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On this day in 1971, the first-ever ODI match was played and the match was between Australia and England at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
In this landmark cricket match, Australia won the toss and elected to field first, choosing to chase against their long-time rivals. England was not off a very good start as Alan Thomson broke a promising 21-run stand between Geoff Boycott and John Edrich, sending back Boycott for just eight runs off 37 balls. Following this, Keith Fletcher joined forces with Edrich and helped his side cross the 50-run mark. Both batters stitched quite a good partnership off 66 runs, which was broken by Ashley Mallett, who dismissed Fletcher for 24 off 47 balls. Following this, England started to lose wickets on a more regular basis and was bundled out for just 190 runs. Edrich top scored for his side with 82 off 119 balls, a knock which had four boundaries. Mallett was the pick of the bowlers for Australia, taking 3/34. Keith Stackpole was also impressive, taking 3/40. Graham McKenzie took two wickets while Thompson took a wicket. Chasing 191, England was not off to a very good start either. Ken Shuttleworth sent back Keith Stackpole for 13 off 15 balls. On the other hand, Ray Illingworth dismissed skipper Bill Lawry for 27 off 49 balls. Following this, the pair of Doug Walters and Ian Chappell helped Australia cross the 100-run mark and brought them back into the game. Basil D'Oliveira dismissed Walters for 41 off 51 balls, reducing the Aussies to 117/3 and breaking a 66-run stand for the third wicket. Another good partnership of 41 runs took place between Ian and Ian Redpath. Illingworth struck to remove Redpath (12) and Ian (60). But Australia managed to win the match nonetheless, with Greg Chappell (22*) and wicketkeeper-batter Rod Marsh (10*) unbeaten. Aussies finished at 191/5 in 35 overs, winning by five wickets. Illingworth took 3/50 for England, while Shuttleworth and Basil took one each. Edrich's half-century earned him the 'Man of the Match' title. Since then, a total of 4,499 ODI matches have taken place. Australia is the most successful team in ODI history. Out of 975 ODIs played, they have won 592, lost 340. Nine of their matches have ended in a tie while 34 failed to produce a result. It is also the most successful team when it comes to winning major ODI titles, having won ICC Cricket World Cup (1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015) and ICC Champions Trophy (2006 and 2009) Notably, India has played the most number of ODIs. In the 1,020 matches they have played, they have won 532, and lost 436. Nine matches ended in a tie while 43 could not produce a result. India has won 1983 and 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Indian cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar is the highest-run scorer in the 50-over format. He has scored 18,426 runs in 463 matches. He is ahead of legendary batters like Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara (14,234), Australia's Ricky Ponting (13,704), SL's Sanath Jayasuriya (13,430) and SL's Mahela Jayawardene (12,650). Sachin Tendulkar also holds the record of scoring the most ODI centuries, with a total of 49. Following him are: Star Indian batter Virat Kohli (44), Ricky Ponting (30), Rohit Sharma (29) and Sanath Jayasuriya (28). Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has the most number of sixes in ODIs, with a total of 351. Sri Lankan spin legend Muthiah Muralidaran has the most number of ODI wickets, having captured 534 wickets. Pakistan legends Wasim Akram (502) and Waqar Younis (416), Sri Lanka's Chaminda Vaas (400), Shahid Afridi from Pakistan (395) follow him. Chaminda Vaas has the best bowling figures in ODI history, having taken 8/19 in eight overs against Zimbabwe in 2001. (ANI)
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