Team Games

2.1 Core concepts

• A team game is an activity in which individuals are organised in a team to compete with the opposing team in accordance with a set of laws/rules to win; classic examples are Basketball, Cricket, Football, Handball, Hockey, Volleyball etc. (NCERT §Team Games intro, p. 129)
• Basketball is played between two teams of five players each on a court; it builds bone-muscle strength and boosts immunity. (NCERT §Basketball, p. 129)
• Basketball was invented by Dr. James Naismith in December 1891 at the YMCA Training School (now Springfield College), Springfield, Massachusetts; first rules were published in the college magazine "Triangle" on 15 January 1892 under the title "A New Game". (NCERT §History, p. 129-130)
• FIBA (Federation Internationale de Basketball) was founded in Geneva in 1932; Basketball was officially recognised as an Olympic game in 1936 at Berlin; first appeared in the III Olympic Games at St. Louis, USA in 1904. (NCERT §History, p. 130)
• Basketball reached India c. 1905 at YMCA Calcutta; BFI (Basketball Federation of India) was constituted in 1950 at Mumbai; first National Championship under BFI held at Ludhiana in 1951. (NCERT §History of basketball in India, p. 130-131)
• Basketball court measures 28 m × 15 m with at least 2 m free space; lines are 5 cm wide; centre circle has a radius of 1.80 m. (NCERT §Playing court / Boundary lines, p. 131)
• Free-throw line is 5.80 m from inner edge of end line and 3.60 m long; restricted area outer edges are 2.45 m from mid-point of end lines. Scoring — 3 points from beyond 3-point line, 2 points from inside, 1 point for free-throw. (NCERT §Free-throw lines, p. 132)
• Backboard dimensions 1.80 m × 1.05 m; ring inside diameter 450-459 mm; net 400-450 mm with 12 loops; rim is 3.05 m from ground. (NCERT §Backboard, p. 133)
• Men's basketball (Size 7) circumference 749-780 mm and weight 567-650 g; Women's (Size 6) 724-737 mm and 510-567 g. (NCERT §Table 1, p. 134)
• A team has up to 12 members including captain; 5 players on court; game has 4 periods of 10 minutes each, half-time 15 min, 2-min intervals between quarters; tied scores → 5-min extra periods. (NCERT §Team / Playing time, p. 134-135)
• Time violations — 3 sec (restricted area), 5 sec (holding the ball), 8 sec (must go to opponent's court), 24 sec (shot clock). Five personal fouls → player excluded. (NCERT §Violations / Fouls, p. 136-137)
• Fouls categorised as Personal, Technical, Unsportsmanlike, Disqualifying. Basic skills include stance, footwork, dribbling, passing-receiving, shooting and rebounding. (NCERT §Fouls / Basic Skills, p. 138)
• Passing types — Chest, Overhead, Push, Bounce, Shoulder, Hook, Off-the-dribble, Baseball. Shooting types — Jump, Dunk, Free Throw, Layup, Three-point shot. (NCERT §Passing / Shooting, p. 139)
• Three basic defences — Man-to-man, Zone, Combined defence. (NCERT §Defence, p. 140-141)
• Prasanthi Singh received Arjuna Award (2017) and was the first basketball player to receive Padma Shri (2018). (NCERT §Awards, p. 141)
• Cricket game first recorded in 16th-century England; first recorded match in Kent in 1646; MCC formed 31st May 1787; ICC (then Imperial Cricket Conference) formed 30 Nov 1907; BCCI established 1928; India's first Test was vs England in 1932. (NCERT §Cricket — History, p. 142-143)
• Cricket: 11 playing + 5 extras = 16; 3 umpires, 1 match referee, 2 scorers; bat 38 in/965 mm long and 4.25 in/108 mm wide; ball 155.9-163 g, circumference 22.4-22.9 cm; pitch 22 yds (20.12 m) × 3.05 m; stumps 28 in high, 9 in wide. (NCERT §Cricket Table, p. 145)
• 11 ways of dismissal — Bowled, Caught, Stumped, LBW, Run Out, Hit Wicket, Handled the Ball, Obstructing the Field, Timed Out, Hit the Ball Twice, Retired. (NCERT §When is a batsman declared out, p. 146-148)
• Football — FIFA founded in Paris in 1904; FA (England) was the first governing body; Durand Cup started in Shimla 1888 (second oldest in the world). AIFF formed 1937; affiliated to FIFA in 1948 and AFC in 1954. (NCERT §Football — History, p. 149-151)
• Football ground: length 90-120 m, width 45-90 m (FIFA); ball circumference 68-70 cm, weight 410-450 g, air pressure 0.6-1.1 atm. There are 17 Laws of football; match — two equal halves of 45 minutes with half-time ≤ 15 min. (NCERT §Laws 1, 2, 7, p. 151-154)
• 11 players per team (one goalkeeper); ≥7 required to start; max 3 substitutes (official competition). Fouls penalised by Direct/Indirect Free Kick or Penalty Kick; Yellow/Red Card system. Goalposts 7.32 m apart, 2.44 m high. (NCERT §Laws 3, 12, p. 152, 155-160)
• Handball — international governing body formed in 1928 as Federation International Handball Amateur; renamed IHF in Copenhagen 1946; first men's World Championship 1954, women's 1957. Women's Handball added to Olympics in 1976 Montreal. (NCERT §Handball — History, p. 161)
• Handball Federation of India established 1972; first National Championship at Rohtak (1972). India's first Asian Games participation 1982. Court is 40 m × 20 m; team has 16 players (7 playing: 6 court + 1 goalkeeper). (NCERT §Functional Rules, p. 161-163)
• Handball: 3 steps with the ball, 3 seconds holding; durations by age — 8-12 yrs (2×20 min), 12-16 yrs (2×25 min), 16+ (2×30 min); overtime 2×5 min. Penalties — Yellow Card warning, 2-minute suspension, Red Card disqualification (= three 2-min suspensions). (NCERT §Playing the Ball / Punishments, p. 164-166)
• Handball goal area = 6-metre line, free-throw line = 9-metre line (broken), 7-metre line for penalty; goal interior 2 m × 3 m. (NCERT §Specifications, p. 167)
• Handball ball sizes — IHF Size 3 (men/male youth >16): 58-60 cm, 425-475 g; IHF Size 2 (women, male youth 12-16): 54-56 cm, 325-375 g; IHF Size 1 (female youth 8-14, male 8-12): 50-52 cm, 290-330 g. (NCERT §Table 5, p. 168)

2.2 Definitions to memorise

2.3 Diagrams / processes to remember

• Fig. 5.2 — Basketball court (28 m × 15 m) — locate centre circle (radius 1.80 m), 3-point line, no-charge semi-circle, restricted area. (p. 131)
• Fig. 5.3 — Restricted area in basketball: 5.8 m × 4.9 m, no-charge semi-circle, neutral zone. (p. 132)
• Fig. 5.4-5.5 — Basketball backboard: 182.9 × 121.9 cm; rim 3.05 m from ground; inner rectangle 61 × 45.7 cm. (p. 133)
• Fig. 5.7 — Basketball player positions: 1-Point guard, 2-Shooting guard, 3-Small forward, 4-Power forward, 5-Centre. (p. 134)
• Fig. 5.15 — Cricket fielding positions (slips, gully, point, cover, mid-off, mid-on, square leg, fine leg, third man, long off/on, deep square, deep mid-wicket). (p. 144)
• Fig. 5.17 — Cricket pitch: 20.12 m × 3.05 m with bowling, popping, return creases. (p. 145)
• Fig. 5.19 — Umpire signals: Bye, Leg-bye, Out, Short Run, Six, Four, Decision Change, Dead Ball. (p. 146)
• Fig. 5.23 — Football ground with 90-120 m × 45-90 m, penalty spot 11 m, centre circle radius 9.15 m, penalty area 16.5 m × 40.3 m. (p. 151)
• Fig. 5.29/5.30 — Handball court 40 m × 20 m: 6-m goal-area, 9-m free-throw (broken), 7-m penalty, 4-m goalkeeper restraining line. (p. 162)
• Fig. 5.32 — Handball goalpost: 3 m × 2 m, posts 8 cm square cross-section, painted in two contrasting colours. (p. 168)

2.4 Common confusions / NTA trap points

• Basketball 3-point line distance vs free-throw distance — free throw is 5.80 m; 3-point shot is from outside the 3-point arc (don't confuse with the no-charge semi-circle 1.25 m).
• Basketball Time Rules: 3-sec (in restricted area), 5-sec (holding), 8-sec (cross half-court), 24-sec (shot clock) — frequently swapped in distractors.
• FIFA founded 1904 in Paris; Durand Cup 1888 in Shimla — second oldest tournament in the world (FA Cup 1872 is the oldest football championship).
• Cricket ball weight 155.9-163 g is often confused with football ball weight 410-450 g.
• Handball court (40 × 20 m), Basketball court (28 × 15 m), Football ground (90-120 × 45-90 m) — dimensions get swapped.
• Cricket pitch length — 22 yds = 20.12 m, not 22 m. Width 3.05 m or 10 feet.
• BFI established 1950 at Mumbai; first National Championship under BFI 1951 at Ludhiana — students often invert these.
• Basketball ring inside diameter is 450–459 mm and rim is 3.05 m from ground — exactly equal to cricket pitch width by coincidence.
• Basketball Men Size 7 = 749–780 mm / 567–650 g; Women Size 6 = 724–737 mm / 510–567 g. The "Size 5" used by mini basketball is NOT discussed.
• Handball ball IHF Sizes 1/2/3 — Size 3 men (58–60 cm, 425–475 g); Size 2 women (54–56 cm, 325–375 g); Size 1 youth (50–52 cm, 290–330 g). Easy to mis-assign by gender.
• Cricket has 11 ways of dismissal — not 10 — including "Hit the ball twice" and "Retired".
• Football has 17 Laws (not 11 or 19); match = 2 × 45 min; max 3 official substitutes.
• Handball durations by age: 8–12 yrs (2 × 20 min); 12–16 yrs (2 × 25 min); 16+ (2 × 30 min); overtime 2 × 5 min.
• Handball penalties: Yellow Card warning → 2-min suspension → Red Card disqualification = three 2-min suspensions. NTA likes to drop a step.

2.5 Key concepts table — court dimensions, durations and historical anchors

2.6 Extended discussion — why team games dominate the CUET stem-density curve

Team games occupy the highest stem-density slot in the CUET PE syllabus because every game contributes at least four exam-friendly fact families: a founder / federation cluster, a court/ground dimension cluster, an equipment specification cluster and a rule / time / scoring cluster. Multiply by seven sports and you have roughly 30 atomic facts ripe for direct-recall MCQs.

The founder/federation cluster is best memorised as a paired table. Naismith → Basketball → 1891 → FIBA 1932 → BFI 1950; cricket "16th-century England" → MCC 1787 → ICC 1907 → BCCI 1928; football FA 1863 → FIFA 1904 → AIFF 1937 → Durand Cup 1888; handball → IHF 1946 → HFI 1972. NCERT explicitly notes that Durand Cup is the second-oldest tournament in the world — the world's oldest football championship is the FA Cup (1872), mentioned in passing.

The court/ground dimension cluster has internal mnemonics. Handball court is double the size of basketball court in each dimension (40 × 20 m vs 28 × 15 m, give or take). Football is range-based (90–120 × 45–90 m) to accommodate older grounds. Cricket pitch is a single immutable strip (22 yds × 10 ft = 20.12 × 3.05 m). Basketball rim is at the same numerical height (3.05 m) as the cricket-pitch width — useful memory bridge.

The equipment specification cluster is where students most often slip. Basketball ball: Men Size 7 (≈ 8" diameter, 567–650 g); Women Size 6 slightly smaller and lighter. Football: 68–70 cm circumference, 410–450 g, 0.6–1.1 atm air. Cricket: 155.9–163 g, 22.4–22.9 cm circumference (smaller and heavier than the basketball/football). Handball: gendered sizes 1/2/3 with both circumference and weight bands. CUET examiners exploit cross-sport weight confusion by inserting a cricket ball weight under a "basketball" stem.

The rule/time/scoring cluster has its own subtle traps. Basketball: 3/5/8/24 second rules; 4 × 10 min game; 5 personal fouls = exclusion. Football: 17 Laws, 2 × 45 min, 3 substitutes, offside (level with 2nd-last opponent or last two = onside), yellow/red cards. Cricket: 11 ways of dismissal including the rare "Hit the ball twice", "Timed Out" and "Retired". Handball: 3-step rule + 3-second hold; Y-card → 2-min → R-card (= 3 × 2 min); 7-metre throw is the penalty; 9-metre line is the free-throw; 6-metre line is the goal area.