out of his skin and had the Aussies in a right royal tangle and had them bundled out for an improbable victory!
It was the second only time where a team following on went on to win the Test match. Incidentally, the Aussies have never enforced a follow on since.

10. And now, we come to the greatest moment of Indian cricket. The World looks on, in 1983 as the all mighty, invincible West Indians are going to take home a hattrick of World Cups in 10 years. They have a small total to reach, the best batting line-up in the world and a positively friendly bowling attack to negotiate; what could possibly go wrong?! For a start, your best batsman, Vivian Richards, could end up hitting Madan Lal very high in the air, though, it seems miles away from any fielder...but wait, what is that blur moving across the green of Lord's. Is it a bird, is it a plane...No it is..._______, and the catch, a most improbable unbelievable catch has been taken.!!! Who is this who has set off a most unbelievable chain of events?

Answer: Kapil Dev

Richards was caught by Kapil who ran 75 yards behind to take a brilliant catch. All was still not lost for the West Indies, they still had 8, I mean 7, wait, 6, no 5 hey only 4, and they are all out. They just lost the match!

In an incredible turn of events, the Indians turned the tables on the 'Invincibles' as the rank outsiders lifted the World Cup trophy for the first time. The world watched in awe as the World's greatest batting line-up was torn apart by the gentle medium pace of Mohiner Amarnath(3 wickets) and Madan Lal (2 Wickets) and some brilliant fielding and catching by the rest. At the start of the match, only a foolhardy punter or a 'patriotic' Indian would have taken the odds of 500 to 1 for an Indian victory. In the end, it was Indian cricket which had the last laugh. Few Indians who can remember that day can still see the photos of Kapil Dev without a slight lump in the throat and glistening of the eyes...Excuse me for a moment...

Well, I hope you enjoyed the Quiz. I sure had great fun setting it.

Source: Author almaster

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Dalgleish before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Best of Indian Cricket Trivia Quiz

This will be my first sports quiz and will obviously be based on my favourite sport, Cricket. It will mostly be about what I think are the 10 greatest moments of Indian. Feel completely free to enjoy the quiz, and agree with me!;)

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