Indian cricket has given us unforgettable moments to cherish for a lifetime. On the eve of India's 78th Independence Day, let us join hands to relive some of the Men in Blue’s most memorable wins between the 22 yards over the period.

India tour of West Indies, 1971

We have heard so many stories of grit and courage in cricket but none better than a young 21-year-old lad from Mumbai, on his Test debut, taking a masterclass in playing pace bowling, and that too without a helmet. Sunil Gavaskar just aced the West Indies pace test scoring 774 runs at an unbelievable average of 154.80 and headlined India’s historic Test series win in the Caribbean.

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India vs West Indies, 1983 World Cup Final

With the odds heavily stacked against them, Kapil’s Devils scripted a fairytale by winning the 1983 Cricket World Cup at Lord’s and encouraged an entire generation of cricketers to take up the sport.

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India vs Australia, 1998 Coca-Cola Cup

Australia were not only fighting the sandstorm but the ‘Sachin Tendulkar’ storm too as the master blaster scored consecutive tons in the space of two days to win India the Coca-Cola Cup at Sharjah in 1998. Even spin wizard Shane Warne was left clueless!

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India vs Australia Eden Gardens Test, 2001

Australia in pursuit of conquering the final frontier hit a roadblock at Eden Gardens in Kolkata in the form of ‘Very Very Special’ Laxman and Rahul ‘The Wall’ Dravid, who rescued India from the jaws of defeat to a 171-run victory. A win for the ages that transformed Indian cricket after the turn of the century.

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India vs England Natwest Trophy Final, 2002

It ain’t over till it's over! This match once again brought India’s fighting spirit to the fore as young Turks Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif had their day out at the Mecca of cricket with excellent half-centuries to power India to a special win! Sourav Ganguly and his t-shirt waving after all these years is just as goosebumps inducing.

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India vs Pakistan, 2007 T20 World Cup Final 

A young Indian team led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni announced their arrival in style winning the 2007 T20 World Cup in South Africa. Yuvraj Singh’s six sixes against England, and the final against Pakistan would go down as some of the most memorable moments for the Paltan to savour.

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India vs Sri Lanka, 2011 ODI World Cup Final

“He’s carried the burden of the nation for 21 years, it was time we carried him.” Virat Kohli summed up the emotions of every Indian fan after the 2011 World Cup win at the Wankhede Stadium. The God of cricket had achieved his dream, that too at his home ground, the reason why he started playing the game.

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India vs England, 2013 Champions Trophy Final

The World Cup was in the kitty and it was time for Champions Trophy glory and guess what? India fought back valiantly after England were in the driving seat, to chalk out a thrilling win in the final of the Champions Trophy 2013 and became proud holders of both trophies at the same time.

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India Women vs Australia Women, 2017 ODI World Cup Semi-finals 

Harmanpreet Kaur’s herculean unbeaten 171 at the County Ground in Derby powered India into the final of the 2017 Women’s ODI World Cup. The Aussies experienced the heat of Kaptaan Kaur’s willow as she stormed to the highest-ever individual score by an Indian woman in a World Cup game.

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India vs Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2018/19

A historic moment for India as they won their first Test series on Australian soil in 2019. This was a fiercely competitive unit that was not ready to concede an inch. Boom Boom finished as the top wicket-taker and Cheteshwar Pujara as the top run-getter in the 2-1 series win for India.

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India vs Australia Border-Gavaskar Trophy, 2020/21

Fortress Gabba was breached! India did what no other team could do for 32 years. A Test win at the Gabba, Brisbane. And that too without Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. If resilience and character had a definition on the cricket field, this was it. A win at Gabba to cap off an excellent series win in 2021, the second in a row in Australia.

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India Women vs Australia Women, One-off Test 2023

Wankhede Stadium was witness to another historic moment as the Indian women notched up their first Test win against Australian women in December 2023. Aapli Harman had another feather on her cap!

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India vs South Africa, 2024 T20 World Cup Final

A perfect way to end the heartbreak of the 2023 ODI World Cup final as Rohit Sharma and his men pulled off the impossible against South Africa to win the T20 World Cup 2024 at Barbados. Rahul Dravid also had a memorable end to his coaching stint ending the fans’ anxious wait for an ICC trophy.