The Nine Waves: The Extraordinary Story of Indian Cricket

by Mihir Bose

‘Mihir has followed Indian cricket since his school days in Mumbai and The Nine Waves
in his own style will bring out the subtleties and the nuances, pulls and pressures, the
culture and colour, the politics and the people that make Indian cricket different from
other countries’.’
—Sunil Gavaskar
‘The Nine Waves will captivate all.’
—Ravi Shastri
‘Mihir Bose is fantastically well informed on world cricket and has great insight into the
game.’
—Moeen Ali
The Nine Waves is a tour de force. The most entertaining and comprehensive book on cricket
in this country to be published yet, it tells the story of the nine great waves that have rolled
through the history of Indian cricket, from India’s international debut in 1932 to the incredible
achievements of Virat Kohli’s team today. Each wave or era was chock-full of mesmerizing
stars, thrilling moments, great victories, heartbreaking losses and significant turning
points—this book tells the story of each of them in great detail. The first wave of Indian
cricket rolled in against the background of momentous changes in the country and the
Gandhi’s civil disobedience campaign, World War II and India becoming independent.
Through each of the successive waves, India strengthened its position in the cricketing
firmament. Towards the end of the twentieth century, it became the most powerful nation
in world cricket—the prowess of the national team today matches the economic strength of
the cricketing establishment.
As a five-year-old, the author saw Vijay Hazare, India’s first test-winning captain, play. Since
then he has been witness to some of the most dramatic moments of Indian India’s
first win in England in 1971, Kapil Dev lifting the World Cup in 1983 at Lord’s, Tendulkar’s
first Test century at Old Trafford in 1990, Sunil Gavaskar scoring his 30th Test century, the
2011 World Cup in India where M. S. Dhoni emulated Kapil Dev, Virat Kohli in 2018 in England
proving he is the best batsman in the world today and much much more. He brings to the
book his first-hand experience of some of the most seminal moments in Indian cricket, his
encyclopaedic knowledge of the game and his unrivalled ability as a chronicler of the sport
to create a magisterial history of Indian cricket.
Once dismissed by the English as the dull dogs of cricket, India is now eagerly courted by
all cricketing nations. On the field its cricketers are displaying skills which make India a
worldbeater. Over a billion Indians, the greatest fan base in the world, treat their cricketers
as demigods. The Nine Waves is a fitting testimonial to the game’s only superpower.

Genres: Sports, India, Nonfiction

635 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 1, 2019

About the author

About Mihir Bose
Award-winning journalist and author Mihir Bose writes and broadcasts on social and historical issues and sport for outlets including the BBC, the Guardian, Financial Times, Evening Standard and Irish Times.
He has written more than fifty books on sport, including football and cricket, and history, such as Bollywood, India and the extraordinary WW2 quintuple agent Silver. The subjects of his many biographies include Michael Grade, Moeen Ali and the Indian nationalist Subhas Bose (no relation).
Mihir was the BBC’s first sports editor and first non-white editor. He was chief sports news correspondent at the Daily Telegraph and worked for the Sunday Times for 20 years.
His honorary doctorate from Loughborough University was awarded for his outstanding contribution to journalism and the promotion of equality. Mihir is a member of the English Heritage Blue Plaques Panel and former chairman of the Reform Club. He and his wife Caroline live in London. He has a daughter, Indira.

Reviews

[E.T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 A delightful read. The author has split the history of Indian cricket in 9 “waves” starting from our first test match in 1932 and ending with the Kohli wave. Since the author has been a passionate fan and a sports journalist for decades, he has indepth knowledge of the game and events.
I think Indian cricket history is comprehensively covered by 4 books :-
1) Origins in India to 1947 (A corner of a foreign field)
2) 1932 - 2018 (this book)
3) For the administrative aspect and a focus on 21st century read “Eleven gods and a billion Indians” by Boria Mazumdar.
4) For sociology read “A Maidan View” by Mihir Bose.

[Umesh Kesavan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mihir Bose authored an authoritative history of Indian cricket in 1990 and almost three decades later, has written this anecdotal revisit structured chronologically in the form of nine "waves". Unlike the scholarly 1990 work, this one is a journalist's take-full of juicy gossip and fresh insights (Sample : Chapter 7 which argues how Nehru "saved" Indian cricket). From Ranjitsinhji to Prithvi Shaw, the canvas is vast but the author manages to tell a cohesive tale despite poor factcheck and below-average editing.

[Krutika · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Nine Waves.
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Thank you for sending this magnificent book @alephbookco :)
~
Cricket. The only game in our country that's of significant value. There's something about the game that ignites fire in the blood of both young and old as they watch the players march into the field. This humungous book written by the renowned Mihir Bose is a complete and indepth recollection of the Indian cricket history. Right from the times when Kapil Dev brought home the first World Cup trophy back in '83 to the recent growth in Indian cricket team, this book has it all. A treat to die-hard cricket fans.
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What started off as a purely coincidental encounter for the author of witnessing a match, his attention and thirst grew steadfast to know more about the game. The author has described in detail about his personal experiences when it comes to witnessing and enjoying many cricket matches. He goes ahead to explain the highs and lows that the team faced over the years by patiently explaining that a balanced outcome was achieved nevertheless. I truly loved how he observed and mentioned the feats of Kapil Dev, Vijay Hazare and many others back when we had a team so strong that they went on to achieve marvelous results. Coming to the current team armed with skillful players like Dhoni and Kohli to name a few, the team has gone one step ahead.
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Mihir, being a British Indian journalist has conducted extensive research in collating all the information in bringing forward this book to the readers just in time of the World Cup Series of 2019. What better way than to brush up our knowledge about this fantastic game by reading this book? Considering the sheer volume of this book, not many readers would prefer giving it a read. This book is handcrafted for ardent lovers of cricket who are willing to read the achievements, growth, lows and many other factors that has made cricket the game it is right now. Pick it up if you love the game to know what goes on behind all the action.
~
Rating - 4/5. #theninewaves

[Rutuja Ramteke · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚The Nine Waves By Mihir Bose📚
The most entertaining and comprehensive book on cricket in this country to be published yet, it tells the story of the nine great waves that have rolled through the history of Indian cricket, from India’s international debut in 1932 to the incredible achievements of viral Kohli’s team today. Each wave or era was chock-full of mesmerizing stars, thrilling moments, great victories, heart-breaking losses and significant turning points—this book tells the story of each of them in great detail. .
💚When it comes to cricket we Indians are so dedicated & so crazy about this sport. Cricket is the most played sport in our country, this is the most interesting book that I recently read on Indian cricket. The book talks about the minute details of each & every event that took place in our history relating to this marvellous game. Unfolding each & every part carefully of our cricket history the author brings you to the current situation where we are blessed with amazing players like Virat Kholi & Mahendra Dhoni💚
.
The book only gives stress on this single topic but provides a good base to absorb alot of knowledge who are beginner in this field or wish to take it as career, the book deals with alot of aspects which could be actually learned & enjoyed throughout. Tricks & tactics, along with the cricket politics, the book is a complete blockbuster all about cricket. The book doesn't seem lengthy & reading it with flow will definitely make a good sense at the end of it, if you don't like cricket you will fall in love with it.
.
💚The writing is so captivating & so original that it will drain you emotionally & will make you extremely happy at certain turns. The book is huge, but once you start it there are no chances of letting it down. Also, the cover is so lovely & this is something I will recommend not only to cricket fans but too everyone who has a dream in their eyes. Give it a go. .
💚Rating: 4🌟

[Sharang Limaye · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's very little new ground covered in Mihir Bose's latest book. Almost every on and off-the-field story he narrates is well-known to an avid follower of Indian cricket. Curiously, his story-telling lacks the sure hand of a seasoned raconteur. One would have expected better from someone who's covered the sport for a living for decades. Still, 'The Extraordinary Story' is not without its merits. Firstly, there isn't much published stuff out there that chronicles every test series (and most of the ODIs) India has been involved in. Also, the author provides player statistics for each of the nine 'waves' allowing the reader to compare cricketers across generations, a favourite pastime of stats-crazy Indians.

[Ritu Thakkar · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good read- for someone interested in understanding Indian cricket history sequentially. However the writing has a very poor and convoluted use of modifiers, making the read confusing. Many times the author deep-dives into scores of matches, which often doesn't add value to the context. On the whole, while the book is a bit tedious to read, the content is does justice to summarizing various phases of Indian cricket.

[Alpi · Rating 5 out of 5]

A giant book but written in such a manner that you just don't want to get it finished and rather wish more and more stores were told.

[Salil Lavgankar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high expectations from the book but it doesn't quite live up to the lofty standards of the author's other writings. The idea to cover Indian cricket history in different epochs is quite good but coverage seem to oscillate between personal experiences of the author, summary of the matches or some events which may or may not be so relevant. Again the history seems to be a mix of cricketing, social or political history of Indian cricket. Probably it might have been better to focus on either 1 or 2 aspects. Also the cricketing analysis for each of the waves could have been more sharper bringing out the relevance and criticality of each era in a better way.

However still worth a read for one time for anyone interested in Indian cricket.

[Adarsh Mishra · Rating 5 out of 5]

probably THE BEST book on Indian cricket, written thus far.
A magnum opus in its extent of coverage and an admixture of factual stats and flairful storytelling.
Needless to say hardcover is the edition which would justice to this book, which an ardent fan of Indian cricket may want to share with his friends, more than once!