The Indian Cricket Team

The Indian cricket team is an international cricket team representing India. It is governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India, the cricket governing body in India. The Indian Cricket Team is currently the highest paid national sports team in the world (in terms of sponsorship).

Though the first match in India was recorded in 1721, when a group of sailors gathered to play in Western India, India's national cricket team didn't play their first Test match until 25 June 1932 at Lord's. They became the sixth team to play Test cricket. Traditionally much stronger at home than abroad, India proved weaker than Australia and England, winning only 35 of the 196 matches they played in their first fifty years. The team gained strength near the end of the 50-year period with the emergence of players such as Sunil Gavaskar and Kapil Dev and the Indian spin quartet. The Indian team has continued to be highly ranked since then in Test cricket and One Day Internationals. The team won the Cricket World Cup in 1983 and was runners-up in 2003. It also won the first World Twenty20 in 2007. The current team contains many of the world's leading players, including Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble, who hold numerous cricketing world records.

As of January 2008, the Indian team has played 414 Test matches, winning 22.46%, losing 32.13% and drawing 45.41% of its games. The team is ranked second in the ICC Test Championship rankings and fourth in the ICC ODI Championship rankings.

Records:

Team records
Highest team total: 413-5 in 50 overs v Bermuda at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (2007/08)
Lowest team total: 54 in 26.3 overs v Sri Lanka at Sharjah (2000/01)
Most sixes in an innings: 18 v Bermuda at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobajo (2007/08)

Individual records
Most matches: Sachin Tendulkar 417
Most innings: Sachin Tendulkar 407
Most Consecutive Man of the Match Award (World Record): 4 by Sourav Ganguly

Batting
Most runs: 16,361 by Sachin Tendulkar
Best average: 45.13 by MS Dhoni
Highest individual score: 186* by Sachin Tendulkar vs. New Zealand at Hyderabad (1999/00)
Record partnership: 331 by Rahul Dravid & Sachin Tendulkar for the 2nd wicket vs. New Zealand at Hyderabad (1999/00)
Most centuries: 42 by Sachin Tendulkar
Most Half-centuries: 89 by Sachin Tendulkar

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Bowling
Most wickets: 337 Anil Kumble
Best average: 26.40 Irfan Pathan
Best innings bowling: 6/12 Anil Kumble v West Indies at Kolkata (1993/94)
Best career strike rate: 31.2 Irfan Pathan
Best career economy rate: 3.71 Kapil Dev

Fielding
Most dismissals: 204 (190 catches, 14 stumpings) by Rahul Dravid
Most dismissals in an innings: 6 (5 catches, 1 stumping) by Mahendra Singh Dhoni at Headingley, Leeds, England on 2 September 2007 (vs England).

Record page : http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/engine/records/index.html?id=6;type=team

Sachin's record page : http://content-ind.cricinfo.com/cbs/content/current/player/35320.html

source : wiki , cricinfo   " thank you! "