Cricket History and Facts

Waqar Younis reached 400 ODI wickets in fewer matches than any other bowler, setting a record for the fastest bowler to achieve this milestone.

Wasim Akram reached 500 ODI wickets in fewer matches than any other bowler, setting a record as the fastest to achieve this milestone in ODI cricket.

Pakistan's Aaqib Javed achieved this rare feat against India on October 25, 1991, in the Wills World Series. He took a hat-trick with all three dismissals being LBW - the only instance in ODI cricket history where all three hat-trick wickets were LBW decisions.

Douglas Jardine was the England captain during the 1932-33 Bodyline series. He devised the controversial tactic of targeting the batsman's body to neutralize Don Bradman. Harold Larwood and Bill Voce were his main fast bowlers who executed the plan.

Don Bradman's batting average in the 1932-33 Bodyline series was 56.57. While this would be excellent for any other batsman, it was significantly below his career average of 99.94, making it his worst performance in a Test series. The Bodyline tactic successfully contained him.

English leg-spinner Eric Hollies dismissed Donald Bradman for a duck in Bradman's final Test innings at The Oval in 1948. Bradman needed only 4 runs for a career average of 100 but was bowled by Hollies' googly. Trevor Bailey, Jack Fingleton, and Harold Larwood were other contemporary cricketers.

Sachin Tendulkar scored 82 runs off 49 balls when he first opened the innings in ODIs - this was against New Zealand in Christchurch in 1994. This was a breakthrough innings that established him as an opener in limited-overs cricket. The 49-ball figure is the correct one among the options.

India has reached the Cricket World Cup finals twice - in 1983 (won against West Indies) and 2003 (lost to Australia). Both times under different captains, the finals were memorable moments in Indian cricket history.

India scored 413/5 against Bermuda in the 2007 World Cup, which was the highest World Cup total at that time. This record stood until Australia scored 417 in 2015 and later England scored 418 in 2023.

Australia has reached the Cricket World Cup finals 7 times (1975, 1987, 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015), winning 5 of those. Their dominance in World Cup cricket is unmatched, with the most wins and final appearances.

Canada scored 36 all out against Sri Lanka in the 2003 World Cup - this remains the lowest team total in ODI World Cup history. The other scores listed are either close but not records, or not the absolute lowest.

Chetan Sharma took the first hat-trick in World Cup history in 1987 against New Zealand. He dismissed Ken Rutherford, Ian Smith, and Ewen Chatfield in consecutive balls. Sachin, Kapil Dev, and Rahul Dravid never took a World Cup hat-trick.

India won its first ODI World Cup in 1983 under Kapil Dev's captaincy, defeating the West Indies in the final. This was a historic victory that changed Indian cricket. None of the other options - Viswanath, Gavaskar, or Amarnath - captained India to a World Cup win.

Fred Spofforth, an Australian fast bowler, achieved the first hat-trick in Test cricket on 2 January 1879 against England at Melbourne. He took three wickets in three consecutive balls. A hat-trick in cricket means dismissing three batsmen with three consecutive deliveries. Spofforth was known as 'The Demon Bowler' for his fierce pace and was one of the early greats of Test cricket.

Alec Bannerman, an Australian bowler, broke the first century partnership in Test cricket between WG Grace and AP Lucas. This occurred during the 1877 Melbourne Test. The Grace-Lucas partnership was the first to reach 100 runs in Test cricket history, making it a significant milestone. Bannerman was known for his accurate medium-pace bowling and defensive batting.