Cricket is the most popular sport of India, and its development has been closely tied up with the history of the country, mirroring many of the political and cultural developments around issues such as caste, religion and nationality. The first cricket match in India was recorded in 1721, when a group of British sailors gathered to play in Western India. In 1848, the Parsi community in Bombay formed the Oriental Cricket Club, the first cricket club to be established by Indians. After slow beginnings, the Europeans eventually invited the Parsis to play a match in 1877.

The formation of the Board of Control for Cricket (BCCI) in India in 1929 led to a first Test match with England three years later. Test status was granted to the Indian cricket team in 1932. The first Test match v England at Lord's, London, 25-28 June 1932. Before Indian independence in 1947, India consisted of territory of the Indian subcontinent that is now Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Post-Freedom Developments
The Indian team's first series as an independent country was in 1948 against Australia at Brisbane. Indians led by Lala Amarnath lost the Test series 0-4. India's first ever Test victory came against England at Madras in 1952. After the independence in 1947, and its separation from India, Pakistan played its first test-match with India in 1952. This was the first major test victory for India. In 1954, India drew a 5-Test series with Pakistan 0-0, the batting strength from India had come from Polly Umrigar and Vijay Manjrekar while the prime bowler was Subhash Gupte with 21 wickets in the series. India's first series against New Zealand in 1956 created a comprehensive series victory for India, winning the 5-Test series 2-0.

India won the Cricket World Cup in 1983, defeating West Indies in an exciting final. In 1985, India won the World Championship of Cricket in Australia. The Test series victory in 1986 in England remained, for nearly 19 years, the last Test series win outside subcontinent. Sunil Gavaskar became the first batsman to accumulate 10,000 runs in Test cricket, and went on to register a record 34 centuries, surpassed only recently by Sachin Tendulkar. Kapil Dev, a genuine all-rounder, became the highest wicket taker in Test cricket, surpassing Richard Hadlee to take a total of 434 wickets, a record which has been surpassed by fellow Indian Anil Kumble. The emergence of Sachin Tendulkar and Anil Kumble in 1989 and 1990 was to herald an era of Indian cricket that was dominated by stars and individual brilliance.  

The Indian Premier League (also known as the "DLF Indian Premier League" for sponsorship reasons; often abbreviated as IPL), is a Twenty20 cricket competition created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The eight teams taking part are: Kolkata Knight Riders, Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians, Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils, and Kings XI Punjab.

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