India's 500th ODI milestone win cements their magnificent cricket legacy

Virat Kohli's Indian cricket team entered an elite list of teams in cricket when they won the second ODI against Australia at the VCA stadium in Nagpur by eight runs to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. Kohli's 40^th century and excellent bowling displays by Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Vijay Shankar helped India hold their nerve and continue their dominance over an Australian side that has not won a bilateral ODI series since 2017. The win at Nagpur was India's 500^th in ODIs and they are only the second team after Australia to achieve this feat. Australia has won 558 ODIs in 924 games while India took 963 matches to reach this landmark. Pakistan are the third-best team with 479 wins from 907 games. Following their 500^th win, here are the results of the Indian cricket team during their first, 100^th, 200^th, 300^th and the 400^th ODI. 

1^st ODI win: 1975 World Cup vs East Africa at Leeds 

After losing the first three ODIs against England, including the first match in the 1975 World Cup against the hosts by 202 runs, India finally got on the board in the game against East Africa. Madan Lal's 3/15 and Bishan Singh Bedi's figures of 12-8-6-1 helped India restrict East Africa to 120 all out in 55.3 overs. Sunil Gavaskar, who gained notoriety with his 180-ball 36 in the first game, redeemed himself with an aggressive 65 off 86 balls and a solid 54 off 93 balls by Farokh Engineer helped India register their first win in an ODI.

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100^th ODI win: 1993 vs South Africa at Mohali 

Vinod Kambli slammed a brilliant 86 but good bowling from Hansie Cronje (3/29) and two wickets from Fanie de Villiers and Richard Snell restricted them to 221 all out. Jonty Rhodes slammed an attacking fifty but India were kept in the game thanks to a great spell from Salil Ankola. Kapil Dev, Javagal Srinath, Manoj Prabhakar and Anil Kumble took a wicket each while Jadeja, who contributed 39 with the bat, took 2/16. Kambli was named the Man of the Match for his wonderful contribution with the bat. 

200^th ODI win: 2000 vs Kenya in Nairobi 

The 2000 Champions Trophy was played amidst the match-fixing scandal that had dogged Indian cricket in the previous season. India faced Kenya in the qualifying game of the tournament and Kenya reached 208/9 thanks to fifties from Ravindu Shah (60) and Maurice Odumbe (51). Zaheer Khan burst onto the stage with a brilliant spell of 3/48 while Anil Kumble (2/22) and a brace from Venkatesh Prasad and Ajit Agarkar resulted in a solid performance. India comfortably got over the line by eight wickets thanks to fifties from Sourav Ganguly and Rahul Dravid. The win was the start of a glorious run for India where they defeated World Champions Australia in the quarterfinal and dumped out South Africa in the semi-final. India's quest for a title ended when New Zealand won the final thanks to Chris Cairns' century. 

300^th ODI win: 2007 vs West Indies in Cuttack 

On a tricky wicket, Dinesh Karthik's 63 was the difference for India as they reached 189 all out. Darren Powell was the star with 4/27. Shivnarine Chanderpaul kept West Indies in the hunt with a gritty 66 but Ramesh Powar took three wickets and Sachin Tendulkar contributed with the ball by taking 2/16 as India won a close match by 20 runs. 

400^th ODI win: 2012 vs Sri Lanka in Colombo 

India were gunning for a series win in Sri Lanka in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa stadium in Colombo. Upul Tharanga hit a fifty and he was well supported by Tillakaratne Dilshan and lahiru Thirimanne as Sri Lanka reached 251/8. In response, India were wobbling at 109/4 but Virat Kohli stepped up and blasted a brilliant century. His 128 and his 143-run stand with Suresh Raina, who smashed 58 off 51 balls helped India win by six wickets and win the five-match series 4-1.

HIGHLIGHTS

• India became the second team after Australia to win 500 ODIs.
• India won their first ODI against East Africa in 1975 World Cup.
• India are on the cusp of winning their 4th consecutive bilateral series at home.