The year 1974 was both historic and challenging for the Indian cricket team. That year, the team officially made its debut in One Day International (ODI) cricket and also undertook a very difficult Test tour of England.
The team was captained by Ajit Wadekar during the English summer, which marked the end of his international career.
The 'Men in Blue' maintained a win percentage of 12.50% for the year, playing a total of 8 matches across all formats—registering 1 wins and facing 7 defeats.
Gundappa Viswanath was Team India's highest run-scorer, amassing 549 runs, while Bishan Singh Bedi was the leading wicket-taker, claiming 24 wickets.
We have compiled a list detailing Team India's performance in 1974—including the number of matches played, won, and lost—along with a list of the top 10 performing batsmen and bowlers, provided below.
Highlights of the Indian national cricket team in 1974 (Series Results & Match Breakdown)
🏆 Test Match Records (1974)
India played a three-match Test series during its tour of England in 1974, in which it suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat.
- 1st Test (Manchester): England won by 113 runs.
- 2nd Test (Lord's): England won by an innings and 285 runs.
- 3rd Test (Birmingham): England won by an innings and 78 runs.
🏆 The ODI Debut (1974)
India played the first One Day International (ODI) match in its history against England at Headingley, Leeds, on July 13, 1974.
- 1st ODI (Headingley, Leeds): England won by 4 wickets.
- 2nd ODI (The Oval, London): England won by 6 wickets.
Debut Match Details: India scored 265 in 53.5 overs (with Sudhir Naik top-scoring with 82).
Indian National Cricket Team Matches Played in 1974: Match Statistics and Records
The Indian Men’s National Cricket Team played a total of 46 international matches, recording 32 wins, 10 losses, and 4 matches ending in a draw, tie, or no result.
📊 Overall India Match Record Format-Wise - 1974 Stats
| Format | Matches Played | Won | Lost | Drawn / Tied | No Result | Win % | Series/Tour Breakdown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test Cricket | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 16.66% | 0-3 vs England (Away) 1-2 vs West Indies (Home)* |
| ODI Cricket | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00% | 0-2 vs England (Away) |
| Total (Combined) | 8 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 12.50% | Combined International Record |
Test matches played by the Indian national cricket team in 1974: match results (wins, losses, and draws) and Stats
In 1974, The 'Team India' poor performance in Test Cricket, the team played 6 matches, securing 1 wins, and suffering 5 losses.
| Series / Tour | Opponent | Matches Played | Won | Lost | Drawn / Tied | Series Result / Key Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India tour of England 1974 | England | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | England won the series 3–0. |
| West Indies tour of India 1974* | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | Matches played within calendar year 1974 (Series ended 2-3 in 1975). |
| 1974 Total Test Record | — | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | Win Percentage: 16.66% |
ODI matches played by the Indian national cricket team in 1974: match results (wins, losses, and draws) and Stats
The 'Men in Blue' poor performance in first One day Internationals; in 1974, the team played 2 matches, securing 0 wins, and suffering 2 losses.
| Series / Tour | Opponent | Matches Played | Won | Lost | Drawn / Tied | Series Result / Key Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| India tour of England 1974 | England | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | England won the series 2–0 (India's first-ever ODI matches). |
| 1974 Total ODI Record | — | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | Win Percentage: 0% |
Top 10 Highest Run-Scorers for India in 1974: Stats and Records
🏏 Top Batting Performers (Most Runs across Formats)
The year 1974 has been outstanding for Indian batsmen across all formats: Gundappa Viswanath scored 549 runs, Farokh Engineer scored 411 runs, Sunil Gavaskar scored 279 runs, and Syed Abid Ali scored 186 runs.
| Rank | Player | Matches | Innings | Not Out | Total Runs | Highest Score | Average | 100s / 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gundappa Viswanath | 8 | 14 | 0 | 549 | 139 | 39.21 | 1 / 3 |
| 2 | Farokh Engineer | 8 | 13 | 1 | 411 | 86 | 34.25 | 0 / 4 |
| 3 | Sunil Gavaskar | 6 | 10 | 0 | 279 | 101 | 27.90 | 1 / 1 |
| 4 | Syed Abid Ali | 7 | 12 | 0 | 186 | 71 | 15.50 | 0 / 1 |
| 5 | Sudhir Naik | 5 | 8 | 0 | 179 | 77 | 22.37 | 0 / 1 |
| 6 | Brijesh Patel | 6 | 10 | 0 | 168 | 82 | 16.80 | 0 / 1 |
| 7 | Ajit Wadekar | 5 | 8 | 0 | 155 | 67 | 19.37 | 0 / 1 |
| 8 | Eknath Solkar | 7 | 12 | 1 | 139 | 43 | 12.63 | 0 / 0 |
| 9 | Parthasarathy Sharma | 2 | 4 | 0 | 118 | 54 | 29.50 | 0 / 1 |
| 10 | Hemant Kanitkar | 2 | 4 | 0 | 111 | 65 | 27.75 | 0 / 1 |
Top 10 Highest Run-Scorers for India in Test Cricket in 1974: Stats and Records
in this year, Sunil Gavaskar hit a gritty 101 against England at Old Trafford (Manchester).
| Rank | Player | Matches | Innings | Not Out | Total Runs | Highest Score | Average | 100s / 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gundappa Viswanath | 6 | 12 | 0 | 523 | 139 | 43.58 | 1 / 2 |
| 2 | Farokh Engineer | 6 | 11 | 1 | 379 | 86 | 37.90 | 0 / 4 |
| 3 | Sunil Gavaskar | 4 | 8 | 0 | 245 | 101 | 30.62 | 1 / 1 |
| 4 | Sudhir Naik | 3 | 6 | 0 | 141 | 77 | 23.50 | 0 / 1 |
| 5 | Parthasarathy Sharma | 2 | 4 | 0 | 118 | 54 | 29.50 | 0 / 1 |
| 6 | Hemant Kanitkar | 2 | 4 | 0 | 111 | 65 | 27.75 | 0 / 1 |
| 7 | Ajit Wadekar | 3 | 6 | 0 | 110 | 39 | 18.33 | 0 / 0 |
| 8 | Syed Abid Ali | 5 | 10 | 0 | 103 | 71 | 10.30 | 0 / 1 |
| 9 | Eknath Solkar | 5 | 10 | 1 | 96 | 43 | 10.66 | 0 / 0 |
| 10 | Brijesh Patel | 4 | 8 | 0 | 74 | 29 | 9.25 | 0 / 0 |
Top 10 Highest Run-Scorers for India in ODI in 1974: Stats and Records
Ajit Wadekar scored India's first-ever ODI fifty (67 runs) during the debut game at Headingley. Brijesh Patel hammered an aggressive 82 off just 78 balls, recording India's highest individual ODI score of 1974.
| Rank | Player | Matches | Innings | Not Out | Total Runs | Highest Score | Average | Strike Rate | 50s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brijesh Patel | 2 | 2 | 0 | 94 | 82 | 47.00 | 93.06 | 1 |
| 2 | Ajit Wadekar | 2 | 2 | 0 | 73 | 67 | 36.50 | 81.11 | 1 |
| 3 | Syed Abid Ali | 2 | 2 | 0 | 43 | 26 | 21.50 | 78.18 | 0 |
| 4 | Sudhir Naik | 2 | 2 | 0 | 38 | 20 | 19.00 | 55.88 | 0 |
| 5 | Sunil Gavaskar | 2 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 28 | 17.00 | 47.88 | 0 |
| 6 | Farokh Engineer | 2 | 2 | 0 | 32 | 32 | 16.00 | 49.23 | 0 |
| 7 | Gundappa Viswanath | 2 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 17 | 13.00 | 68.42 | 0 |
| 8 | Eknath Solkar | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 3.00 | 37.50 | 0 |
| 9 | Gopal Bose | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 4.00 | 23.52 | 0 |
| 10 | Madan Lal | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2* | 2.00 | 18.18 | 0 |
| 11 | Ashok Mankad | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1.00 | 20.00 | 0 |
| 12 | Bishan Singh Bedi | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0 |
Top 10 Highest Wicket-Takers for India in 1974: Statistics and Records
🔮 Top Bowling Performers (Most Wickets across Formats)
The year 1974 has been outstanding for Indian bowlers; across all formats, Bishan Singh Bedi took 24 wickets, Erapalli Prasanna took 17 wickets, and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar took 14 wickets.
| Rank | Bowler | Matches | Innings | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Best Bowling | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bishan Singh Bedi | 8 | 11 | 357.4 | 950 | 24 | 6/226 | 39.58 |
| 2 | Erapalli Prasanna | 6 | 9 | 257.0 | 731 | 17 | 4/41 | 43.00 |
| 3 | Bhagwath Chandrasekhar | 5 | 7 | 194.3 | 631 | 14 | 4/112 | 45.07 |
| 4 | Syed Abid Ali | 7 | 11 | 141.3 | 432 | 11 | 3/79 | 39.27 |
| 5 | Eknath Solkar | 7 | 11 | 92.0 | 249 | 7 | 3/43 | 35.57 |
| 6 | Srinivas Venkataraghavan | 5 | 7 | 143.0 | 397 | 5 | 2/82 | 79.40 |
| 7 | Madan Lal | 4 | 6 | 89.0 | 285 | 4 | 2/42 | 71.25 |
| 8 | Karsan Ghavri | 1 | 2 | 31.0 | 115 | 2 | 2/105 | 57.50 |
| 9 | Mohinder Amarnath | 1 | 2 | 21.0 | 64 | 1 | 1/46 | 64.00 |
| 10 | Sudhir Naik | 5 | 1 | 1.0 | 5 | 0 | 0/5 | — |
Top 10 Highest Wicket-Takers for India in Test Cricket (1974)
Bishan Singh Bedi was most 24 wickets in test cricket.
| Rank | Bowler | Matches | Innings | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Best Bowling | Average |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bishan Singh Bedi | 6 | 9 | 351.4 | 935 | 24 | 6/226 | 38.95 |
| 2 | Erapalli Prasanna | 6 | 9 | 257.0 | 731 | 17 | 4/41 | 43.00 |
| 3 | Bhagwath Chandrasekhar | 5 | 7 | 194.3 | 631 | 14 | 4/112 | 45.07 |
| 4 | Syed Abid Ali | 5 | 9 | 120.3 | 357 | 7 | 3/79 | 51.00 |
| 5 | Srinivas Venkataraghavan | 5 | 7 | 143.0 | 397 | 5 | 2/82 | 79.40 |
| 6 | Madan Lal | 2 | 4 | 67.0 | 214 | 3 | 2/42 | 71.33 |
| 7 | Eknath Solkar | 5 | 9 | 76.0 | 183 | 3 | 1/24 | 61.00 |
| 8 | Karsan Ghavri | 1 | 2 | 31.0 | 115 | 2 | 2/105 | 57.50 |
| 9 | Mohinder Amarnath | 1 | 2 | 21.0 | 64 | 1 | 1/46 | 64.00 |
| 10 | Sudhir Naik | 3 | 1 | 1.0 | 5 | 0 | 0/5 | — |
Top Highest Wicket-Takers for India in ODI Cricket (1974)
Syed Abid Ali took first wicket in ODI match at Headingley on July 13, 1974. India's first-ever ODI wicket by dismissing England opener Dennis Amiss.
| Rank | Bowler | Matches | Innings | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Best Bowling | Average | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eknath Solkar | 2 | 2 | 16.0 | 66 | 4 | 3/43 | 16.50 | 4.12 |
| 2 | Syed Abid Ali | 2 | 2 | 21.0 | 75 | 4 | 2/34 | 18.75 | 3.57 |
| 3 | Madan Lal | 2 | 2 | 22.0 | 71 | 1 | 1/47 | 71.00 | 3.22 |
| 4 | Bishan Singh Bedi | 2 | 2 | 6.0 | 15 | 0 | 0/6 | — | 2.50 |
| 5 | Srinivas Venkataraghavan | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | — | — | — |
⚠️ Disclaimer: This statistical data has been collected from various internet sources. There might be some human or technical errors present. I do not claim or guarantee 100% factual accuracy regarding these records.
