Cricket spread in India much like it had in the rest of the British Empire: Both by the foundation of sports clubs, and through settlers playing and introducing the game to the local population. In India, the spread of cricket was due to the existence of the British Raj and growth of the East India Company. These institutions (which would hold such power over India until 1947) projected aspects of English culture onto the local population.
The first cricket club in India is known to have been founded in 1792, but the first record of cricket being played in India dates back to 1721 - when sailors from the East India Company played a game in the Indian city of Baroda (now known as Vadodara). The inaugural first-class match in India took place in 1864 when Madras faced Calcutta, and India eventually achieved test match status when they played their first match against England at Lords.
Since then cricket in India has grown to become the most popular sport in the country and India have become one of the best Test, ODI and Twenty20 teams in the world. Furthermore, India have won several international tournaments including the 1983 and 2011 world cups and the 2007 Twenty20 world cup. Additionally, India currently holds the Indian Premier League (IPL) - a large annual tournament in which Indian teams containing a mixture of overseas and local players play against each other in a Twenty20 competition. The IPL is the biggest tournament of its kind in the world and its brand value is estimated at $3.67 billion.
