Cricket History and Facts

The ICC's 'Think Wise' campaign for HIV/AIDS awareness during the 2011 World Cup was promoted by Virender Sehwag (India) and Kumar Sangakkara (Sri Lanka), both star cricketers who served as ambassadors for this important social initiative.

Brian Lara scored 501 runs for Warwickshire against Durham in 1994, which remains the highest individual score in First-class cricket history. Hanif Mohammad scored 499, Don Bradman's highest was 452, and Sachin Tendulkar's highest First-class score was 326.

Jason Gillespie is known as 'Dizzy' in cricket circles, a nickname derived from his resemblance to the character Dizzy Gillespie. Adam Gilchrist was 'Gilly', Glenn McGrath had no common nickname, and Brett Lee was 'Binga'.

Misbah-ul-Haq hit the famous last six of the 2007 T20 World Cup final, which was caught by Sreesmith on the boundary, giving India the victory. Yuvraj and Hayden were other batsmen in that match, while Collingwood was on the English side.

Vinoo Mankad was the first Indian to score a Test century against Australia, making 116 at Adelaide in 1948. V.S. Hazare scored centuries in 1947-48 but those were against Australia under captaincy of others; Mankad's was specifically first.

Deep Dasgupta represented Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. He was a key wicketkeeper-batsman for Bengal during the early 2000s, playing alongside players like Sourav Ganguly and Wriddhiman Saha.

West Zone won the Deodhar Trophy 2006-07, defeating South Zone in the final. The Deodhar Trophy is a domestic one-day competition played among zonal teams in India.

Sunil Gavaskar wrote 'Runs and Ruins', which is his autobiography published in 1984. The title reflects on his cricket career and the controversies around it. Kapil Dev wrote his autobiography, as did Azharuddin, but with different titles.

Ajit Agarkar scored a 21-ball fifty against Zimbabwe in 2000, equalling Kapil Dev's then-record of fastest 50 for India (set in 30 balls in 1986). Kaif and Azharuddin had fast fifties but didn't equal Kapil's record at the time.

Sachin Tendulkar began his Test career in 1989 under K. Srikkanth's captaincy during the tour of Pakistan. Srikkanth was India's captain for Tendulkar's debut Test at Karachi. Azharuddin, Kapil, and Gavaskar were all prominent players but not captain at that time.

Robin Singh was born in Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies before moving to India and eventually playing for the Indian cricket team. Yuvraj Singh was born in Chandigarh, India. Sachin Tendulkar was born in Mumbai, India. Vinod Kambli was also born in Mumbai, India.

Ajantha Mendis from Sri Lanka won the ICC Emerging Player of the Year award in 2008 for his impressive performances in his debut year. Shaun Tait is Australian and had already been established before 2008. Ian Bell is English and was already a regular player. Irfan Pathan is Indian and had debuted much earlier.

Mohammed Azharuddin captained India in the 1987, 1992, and 1996 World Cups. Kapil Dev captained in 1987 and 1992. Sachin Tendulkar never captained India in a World Cup. Sunil Gavaskar captained in 1987 only.

Darren Gough's autobiography is titled 'Dazzler: The Autobiography' - 'Dazzler' being his well-known nickname. Ian Botham's autobiography is titled 'Head On'. Graham Gooch wrote 'Gooch: The Autobiography'. David Gower's autobiography is titled 'Gower: The Autobiography'.

Jason Gillespie is nicknamed 'Dizzy' in cricket circles. Adam Gilchrist is called 'Gilly'. Glenn McGrath is known as 'Pigeon'. Brett Lee is referred to as 'Binga'.