Independence Day special: Remembering Indian cricket's golden memories

Cricket has grown into a symbol of recognition for India, even though India adopted it from the colonial rulers the country achieved tremendous success over the years and outsmarted the creators in major tournaments so many times, thanks to all the freedom fighters who made it possible for the country.

Celebrating 71 years of freedom, let us cherish some of the greatest memories of the Indian Cricket that made the nation proud and left their fans golden memories to remember their entire lives.

#5 (2007-08 CB Series): India's first taste of tri-series success on the Aussie soil

Australia was a powerful nation in terms of their cricketing talent and mentality, and they were the world champions back then after their hat-trick World Cup.

The Indian team under the captaincy of Anil Kumble lost the test match series 2-1 in what was one of the most controversial tours ever for the Indian team which, involved infamous umpiring decisions and the monkey-gate incident.

India also lost the only T20I in most disaster manner; it was a completely underwhelming performance for the World Champions in the shorter format.

Then came the tri-series, with a bad start to the tour and against the mighty Australian side, and the task seemed more unfavourable but MS Dhoni the achiever of impossible who was the captain for the ODI's made it possible with his youthful and unpredictable selections that defeated the mighty Aussie side 2-0 in the final matches.

It was a series where India's batting was the biggest weakness throughout the tournament shone when it mattered most: Sachin Tendulkar the pick of the batsmen scored a brilliant century(117*) in the first final to sail India over the line and was awarded as the man of the match. Sachin once again after his stellar performance in the first final hit the top form by scoring 91 runs in the second final to give Team India a defensible score, eventually, the Indian pacer Praveen Kumar emerged as the hero of the night claiming 4/46 to give India back-to-back wins and the first ever tri-series triumph on the Aussie soil.

After the series victory, Dhoni stated-"This is a greater victory than the World Twenty20."

#4 India ended the Aussie domination in theTest Championships

In December 2009, India was presented with a mace that was given to the No. 1 Test team by the end of the year.

It was the first time in Indian cricket history in the longer format that the nation is ranked No. 1, the team that ended the Australian domination who are the only winners of the mace since its inception back in 2003.

Successive series wins against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and a drawn Test series against South Africa at home ensured India toppling Australia for the award. It was one of the best achievements for India under the leadership of MS Dhoni.

#3 India became the first T20 World Champions (2007)

India were underdogs coming into the tournament with a disappointing ODI World Cup. MS Dhoni was made as the new captain to the Indian side that was without their senior players.

While Dhoni with his young team proved doubters wrong match after match with some brilliant team and individual performances, Yuvraj Singh's record of six sixes in an over against England is yet to be broken, which was one of the moments of the World Cup that will be relived by fans for many years.

India overcame a strong Australian side in the semifinals to set up a final encounter with arch-rivals Pakistan.

India eventually defeated Pakistan in a thrilling final with great performances with bat from Gautam Gambhir and a superb bowling display by the swing masters RP Singh and Irfan Pathan, but the moment was stolen by Joginder Sharma, who bowled the last over, which was a surprise decision made by MS Dhoni and it paid off on that day as India defeated Pakistan to take home its first T20 World Cup.

#2 2011 World Cup a billion dreams that became true

Achieving the World Cup is a dream for every cricketer, and winning it in front of home fans will be a dream come true. India achieved that feat during the 2011 World Cup, held in the subcontinent.

The Indian team was blessed with the experience of Sachin and Sehwag in the batting unit; the bowling unit was led by the swing king Zaheer Khan, who was at the peak of his form during that World Cup. With all that aside, Dhoni, Yuvraj and Gambhir rose to help the side when it mattered.

The final was breathtaking: MS Dhoni, along with Gautam Gambhir, powered India to their second World Cup glory.

It was Sachin's last World Cup game as he finished off in style as the World Cup's all-time top scorer.

#1 (1983 World Cup) Kapil Dev and Co. redefined India's cricketing power

The 1983 World Cup triumph was the moment that arguably planted a seed in Indian fans to become a popular sport for India in the following years. It was the greatest victory in terms of the country announcing its stature in the cricketing world.

India's first tough challenge came against Zimbabwe in a must-win game, where India was five down for fifteen runs, then came Kapil Dev as he played the match of his life with an unbeaten 175 helping India win the match.

India then stunned the host nation in front of their fans in the semifinals and outclassed favourites and two-time champions West Indies in the final to clinch their first World Cup.

It was a remarkable achievement, and it has to be at the top of the list.

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