The first ODI century that was scored for India is still the greatest Hundred scored by an Indian in ODIs and is among the Top 2 greatest ODI innings of all time. The first ODI Hundred was scored by none other than the great Kapil Dev in the 1983 World Cup In that famous match against Zimbabwe where he made 175 of the most breathtaking runs and he won India the match. There have been a total of 318 ODI hundreds which have been made by Indian players but the first one trumps all the other 317. Kapil Dev played like a man possessed and he single handedly won that match for India.

Who scored the first ODI century for India?

Kapil Dev secured his place in cricket history with the first ODI century for India during the 1983 World Cup. His legendary innings of 175 against Zimbabwe remains not only the greatest century by an Indian but is also among the top two greatest ODI innings of all time, shaping the destiny of Indian cricket.

Let’s talk about the first Century scored by an Indian in ODI Cricket

Kapil Dev played the innings of his life

It had been 9 years since India had started playing ODI Cricket and yet no century was made by an Indian batter. Then came the 1983 World Cup and Kapil Dev was the captain of the Indian team in that tournament. India needed to win the match against Zimbabwe to stay alive in the competition. And in that most important match, India were 17 runs for 5 wickets and Kapil Dev had walked to the crease with a miracle needed for India. What followed was one of the greatest innings in the history of ODI Cricket. He first started by building a partnership with Roger Binny and then he had a good partnership with Madan Lal and finally Syed Kirmani. India finished with a score of 266 and they won the match by 31 runs.

Kapil Dev was not ready to bat as he was in the shower when his batting arrived and he rushed to the pitch. He Batted for 136 balls in this innings and he smashed the bowlers for 16 fours and 6 sixes meaning 100 runs in boundaries. He ran for 75 of his runs and he had a great strike rate of 126.81. Kapil Dev did not spare any Zimbabwe bowler and he made sure that he was there till the end and 266 was a very good score at the time even if the match was 60 overs a side. This is an innings that tragically could not be televised because the BBC decided to cover the England vs Australia match which was being held the same day. He also bowled 11 overs in this match and only gave away 32 runs and he even took 1 wicket.

This is an innings that will never be forgotten by any Indian cricket fan because of the significance it has for Indian cricket. He single handedly saved the World Cup for India and as a result, India became the World Champions by beating West Indies in the final and cricket changed forever. If this 175 would not come from the bat of Kapil Dev, nobody knows where World cricket would have been today because Indian cricket would not have become the superpower it is today. Virat Kohli has scored 50 ODI hundreds for India and Sachin Tendulkar has made 49 Hundreds in ODI Cricket. And they have also played some incredible innings but they pale in comparison . The only ODI innings that is on the level of this 175 was made in the 2023 ODI World Cup by Glenn Maxwell who made 201* vs Afghanistan when he chased down 292 when Australia were 91 for 7.

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