बंगाल क्रिकेट टीम

बंगाल क्रिकेट टीम एक भारतीय घरेलू टीम है जो पश्चिम बंगाल राज्य का प्रतिनिधित्व करती है। यह क्रिकेट एसोसिएशन ऑफ बंगाल (सीएबी) द्वारा प्रशासित है और भारतीय क्रिकेट कंट्रोल बोर्ड (बीसीसीआई) द्वारा आयोजित टूर्नामेंट में भाग लेता है।

वे 1935 से प्रथम श्रेणी क्रिकेट खेल रहे हैं। बंगाल ने रणजी ट्रॉफी दो बार जीती है और 13 बार उपविजेता रही है। वे सैयद मुश्ताक अली ट्रॉफी और विजय हजारे ट्रॉफी में भी खेलते हैं, दोनों में उन्होंने एक-एक बार जीत हासिल की है।

दिलीप दोशी, सौरव गांगुली, दीप दासगुप्ता, मोहम्मद शमी, पंकज रॉय, और ऋद्धिमान साहा सहित कई अंतरराष्ट्रीय क्रिकेटरों ने टीम के लिए खेला है। 

इतिहास
कलकत्ता क्रिकेट क्लब की स्थापना 1792 में हुई थी और इसकी सदस्यता केवल यूरोपीय लोगों तक ही सीमित थी। 
टीम का सबसे पहला ज्ञात मैच 23 फरवरी 1792 को मद्रास कूरियर, कलकत्ता में बैरकपुर और दमदम की एक टीम के साथ खेलते हुए बताया गया था।Chronology of Sports Events. West Bengal Department of Youth Services and Sports, 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2023. ईडन गार्डन्स की स्थापना 1864 में क्लब के घरेलू स्टेडियम के रूप में की गई थी। It had been a park called Auckland Circus Gardens, named after George Eden, 1st Earl of Auckland, who was the Governor-General of India from 1836 to 1842. It was renamed Eden Gardens in 1841, in honour of Auckland's two sisters.

For the first time, a team representing Bengal was formed in December 1889 for a match against an English touring team at Eden Gardens. At that time, no native Bengalis were involved and the team, captained by British Army officer Cleveland Greenway, was composed of European colonials who were mostly British expatriates. Bengal lost the match, played over the New Year period, by an innings and 17 runs.Guha, 2001, pp. 33–37. In January 1923, a Bengal team took part in the Nagpur Provincial Tournament and, having defeated a Central Provinces XI in their semi-final, lost the final against Bombay. The Bengal team in this competition included a couple of native players but, as before, it was principally a colonial enterprise.Nagpur Provincial Tournament itinerary, 1923. CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2023.  The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) was founded in 1928 and has governance of all cricket in West Bengal, including management of the Bengal team.Early History of Bengal Cricket leading to the formation of the Cricket Association of Bengal in 1928. Bengal Cricket Association. Retrieved 29 November 2023.

In 1934, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) organised the Ranji Trophy but Bengal did not take part in 1934–35. Bengal achieved first-class status in December 1935 when they played the Australian tourists. Bengal were captained by Alec Hosie and the team included Shute Banerjee. Although the Australian team on that tour was a mixed bag of veterans and fringe players, they easily defeated Bengal by 9 wickets.Bengal v Australians, December 1935. ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 November 2023.Bengal v Australians, December 1935. CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2023. 

In January 1936, Bengal joined the Ranji Trophy, playing in the East Zone, and reached the semi-final where they lost to Madras. In 1936–37, Bengal were runners-up to Nawanagar. Two years later, in 1938–39, Bengal won the Ranji for the first time when they defeated Southern Punjab in the final. Throughout this period, Bengal was essentially a West Bengal team. They were based in Calcutta and played all their matches at Eden Gardens. The earliest match of note in Dhaka was in February 1941 when a Bengal Governor's XI played the Bengal Gymkhana at the Bangabandhu National Stadium, then called the Dacca Stadium.Bengal Governor's XI v Bengal Gymkhana, 1941. CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2023.  Following Partition of India in 1947, Bengal was split into West (India) and East (then Pakistan, now Bangladesh).

Bengal won their second Ranji Trophy in 1989–90 when they defeated Delhi in the final. To 2023, In addition to their two titles, Bengal have been runners-up 13 times, most recently in 2022–23, and only Bombay/Mumbai have appeared in more finals.Ranji Trophy Winners (from 1934/35). Association of Cricket Statisticians and Historians. Retrieved 29 November 2023.

Having won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in 2011, Bengal won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2012. Playing under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly, they defeated Mumbai in the final at the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground, Delhi on 12 March 2012.

Author Mihir Bose, writing in 1990, commented that cricket's first secure foothold in India was Calcutta Cricket Club, founded 1792 and only five years younger than Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC). Despite continuing enthusiasm for the sport in Bengal, it is overshadowed by Mumbai as "the centre for Indian cricket".Bose, 1990, p. 18. Bose describes Eden Gardens as "one of the great Test match centres of the world", but he laments the relative lack of Bengali Test players saying that only "a handful" has played Test cricket.

To the end of 2023, Bengal have played in a total of 450 first-class matches, 446 of them in the Ranji Trophy. The exceptions are the team's inaugural first-class match against the 1935/36 Australians; Marylebone Cricket Club in December 1951; the Commonwealth XI in December 1953; and the 1990/91 Irani Cup against Rest of India.First-class matches played by Bengal. CricketArchive. Retrieved 29 November 2023. 

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श्रेणी:भारत की क्षेत्रीय क्रिकेट टीम