Cricket History and Facts

Sourav Ganguly's highest individual scores were 239 in Test cricket (against Pakistan in Bangalore, 2007) and 183 in ODIs (against Sri Lanka in 1999, then a record for India). These were his career-best innings in respective formats.

Sourav Ganguly scored 16 centuries in Test matches and 22 centuries in One Day Internationals during his international cricket career for India. This makes option D (16,22) the correct answer.

Irfan Pathan achieved the historic feat of taking a hat-trick in the very first over of a Test match against Pakistan in Karachi (2006), dismissing Salman Butt, Younis Khan, and Mohammad Yousuf.

Brian Lara is the odd one out because he is from the West Indies, while the other three cricketers are all captains who led their countries to Cricket World Cup victories: Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka, 1996), Steve Waugh (Australia, 1999), and Kapil Dev (India, 1983). Lara, despite his legendary status, never captained a World Cup-winning team.

Brian Lara is the odd one out among these cricket legends. Arjuna Ranatunga (Sri Lanka), Steve Waugh (Australia), and Kapil Dev (India) were all captains who led their countries to World Cup victories. Brian Lara (West Indies), despite being one of the greatest batsmen ever, never captained his team to a World Cup win.

The Hindi phrase 'ankhei nikal kar _______ khelonga' roughly translates to 'Taking eyes out, playing ______.' The answer 'gotiya' (marbles) makes contextual sense in a childhood game scenario. Cricket, gilli-danda, and carrom don't fit the 'taking eyes out' imagery.

Sachin Tendulkar was the first cricketer to score 14,000 runs in ODI cricket, achieving this milestone in 2011. Waqar Younis was a bowler, Arjuna Ranatunga was a batsman but didn't reach this milestone, and Rahul Dravid retired before reaching 14,000 ODI runs. Tendulkar finished his career with over 18,000 ODI runs.

Sachin Tendulkar surpassed Brian Lara's record for most runs in Test cricket on October 17, 2008, during the second Test against Australia in Mohali. Lara had held the record with 11,953 runs. Sachin went on to become the leading run-scorer in Test cricket history with 15,921 runs.

Sachin Tendulkar was named after the famous music composer Sachin Dev Burman. His father Ramesh Tendulkar was a great admirer of Sachin Dev Burman's music and named his son after him. 'Sachin' is actually another name for the Lord Shiva, and the Tendulkars had no personal connection to Sachin Dev Burman beyond admiration for his music.

The Irani Trophy is played between the Ranji Trophy winners and Rest of India. Virender Sehwag led Rest of India in this tournament during his comeback phase. Ranji Trophy is a domestic competition, while Champions Trophy is an international ODI tournament. Youth Icon Trophy is not a major cricket tournament.

Adam Gilchrist, the Australian wicketkeeper-batsman, was the first player to hit 100 sixes in Test cricket. His aggressive batting style made him famous for clearing boundaries regularly. This milestone was achieved during his illustrious career in the mid-2000s.

Jalal-ud-Din of Pakistan became the first bowler to take a hat-trick in One Day International cricket. He achieved this feat against Australia in 1982, taking three wickets in three consecutive balls. This was a historic milestone in ODI cricket history.

Harbhajan Singh became the first Indian bowler to take a hat-trick in Test cricket against Australia in Kolkata in 2001. He took three wickets in three balls, which was part of his match-winning performance where he claimed 13 wickets. This was a historic moment for Indian bowling.