<P> On 31 December 1600, Queen Elizabeth I granted a Royal Charter to the (EIC) East India Company, often colloquially referred to as "John Company". It was initially a joint - stock company that sought trading privileges in India and the East Indies, but the Royal Charter effectively gave it a 21 - year monopoly on all trade in the region . In time, the East India Company transformed from a commercial trading venture to one which virtually ruled India as it acquired auxiliary governmental and military functions, until its dissolution in 1858 following the Indian Mutiny . The East India Company was the means by which cricket was introduced into India . </P> <P> In 1639, the Company effectively founded the city of Madras, and in 1661 acquired Portuguese territory on the west coast of India that included Bombay . In 1690, an Anglo - Mughal treaty allowed English merchants to establish a trading settlement on the Hooghly River, which became Calcutta . All of these places became leading centres of cricket as the popularity of the game grew among the native population . </P> <P> The first definite reference to cricket being played anywhere in the sub-continent is a report of English sailors of the East India Company written in 1737 . It refers to cricket being played at Cambay, near Baroda in 1721 . The Calcutta Cricket and Football Club was known to be in existence by 1792, but was possibly founded more than a decade earlier . In 1799, another club was formed at Seringapatam in south India after the successful British siege and the defeat of Tipu Sultan . </P> <P> In 1864, a Madras v. Calcutta match was arguably the start of first - class cricket in India . The British played the Indians to build relationships with the Indians and if the Indian elite had connections with the British, the British could have more control of India because of Cricket . </P>

When was cricket played first time in india