Mid Wicket Tales With Naseeruddin Shah

Captaining the Indian cricket team is like leading a battle for the country. This episode tracks Indian Team Captains through the decades, on the journey to becoming World Champions. From the pre-independence Test Captain Col. C.K. Nayudu, through the days of Pataudi, and the leadership of Kapil Dev and Sunil Gavaskar, to M.S. Dhoni lifting the World Cup for India, after a gap of 28 years.

The role and approach of an opening batsman has evolved over the years. Back in the day, he had to steadily craft an innings and plot his game. India's most conservative and technical opener from the pre-Independence era, Vijay Merchant, was a master of this strategy. Today, the opener's role is to give the team a flying start. Sachin Tendulkar and Sehwag exemplified this approach to opening.

India has talented spinners who have bamboozled batsmen all over the world. The origins of these spinners hark back to the unknown quality of Baloo in the times of the Raj. While Vinoo Makand's left arm spin was the backbone of the team in the 40's & 50's, the spin 'quartet' dominated in the 60's & 70's. Tales of Bishan Singh Bedi, Chandrashekar, Anil Kumble & Harbhajan abound.

The nation's cricket fever rewinds into history. Go down memory lane with Naseeruddin Shah to see the evolution of the game with contributions from the British, the Maharajas and the masters themselves.

Meet the world-class pacers from Indian cricket. Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh from the pre-Independence era, Kapil Dev who stormed in and became the leading wicket-taker of his time in Tests, Javagal Srinath who showed the world that a fast bowler can be intimidating by his pace alone, and Zaheer Khan whose stood tall amongst his peers as India's finest left-arm seamer.

A cricket hungry nation and world cup fever go hand in hand. Relive heart pounding victories and disappointing exits. From Kapil's devils, Dhoni's boys and Sachin's team live the moments with added trivia and quirky anecdotes.

Indian Cricket has seen many inflection points. From a crisis to a triumph, a controversy to an experiment. For each of these crossroad moments, a towering personality made a path that changed the game.

In early 20th century, there were few left-handed batsmen. In 1932 there was one left-hander in a squad of 18 to tour England. But times are changing. In India's 2015 World cup squad of 15 there were 4.

Turn back the clock to visit the cricketing relationship between India and England. The history rolls back to 1911 with the countries finest players, victories and losses to the present day game.

Great cricketers have overcome injuries braving their way onto the field. Nari Contractor to Yuvraj Singh, a broken hip to cancer, these bravehearts personified the adage cometh the hour, cometh the man.

Wicket-keepers are the core of the team who make or break the game. Meet India's finest, most talented wicket-keepers from Janardan Navle to Farokh Engineer and MS Dhoni.

Meet India's all-rounders. Beginning with the 1932 Test at Lords, bowler Amar Singh scored the first half century. Vinoo Mankad, Madan Lal and Kapil Dev followed his steps to set new goals for cricket.

Brothers by geography but rivals by fate; Indo-Pak cricket matches pull a billion viewers. From 1951 when Pakistan toured India, the teams faced pressure to win but in the midst great friendships evolved.

A slew of talented Indian cricketers who showed their skills at an early age, Mushtaq Ali, Vijay Mehra, and Maninder Singh caught the fancy of Indian cricket lovers. Though the most famous Indian cricketing prodigy of all time was Sachin Tendulkar, who is part of cricketing folklore and a shining example of a teen sensation who went on to dominate world cricket for over two decades.

Middle-order mainstays are the fulcrum of an inning. In the 1930s and 40s, India's middle order was shored up by Vijay Hazare. The next decades belonged to Vijay Manjrekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Ravi Shastri & Sanjay Manjrekar, before the Great Wall of Indian cricket, Rahul Dravid, came along. These were the architects of some of India's best batting displays and helped the country win many matches.

The landmark victories of Indian cricket: the maiden Test win at Madras in 1952, the first overseas Test and Series victory against the Kiwis in 1967-68, the twin Test Series wins in West Indies and England in 1971, and the crowning glory - Kapil's Devils dethroning the invincible Caribbean side at Lord's. That historic triumph set the ball rolling for India's victories in ODI and T20 cricket.

India's greatest and most popular performers have had the most interesting nicknames. The Bradman of the East had a series of remarkable records during Indian cricket's early days. The Little Master helped fans worship the game, the Colonel , Haryana Hurricane, Prince of Kolkata, The Wall, Turbanator, and Captain Cool have been the architects of India's cricketing glory over the years.

It seems cricketing prowess runs in families. The 1st Indian skipper C.K. Nayudu's brother C.S. also played, Lala Amarnath's sons Mohinder and Surender were Test centurions, Yograj Singh's son Yuvraj and Roger Binny's son Stuart have also worn blue. The Mankads, the Pataudis, the Gaekwads, the Roys, the Manjrekars, and the Gavaskars are other prominent Indian cricketing families.

The popularity of cricket in India started with the Parsis playing in gymkhanas in Bombay. Then the erstwhile princely states of Nawanagar, Baroda and Rajasthan caught on. Gradually, the game spread southwards to Hyderabad and Karnataka. Then came the dominance of sides like Delhi and Punjab, before smaller centers and erstwhile underdogs like Railways and Rajasthan started ruling the roost.

Tales of the talented cricketers who may not have been considered the best Indian batsmen but their style and strike was envied by contemporaries. From Polly Umrigar to Jaisimha and Viswanath, to Azharuddin, these are the cricketers whose artistry with the bat left audiences craving more. In recent times, VVS Laxman and Rohit Sharma have been proclaimed part of this set.

Douglas Jardine, the Caribbean player who debuted in the West Indies' maiden Test, was the captain of his side when England took on C.K. Nayudu's boys at Lord's in 1932. After playing their first Test series in Australia, India's first home series post-Independence was against the West Indies in 1948-49. Since then, the India-West Indies rivalry has become an intense affair.

The journey of players from humble backgrounds to pinnacles of success. Once a cricket fan from a small town, Nagpur-born C.K. Nayudu made his first-class debut in 1916 in the Bombay Triangular, and went on to become the first Indian Test captain. M.S. Dhoni. from Ranchi, Bihar, was christened "Captain Cool" and led the Men in Blue to win the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2011.

India's epic win in the West Indies in 1971 saw the re-emergence of two of its almost forgotten soldiers, irreplaceable Salim Durani and Dilip Sardesai. Mohinder Amarnath and more recently, Sourav Ganguly, were also known to stage comebacks, and rise like a phoenix from the ashes. This episode glorifies the players who personified the proverb, "cometh the hour, cometh the man".

A tribute to the coaches, commentators, team managers, journalists, and others who through their hard work and dedication keep the love & spirit of cricket alive off the field and behind-the-scenes. A.F.S. Talyarkhan, India's 1st radio commentator; P.R. Man Singh, who owns a museum of cricket mementos and books; and Dr. Simon King who helped launch ESPNcricinfo are just some of those mentioned.