Cricket History and Facts

Ajantha Mendis holds the record for being the fastest to reach 50 wickets in ODI cricket, achieving the feat in just 19 matches. He surpassed the previous record held by Ajit Agarkar.

Rahul Dravid holds the Test cricket record for most catches by a fielder (non-wicketkeeper) with 210 catches. He was renowned for his safe hands, especially in the slip cordon. Ricky Ponting is second with 196 catches, while Steve Waugh and Brian Lara had fewer catches in their careers.

MS Dhoni scored 183* against Sri Lanka in 2005, which remains the highest score by a wicket-keeper in ODI history. Quinton de Kock and others have come close, but Dhoni still holds the record.

Sourav Ganguly scored 183 runs against Sri Lanka in the 1999 World Cup at Taunton, England. This remains his highest individual ODI score and featured 17 fours and 7 sixes. It was one of the most memorable innings of his career and helped India post a massive total.

At the time this question was created (pre-2011), Sachin Tendulkar held the record for the highest individual ODI score (200*). This record has since been broken by others like Rohit Sharma (264).

India won 7 matches in the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup on their way to lifting the trophy: group stage wins against Bangladesh (2/28), Ireland (5/31), Netherlands (5/28), and West Indies (5/29), plus knockout victories against Australia (quarterfinal), Pakistan (semifinal), and Sri Lanka (final). Their only loss was to South Africa in the group stage.

Sachin Tendulkar holds the record for the highest number of runs in Test cricket, with 15,921 runs. He surpassed Brian Lara and Sunil Gavaskar, who were previous record holders.

Mohammad Azharuddin's highest Test score was 199, scored against Sri Lanka in Kanpur in 1986. This was his debut series and he scored centuries in his first three Tests. Options A (198), B (215), and C (156) are not his personal highest.

Ajit Wadekar led the Indian team in their first-ever ODI match against England at Headingley in 1974. Bishen Singh Bedi and Nawab Pataudi were legendary Test captains, but Wadekar held the captaincy during the transition to the limited-overs format.

C.K. Nayudu was the first captain of the Indian national cricket team for their debut Test match against England at Lord's in 1932. While Lala Amarnath was the first captain of independent India, Nayudu holds the historical title of the very first Test captain.