CWC January 2013 : The Venues

by sV Fri 28 Dec 2012, 12:00 am

1. EDEN GARDENS

CWC January 2013 : The Venues Eden-Gardens-Kolkata-India

Kolkata, India

The Cricket Association of Bengal, DR BC Roy Club House, Eden Gardens, Kolkata - 700021
Established 1864
Capacity 90,000
Floodlights Yes
End names High Court End, Pavilion End
Home team Hurricanes

Along with the MCG, the Eden Gardens remains cricket's answer to the
Coliseum. It first hosted a Test back in the days of India's cricketing
infancy, with Douglas Jardine's team easing to victory inside four days
in 1934. Since then, it has become something of a place of pilgrimage
for most international cricketers, a chance to strut their stuff in
front of the most passionate and vocal crowd in the game. At times
though, the fervour has spilled into excess, with riots disrupting
matches against the West Indies (1966-67) and Australia (1969-70), and a
shameful exhibition of boorishness causing the World Cup semi-final
against Sri Lanka (1996) to be called off with the visitors on the
threshold of victory.

There have been other, better, times too when the verve and energy of
the crowd has made it a twelfth man of sorts and stirred India's finest
to great feats, none more so than that hallowed day in March 2001 when
VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid set the stage for the greatest
come-from-behind victory of modern times, against an Australian team
poised for an unprecedented 17th straight Test win. Despite packing in
90,000 on red-letter days, it hasn't been a lucky charm for India until
recently, when the spin wiles of Harbhajan Singh and Anil Kumble
inspired famous victories against Australia and Pakistan.

The ground underwent renovation ahead of the 2011 World Cup, during
which it was slated to host four group-stage matches, including one
between India and England on February 27. However, on January 27, the
ICC announced the India v England game would be shifted out of Eden
Gardens as they felt the ground would not be ready in time.

2. WANKHEDE

CWC January 2013 : The Venues 81

Mumbai, India Mumbai Cricket Association, Wankhede Stadium, D Road, Churchgate, Mumbai - 400020 (Phone: 022 2281 1795/7876/9910)
Established 1974
Capacity 45,000
Floodlights Yes
End names Garware Pavilion End, Tata End
Home team Hurricanes

Mumbai, the cricket capital of India, has seen Test matches played at
three different grounds. The Bombay Gymkhana ground hosted the first
ever Test in India, in 1933-34 against England. After WW-II, the Cricket
Club of India's Brabourne Stadium was used for 17 Tests. However, due
to a dispute between the CCI and the Bombay Cricket Association, the BCA
built the 45000-capacity Wankhede Stadium, less than a mile away from
the Brabourne Stadium.

It staged its first Test in the 1974-75 season when the Windies toured
India. Clive Lloyd scored an unbeaten 242 and in Pataudi's last hurrah,
India lost by 201 runs. The Test also featured a crowd disturbance after
a fan who rushed onto the ground to greet Lloyd was treated roughly by
the police. India's first victory here was posted against the New
Zealand two seasons later. The stadium has been witness to great innings
like Gavaskar's 205 against the Windies and Kallicharan's 187 in the
same game in the 1978-79 series and all round heroics like Ian Botham's
century and thirteen wickets in the Jubilee Test in 1980. which England
won by ten wickets. The highest score by an Indian at Wankhede remains
Vinod Kambli's 224 against England in 1992-93 in only his third Test.
Incidentally Ravi Shastri's six sixes in an over off Baroda's Tilak Raj
en route to the fastest double-hundred in first-class cricket was on
this ground in 1984-85.

The seaside situation of the Wankhede stadium means that the swing
bowlers get a fair amount of assistance during the early part of each
day. The pitch has traditionally been full of runs, but it does help the
spinners during the last couple of days, and in the last Test played on
the ground, against Australia in 2005, the ball spun viciously from
early on and this, coupled with low bounce, helped India win in under
three days even though almost a whole day was lost to rain. The Wankhede
stadium has stands named after famous Mumbai cricketers like Vijay
Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar.

3. FEROZ SHAH KOTLA

CWC January 2013 : The Venues Ferozshahkotla

CWC January 2013 : The Venues Ferozshahkotla

Delhi, India Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA), Feroz Shah Kotla ground,
Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi - 110002 (Phone: 011 2331 9323)

Also or formerly known as Willingdon Pavilion
Established 1883
End names Stadium End, Pavilion End
Home team Thunder Strikers

Established in 1883, the Feroz Shah Kotla - run by the politicised Delhi
& Districts Cricket Association (DDCA) - has witnessed a number of
feats, most notably Anil Kumble's 10 in an innings against Pakistan.

The Kotla staged its first Test in the 1948-49 season when the mighty
West Indies under John Goddard took on India for a five Test series and
the ground has produced some really good performances. In the 1952 Test
against Pakistan, Hemu Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed were involved in a
record tenth wicket stand of 109 runs - a record that still stands. In
1965, S Venkataraghavan, in his debut series, demolished the New Zealand
line up with figures of 8 for 72 and 4 for 80. In 1969-70, Bedi and
Prasanna combined to spin India to a famous seven wicket win over
Australia, the duo picking 18 wickets between themselves.

England's John Lever had a memorable debut at the Kotla in 1976, when he
notched up a half-century and had match figures of 10 for 70. Five
years later, Geoff Boycott surpassed Gary Sobers' world record Test
aggregate. In 1983-84, Sunil Gavaskar scored his 29th century to equal
Don Bradman's long standing record for the highest number of hundreds in
Test cricket. In 2005-06, at the same ground, Sachin Tendulkar broke
Gavaskar's record of most centuries with his 35th Test century.

However, the Kotla's future as an international venue hangs in the
balance when, in December 2009, an ODI between India and Sri Lanka was
abandoned due to a dangerous pitch.