Eden Gardens

Ground information Location Kolkata Coordinates 223352N 882036ECoordinates:

223352N 882036E Establishment 1864 90,000 (Standing Capacity Capacity: 130,000) [1][2][3] Cricket Association of Owner Bengal Cricket Association of Operator Bengal Indian Cricket Team Tenants Bengal cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders End names High Court End Pavilion End International information 5 Jan - 8 Jan 1934: India First Test v England 14 Nov - 17 Nov 2011: Last Test India v West Indies 18 Feb 1987: India v Sri First ODI Lanka 25 Oct 2011: India v Last ODI England Domestic team information Bengal cricket team (present)

Kolkata Knight Riders (2008 - present) As of 14 September 2011 Source: Eden Gardens, Cricinfo Eden Gardens (Bengali: ) is a cricket ground in Kolkata (previously called Calcutta), India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the Indian Premier League's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a Test and One Day International ground.[4] It is the largest cricket stadium in India by seating capacity. It is widely acknowledged to be the most iconic cricket stadium in the country and one of the most iconic stadiums in the world. It is the second-largest cricket stadium in the world by seating capacity. Eden Gardens is also quoted as the cricket's answer to the Colosseum.[5] Eden Gardens has hosted 37 Test matches in India. Contents [hide]

1 History 2 Notable events 3 Renovation 4 Cricket World Cup 5 One Day International Matches 6 Test Matches 7 See also 8 References 9 External links

[edit] History Established in 1864, Eden Gardens currently holds 90,000 people [6] following renovations for the Cricket World Cup 2011; a capacity down from an estimated 100,000 before the upgrade. Prior to the

1987 World Cup, the capacity was said to be approximately 120,000; however, no official figures have been recorded.[4] Nevertheless, it will remain second biggest cricket stadium in the world, behind the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia and Eden Gardens is also the second largest stadium in India behind the Salt Lake Stadium also situated in Kolkata. Before 1984 both cricket and derby football matches were played in Eden Garden. The stadium is located in the Binoy Badal Dinesh Bag(BBD Bag) area of the city, near the State Secretariat and the High Court. The first recorded Test at the venue was held in 1934, and its first One Day International in 1987.[4] Sporting floodlights, bowlers deliver from the High Court End or the Pavilion End of a pitch under curator Probir Mukherjee.[4] Eden Gardens is renowned for its large and vociferous crowds. It is said that "a cricketer's cricketing education is not complete till he has played in front of a packed Eden Gardens." The Club House of the stadium has been named as the B.C. Roy Club House, after former Chief Minister of the State of West Bengal Dr. B. C. Roy. The Headquarters of the Cricket Association of Bengal are also there at the Eden Gardens. The stadium also hosts Indian Premier League matches and is the home venue for Kolkata Knight Riders co-owned by the Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan. [edit] Notable events

In 1946, and in-form Mushtaq Ali was dropped from the Indian team selected to play an unofficial test against Australian Services XI. Following crowd protests (with slogans like "No Mushtaq, No Test"), the selectors brought him back to play.[7] Rioting has been seen at the ground during the 1966/67 West Indies and 1969/70 Australian tours.[4] 16 football lovers died in a stampede after a derby league game between East Bengal and Mohun Bagan on 16 August 1980

Hosted the memorable World Cup final of 1987 which ended with Australia defeating England by 7 runs. The 1996 World Cup semi-final was called off and Sri Lanka awarded the match after crowd disturbances following an Indian batting collapse. a.[4] During the 2nd final of the 1997 Pepsi Independence Cup, the Test and ODI captains of the Indian cricket team of all time (with a few notable exceptions) were given a lap of honour around the stadium. In 1999, leading Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar was run out after colliding with Pakistan's Shoaib Akhtar. The crowd judged that Akhtar had impeded Tendulkar and rioted, forcing the police to evict the spectators. The match continued in front of an empty stadium. Kapil Dev took an ODI hat-trick against the Sri Lankans in 1991 at the ground. Harbhajan Singh took a hat-trick against Australia in 2000/01 at the ground. He became the first Indian to take a hat-trick in Test cricket. VVS Laxman scored 281 against Australia in 2000/01. This remains the highest score at the ground. Australia were defeated despite holding the advantage for the majority of the game in "the greatest come-from-behind victory of modern times".[4] It was only the third time in Test history that a team had won after being forced to follow on.[8]

Panoramic View of the Stadium during IPL 2008

The top four highest scores in this stadium has in Test cricket has been registered by India scoring 657-7 in 2001, 643-6 in 2010, 633-5 in 1998 and 631-7 in 2011. The most runs here was scored by V.V.S. Laxman(1041 runs), followed by Mohammed Azharuddin(860 runs) and Rahul Dravid(843 runs). The most wickets taken here was by

Harbhajan Singh(46 wickets) followed by [Anil Kumble](40 wickets) and [Bishen Singh Bedi](29 wickets). The highest score in ODIs here was made by India, who scored 317-3 in 2009. The second highest score was made by Sri Lanka, who scored 315-6 in 2009, the third highest score was again made by Sri Lanka who were all-out for 309 in 1997. The most runs scored here by a batsman was by Sachin Tendulkar(496 runs), followed by Mohammed Azharuddin(332 runs) and [Aravinda de Silva](306 runs). The most wickets taken here was by Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev(14 wickets each), followed by [Javgal Srinath](8 wickets) and Ajit Agarkar(7 wickets). VVS Laxman and Mohd.Azharuddhin have scored 5 centuries each at this venue,the last being the unbeaten 176 by Laxman.

[edit] Renovation The ground before Cricket World Cup 2011 renovation Eden Gardens underwent renovation for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[9] Renovation has been undertaken to meet the standards set by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the 2011 World Cup. The Cricket Association of Bengal retained the team of Burt Hill and VMS to renovate the Eden Garden Cricket Stadium. The renovated stadium includes a new clubhouse and players' facilities, upgrading the exterior wall to give the stadium a new look, cladding the existing roof structure with a new metal skin, new/upgraded patron amenities and signage, and general infrastructure improvements. In addition to being a stadium set to host the Cricket World Cup in 2011, the structure will also meet the programmatic needs of the regular season and special events.

Due to unsafe conditions arising from the incomplete renovations, the ICC withdrew the India vs. England match from the Eden Gardens. This match, scheduled on 27 February 2011,[10] was played in Bengaluru at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, which resulted in a tie with both teams making 338 after 50 overs. It remains as the only match to end in a tie after the designated overs. The stadium hosted the remaining three scheduled World Cup 2011 Matches on 15th, 18 and 20 March 2011. In the last of these three matches (Kenya vs Zimbabwe), the stadium had the minimal ticketpurchasing crowd in its recorded history with 15 spectators having bought tickets.[11]