Team Games

5
Any game which provides opportunities to two or more
players working together towards a shared objective is called
a team game. 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. Games like
Basketball, Cricket, Football, Handball, Hockey, Volleyball,
etc., are some of the classic examples of major team games.
However, over a period of time, the popularity of team
games has grown continuously. These games have positively
influenced not just the players, but also their fans, local and
national economies. All over the world, the impact of team
games can be seen resulting in professional players to live
out their dreams. Star players have become role models to
youth. Young athletes/players develop life skills which are
followed as footsteps of their role models.
In this chapter, some of the team games like Basketball,
Cricket, Football, Handball, Hockey, Kabaddi, Kho-Kho, and
Volleyball are explained.

Basketball
Basketball is a team game played between two teams
of five players each, on the court. Very high amount of
energy (calories) expenditure is there in this game. It also
helps in building bone and muscle strength and boosts the
immune system. This game also develops self-discipline and
concentration among young players.

History
Basketball originated in the United States of America and
was invented by Dr. James Naismith in December, 1891, who
was a Physical Educator at the International Young Men’s
Christian Association Training School (YMCA) (now known

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 130 Health and Physical Education - XI

as Springfield College of Physical Education) in Springfield,

Massachusetts.

Do You Know?
On January 15 1892, the first
set of rules of the Basketball
game were published by
Dr. James Naismith in the
college magazine, “Triangle”,
under the title “A New Game”.

Fig. 5.1: Dr. James Naismith

Naismith sought a vigorous indoor game to keep his

students occupied and at proper levels of fitness. But after
rejecting many ideas, he obtained a soccer ball and two
wooden peach baskets. He hung the baskets on the railing of
the balcony at the height of 10 ft above the floor at the opposite
ends of the gym hall. The objective of the game was to toss
the soccer ball into the peach baskets. The first basketball
game was played among physical education students with
nine players on each side, of Springfield secretarial training
class of Physical Education (PE) College in December, 1891.
The International Basketball Federation FIBA (French
acronym: Federation Internationale de Basketball) association
was founded in Geneva in 1932. Basketball was featured in
the St. Louis, Missouri, United States, III Olympic Games
in 1904. It was officially recognised as an Olympic game in
1936 in Berlin. Due to the wide popularity, Basketball was
played in the first Asian Games in 1951 held at New Delhi.

History of basketball in India

Basketball was introduced in India by American missionaries
towards the end of the first decade of 20th century. It was
presumed that in the year 1905, the game of basketball was
started at the YMCA Calcutta by H. Peterson and J.N. Guaj.
The credit of starting and popularising this game goes to
YMCA College of Physical Education, Madras in the year 1920.
The first National Basketball Championship was organised
in 1934 by the Indian Olympic Association and later after the

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 Team Games 131

constitution of Basketball Federation of India (BFI) in 1950 at

Do You Know?
Mumbai, the First National Basketball Championship under •• Late C.C. Abraham,
the banner of BFI was held at Ludhiana (Punjab) in 1951. professional Physical
Education Leader, from
Measurement of playgrounds, and field and Y.M.C.A. College of Physical
specifications of equipment Education, Chennai and
Meher Singh of Rajasthan
Playing court were the founder, president
and secretary of Basketball
The playing court shall have a hard and flat surface, free Federation of India (BFI).
from obstructions with dimensions of 28 m in length and
•• Wheelchair Basketball was
15 m in width measured from the inner edge of the boundary
developed in USA by a
lines and free space atleast 2 m on all sides. badly injured army person
after the Second World War
Boundary lines around 1946. The rules are
These lines are not part of the playing court. The centre approximately similar to
line is marked parallel to the endlines from the mid-point Basketball.
of the sidelines. The extended centreline at sidelines (5 cm)
divides the court in two halves. It consists of a Back court
(team’s own basket area) and a Front court (consists of the
opponents’ basket). All lines are drawn 5 cm in width and in
clearly visible white colour. The centre circle shall be marked
in the centre of the playing court and have a radius of 1.80
m measured to the outer edge of the circumference. If the
inside of the centre circle is painted, it must be the same
colour as of the restricted areas.
28m

0.90m Sideline
Throw-in line

8.325m
0.15m
Endline

1.575m
3.6m
6.75m
Restricted
Semi-Circle
No-charge

Centre
Circle

Area
15m

Th
Endline

ree

Centre line
oi P
n

tL
in
e

Sideline

Fig. 5.2: Basketball court

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 132 Health and Physical Education - XI

Free-throw lines, restricted areas and free-throw

Do You Know?
•• Side line and end line of The free-throw lines are drawn parallel to each end line.
Basketball court is 28m in It shall have its farthest edge 5.80 m from the inner edge of
length and 15m in width the end line and shall be 3.60 m long. Its mid-point lies on
respectively. the imaginary line joining the mid-point of the two end lines.
•• Back support poles are 2 m The restricted areas are the rectangular areas marked on
away from the end lines. the playing court limited by the end lines, the extended free-
•• The height of the ring from throw lines and the lines which originate at the end lines.
floor is same as it was when Their outer edges being 2.45 m from the mid-point of the end
Basketball was originated. lines, terminate at the outer edge of the extended free-throw
lines. These lines, excluding the endlines, are part of the
restricted area. The inner side of the restricted areas must
be painted in one colour. The freethrow semi-circles marked
on the playing court with a radius of 1.80 m measured to the
outer edge of the circumference and with their centres at the
mid-point of the free-throw lines.
•• 3 points can be scored by shooting the ball into the op-
ponents’ basket from the entire court but from outside
of the 3 point line.
•• 2 points can be scored by shooting the ball into the
opponents’ basket, if the shot is taken from inside the
3 point line.
•• Only 1 point can be scored by single free shots.
1.8m

0.83m
No-charge
Semi-Circle area 0.83m
Neutral
0.4m
5.8m

Zone
0.375m

1.25m 0.85m

1.2m 1.75m
4.9m

Fig. 5.3: Restricted area in basketball

Equipment
The following equipment will be required—Backstop units
(backboards, comprising rings and nets, backboard support
structures including padding), basketballs, game clock,
scoreboard, shot clock, stopwatch or suitable (visible) device
(not the game clock) for timing and time-outs, two separate

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 Team Games 133

distinctly different and loud signals, one each for the shot
clock operator and scorer/timer, scoresheet, player foul
markers, and team foul markers.

Backboard
The backboards (1.80 m horizontally and 1.05 m vertically)
shall be made of a suitable transparent material, made in
one (1) piece, non-reflective, with a flat front surface. All lines
on the backboards shall be white, 50 mm in width. The rings
shall be made of solid steel and shall have an inside diameter
of a minimum of 450 mm and a maximum of 459 mm. The
nets (400 mm to 450 mm in length) shall be made of white
cord with 12 loops to attach it to the ring.

182.9cm

7.6cm 61cm 121.9cm

45.7cm 5cm

30.5cm

Fig. 5.4: Basketball backboard

182.88cm
106.68cm
3.05m from the ground

18inch
wide Diameter

Fig. 5.5: Basketball backboard and rim dimensions

Basketball
The ball shall be spherical, with black seams not exceeding
6.35 mm in width and, either of a single shade of orange or of

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 134 Health and Physical Education - XI

International Basketball Federation (FIBA) approved colour

combination and made of leather/artificial/composite/
synthetic leather/rubber. For all men’s and women’s
competitions, the basketball specifications are given in the
following table and diagram.
Do You Know?
First time Indian women’s team Table 1: Basketball dimensions according to category
participated in Bangkok Asian
Game in 1978.
Category Size Circumference Weight
Men 7 749–780mm 567–650g
Women 6 724–737mm 510–567g

Functional Rules of Basketball

Basketball is governed by FIBA official rules. The aim of each
team is to score in the opponent’s basket and to prevent the
other team from scoring. The team that has scored the greater
number of points at the end of playing time is declared as the
winner.

Team
In a match, two teams compete with each other. Each team
shall consist of not more than 12 team members entitled
to play, including a captain who represents his team on
the playing court. During playing time, five players from
each team shall be on the playing court, without this a game
cannot begin. Teams may use as many substitutions as.
A maximum of five team support staff members who may
sit on the team bench and have special responsibilities,
e.g., manager, doctor, physiotherapist, trainer, statistician,
interpreter, etc., besides a coach and, if a team wishes, it can
have an assistant coach also. Player’s positions are given in
the diagram below.

Fig. 5.7: Players, position (right), attack, defence (left)

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 Team Games 135

Opponents’ Own Basket

The basket that is attacked by a team is the opponents’
basket and the basket which is defended by a team is one’s
own basket.

Uniforms
The ‘All-in-ones’ uniform of the team members shall consist
of—Jersey of the same dominant colour on the front and back
and numbered on the front and back atleast 10 cm high
in front and 20 cm high in back with atleast 2 cm width.
All players must tuck their Jersey into their playing shorts.
Shorts end above the knee, of the same dominant colour at
front and back, but not necessarily of the same colour as the
jersey. Socks of the same dominant colour for all players of
the team. Teams must have a minimum of two sets of jersey
(light/dark). Chest number will be from 0 to 99 or 00.

Officials, table officials and commissioner

The officials shall be a referee and 1 or 2 umpire(s). They
shall be assisted by the table officials and by a commissioner,
if present. The table officials shall be a scorer, an assistant
scorer, a timer and a shot clock operator. Different signals
are used to run the game by officials. Each foul and goal
shall be mentioned in the scoresheet.

Playing time, tied score and extra periods

The game shall consist of 4 periods of 10 minutes each.
There shall be intervals of 2 minutes between the first and
second quarter (first half), between the third and fourth
period (second half) and before each extra period. There shall
be a half-time interval of play of 15 minutes. If the score is
tied at the end of playing time for the fourth period, the game
shall continue with as many extra periods of 5 minutes as is
necessary to break the tie.

Beginning and end of a period or the game

The first period begins when the ball leaves the hand(s) of
the referee on the toss for the jump ball and followed. All the
other periods start when the ball is disposed to the players
by the officials for the throw in.

How the ball is played

A game of basketball is played with hand(s) only and may be
passed, thrown, tapped, rolled or dribbled in any direction,
subject to the restrictions of the rules.

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Goal
A basket scored from inside the three-point area (also called
2 point field goal area) is worth of 2 points. A basket scored
from beyond the three-point area (3 point field goal area) is
awarded 3 points. A basket scored for the free-throw is worth
of one point for each successful attempt.

Time-out
Each time-out shall last 1 minute. Each team may be granted
two time-outs during the first half, three time-outs during
the second half with a maximum of two of these time-outs in
the last 2 minutes of the second half. One time-out during
each extra period is also given.

Substitution
A team may substitute a player(s) during a substitution
opportunity when the game clock is stopped and the ball
becomes dead.

Game Lost by Forfeit and default

The game is lost by a team if the team is absent or unable to
present with five players on the court, or by their action to
prevent the game in scheduled time, or if they refuse to play.
In this situation, the opponent team is declared winner by
20–0.
The game may be lost by default when a team has fewer
then two players during the running game at the playing
court. The opponent team is declared winner by 2–0.

Violations
A violation is an infraction of the rules. There are different
types of violation that occurs during the game.
1. Player out-of-bounds and ball out-of-bounds: A
player is out-of-bounds when any part of his body is
in contact with the sideline or endline.
2. Dribbling: A dribble starts when a player, having
gained control of a live ball on the playing court,
throws, taps, rolls, dribbles it on the floor or
deliberately throws it against the backboard and
touches it again before it touches another player. A
dribble ends when the player touches the ball with
both hands simultaneously or permits the ball to
come to rest in one or both hands.
3. Time Rule: Three seconds—A player shall not hold
the ball in the opponents’ restricted area with live ball
for more than continuous 3 seconds.

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 Team Games 137

•• Five seconds—A player may not hold the ball for

Activity 5.1
more than 5 seconds. Find out the information about
•• Eight seconds— A team has to go into the opponents’ Wheelchair Basketball and
court within 8 seconds. share it with classmates.
•• Twenty four seconds—When a team gains possession
of the ball, they have to attempt the shot within
maximum of 24 seconds.
4. Back court: A team which is in control of live ball in
its front court may not cause the ball to be illegally
return to its back court.

Fouls
A foul is an infraction of the rules concerning illegal personal
contact with an opponent and/or unsportsmanlike behaviour.
A number of fouls may be called against a team. Once a team
has made four fouls in a period, each next foul will award two
free throws to the opponent team. Fouls categorised as personal
foul, technical foul, unsportsmanlike foul, disqualifying foul
and noted as individual player foul or team fouls.

Fig. 5.8: An offensive foul

1. Personal foul: A personal foul occurs when there is

illegal contact between two opponents. A player shall not
hold, block, push, charge, trip or impede the progress
of an opponent by extending the body part, neither in
an ‘abnormal’ position nor shall the player indulge in
any rough or violent play. A player who commits more
than five personal fouls is excluded from the game.
(a) Charging: An offensive foul that is committed
when a player pushes or runs over a defensive
player. The ball is given to the team upon which
the foul was committed.

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 138 Health and Physical Education - XI

(b) Blocking: It is an illegal personal contact, which

impedes the progress of an opponent with or
without the ball.
2. Technical Foul: It is a non-contact foul of a
behavioural nature (disregarding warning,
disrespectful, foul language, delay, etc.).
3. Unsportsmanlike foul: It is a foul where spirit of the
game or the hard contact is made.
4. Disqualification Foul: It is any unsportsmanlike
(violence) action by players, coaches or delegation
members.
Irrespective of the penalty, each foul shall be charged,
entered on the score sheet against the offender and penalised
accordingly. All the possible foul penalties against players on
the playing court involved in fighting or any situation which
leads to a fight shall be dealt with in accordance of rules.

Basic Skills of Basketball

Basketball is played with the help of different skills and
techniques like stance, footwork, ball holding and handling,
dribbling, passing-receiving, shooting and rebounding.
Few are mentioned here.

Dribbling
It is important to move the ball across the court, get away from
defensive players, make or find a good passing line, make use
of faking action, 1 on 1 and of course to penetrate the ball
to score the goal. There are different types of dribbling which
may be learnt and developed with the help of different drills in
stationary and moving positions with or without the defensive
player.

Fig. 5.9: Dribbling

•• Stationary dribble
•• Low dribble
•• High dribble

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 Team Games 139

•• Change of pace dribble

•• Crossover dribble
•• Behind the back dribble
•• Between the legs dribble
•• Speed dribble
•• Reverse spin dribble

Passing and Receiving

A good offensive attack requires accurate passing and
receiving. It helps to speed the ball, find an open man, to find
a good shooter or to get away the ball from the defender. Fake
and feint are used to increase the quality of passing. There
are different types of passing using one or both hands during
different stationary and moving group and team drills.
•• Chest pass
•• Overhead pass
•• Push pass
•• Bounce pass
•• Shoulder pass
•• Hook pass
•• Off the dribble pass
•• Baseball pass

Fig. 5.10: Passing and receiving

Shooting
The objective of the game is to win by scoring maximum
points. Therefore, improving the team’s shooting is important
to win a game. Shooting by either one or both hands may be
done in the following ways:
•• Jump Shot
•• Dunk Shot
•• Free Throw
•• Layup
•• Three point shot

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 140 Health and Physical Education - XI

Fig. 5.11: Shooting

Rebounding
The objective of rebounding is to successfully gain possession
of the basketball after a missed field goal or free throw, as it
rebounds from the ring or backboard. This plays a major role
in the game, as most possessions end when a team misses
a shot. There are two categories of rebound—offensive
rebound, in which the ball is recovered by the offensive side
and does not change possession, and defensive rebound, in
which the defending team gains possession of the loose ball.
The majority of rebound is defensive, as the team on defence
tend to be better positioned to recover the missed shots.

Fig. 5.12: Rebounding

Defence
The game of basketball allows a variety of defences to be
deployed in an effort to disrupt and combat the offensive
plays. Here are examples of the three basic categories of team
defence. In addition, each category consists of an assortment
of different variations.

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 Team Games 141

1. Man to man defence: Man to man defence is usually

Do You Know?
assigned to be matched up with the defenders against Basketball is also played by
specific offensive players. Defenders are usually three players on each side.
assigned to be matched up with the offensive players
by size and ability.
Activity 5.2
2. Zone Defence: In zone defence, defenders are •• What is the air pressure of a
assigned to guard specific areas on the court. Zones Basketball?
are named or designated by their player alignments.
•• When and where was the
first Basketball match in
Olymic Games played?
•• Who invented Basketball?
•• Why is the colour of
basketball orange?
•• What is the size and weight
of a basketball?

Fig. 5.13: Zone defence

3. Combined Defence: The third type of defence

that can be deployed is the combination defence.
With combination defence, some of the players are
assigned to play man to man while the rest of the
defenders play zone defence. Combination defences
are usually deployed in an effort to stop or neutralise
great individual offensive players.

Awards in Basketball
To motivate the extraordinary achievements of the player
and coaches, the Government of India honours players with
different awards along with cash prizes and certificates.
Prasanthi Singh was honoured with Arjuna Award in
2017 and she is the first basketball player who received the
prestigious civilian award Padma Shri in 2018.

Famous Indian Basketball Players

Paramjeet Singh, Sarabjit Singh, Vishesh Bhriguwanshi,
Tridep Rai, Suman Sharma, Divya Singh, Anitha, I.V.
Chairian, Satnaam Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Gurvinder Singh,
and Shri Khusi Ram.

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