Eden Gardens
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Eden Gardens during an ODI match in 2013 | |||||
| Ground information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Kolkata, West Bengal, India | ||||
| Coordinates | 22°33′52″N 88°20′36″E / 22.56444°N 88.34333°ECoordinates: 22°33′52″N 88°20′36″E / 22.56444°N 88.34333°E | ||||
| Establishment | 1864 | ||||
| Capacity | 66,000 | ||||
| Owner | Indian Army[1] | ||||
| Operator | Cricket Association of Bengal | ||||
| Tenants |
Bengal cricket team Kolkata Knight Riders India national cricket team | ||||
| End names | |||||
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High Court End Pavilion End | |||||
| International information | |||||
| First Test |
5–8 January 1934: India v  England | ||||
| Last Test |
30 September–4 October 2016: India v  New Zealand | ||||
| First ODI |
18 February 1987: India v  Pakistan | ||||
| Last ODI |
13 November 2014: India v  Sri Lanka | ||||
| First T20I |
29 October 2011: India v England | ||||
| Last T20I |
3 April 2016: England v  West Indies | ||||
| Team information | |||||
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As of 30 September 2016 Source: ESPNcricinfo | |||||
Eden Gardens (Bengali: ইডেন গার্ডেন্স) is a cricket ground in Kolkata, India. It is the home of the Bengal cricket team and the IPL's Kolkata Knight Riders, as well as being a venue for Test, ODI and T20I matches.[2] With a seating capacity of 66,000, it is the largest cricket stadium in India, and the second-largest cricket stadium in the world behind the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Eden Gardens has been called "cricket's answer to the Colosseum" and is widely acknowledged to be one of the most iconic cricket stadiums in the world.[3] The stadium has hosted matches in major competitions including the World Cup, World Twenty20, Asia Cup and Indian Premier League matches. In 1987, Eden Gardens became the second stadium to host a World Cup final, after Lord's, London which had hosted the first three finals.
History and capacity
The stadium gets its name from the Eden Gardens, one of the oldest parks in Kolkata, which was designed in 1841 and named after the Eden sisters of Lord Auckland, the then Governor-General of India.[4] The stadium is in the B. B. D. Bagh area of the city, near the State Secretariat and opposite to the Calcutta High Court. Initially it was named 'Auckland Circus Gardens’ but later changed to 'Eden Gardens' by its makers inspired by Garden of Eden in the Bible.[5] The stadium itself was established in 1864 and currently holds 66,349 people[6][7] following renovations for the Cricket World Cup 2011; a capacity down from an estimated 100,000 before the upgrade. Before the 1987 World Cup, the capacity was said to be approximately 120,000; however, no official figures have been recorded. Nonetheless, there have been six matches at this venue which were attended by over 100,000 spectators on a day.[2]
The first recorded Test at the venue was held in 1934, and its first One Day International in 1987.[2] The Hero Cup knockout matches were staged at Eden Gardens, the first matches played under lights at the ground.[8] Sporting floodlights, bowlers deliver from the High Court End or the Pavilion End of the pitch.[2] 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 B.C. Roy Club House is named after former Chief Minister of West Bengal Dr. B. C. Roy. The headquarters of the Cricket Association of Bengal are at the stadium. The stadium hosts Indian Premier League matches and is the home venue for Kolkata Knight Riders.
Notable events
- In 1946, an 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.[9]
- Rioting occurred at the ground during the 1966/67 West Indies and 1969/70 Australian tours.[2]
- 16 football fans 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.[2]
- 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. Akhtar had impeded Tendulkar and the crowd 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".[2] It was only the third time in Test history that a team had won after being forced to follow on.[10]
- Eden Gardens hosted the historic 199th (penultimate) Test match of Sachin Tendulkar's career against West Indies from 6-10 Nov 2013. India defeated West Indies by an innings and 51 runs in 3 days.
- On its 150th anniversary, on 13 November 2014, Eden Gardens witnessed the highest ever score by a batsman in One Day Internationals, a 264 off 173 balls scored by Rohit Sharma during the 4th One Day International of Sri Lanka vs India at the venue.
- On 3 April 2016, in this venue, within a span of hours, the finals of the ICC world cup Twenty20 tournaments for the women and for the men were won by the respective women's and men's teams of the West Indies.
Records
- The top four Test cricket batting scores in this stadium were registered by India: 657–7 in 2001, 643–6 in 2010, 633–5 in 1998, and 631–7 in 2011.
- The most runs in Test Matches Played here was scored by V.V.S. Laxman (1217 runs),[11] followed by Rahul Dravid(962 runs) and Mohammed Azharuddin (860 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 404–5 in 2014 The second highest score in ODIs here was made by India, who scored 317–3 in 2009. The third highest score was made by Sri Lanka, who scored 315–6 in 2009, the fourth highest score was again made by Sri Lanka who were all-out for 309 in 1997.
- The most runs in ODIs scored here by a batsman is by Sachin Tendulkar (496 runs), followed by Mohammed Azharuddin (332 runs) and Aravinda de Silva (306 runs). The most wickets taken here is by Anil Kumble and Kapil Dev (14 wickets each), followed by Javagal Srinath (8 wickets) and Ajit Agarkar (7 wickets).
- VVS Laxman and Mohammed Azharuddin have scored 5 centuries each at this venue,the last being the unbeaten 176 by Laxman.
- The highest ODI individual score is made by Rohit Sharma on this historical ground; Rohit Sharma 264(173) vs Sri Lanka.[13,Nov,2014]
Renovation
Eden Gardens underwent renovation for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[12] Renovation had 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 Gardens Cricket Stadium. The plans for the renovated stadium included a new clubhouse and players' facilities, upgrades of the exterior walls to give the stadium a new look, cladding the existing roof structure with a new metal skin, new/upgraded patron amenities & signage and general infrastructure improvements. The upgrade also meant reduction of the seating capacity to about 66,000 from around 100,000 before the upgrade.
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,[13] was played in Bengaluru at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The stadium hosted the remaining three scheduled World Cup 2011 Matches on 15, 18 and 20 March 2011. In the last of these three matches (Kenya vs Zimbabwe), the stadium had the minimal ticket-purchasing crowd in its recorded history with 15 spectators having bought tickets.[14]
Cricket World Cup
This stadium has hosted One Day International (ODI) matches during 1987 Cricket World Cup, 1996 Cricket World Cup and 2011 Cricket World Cup. The stadium also was involved in the 1978 Women's Cricket World Cup and the 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup.
1987 ICC Cricket World Cup
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| v |
1996 ICC Cricket World Cup
13 March 1996 Scorecard |
| v |
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- The match was awarded to Sri Lanka by match referee Clive Lloyd when play could not continue due to the rioting crowd.
2011 ICC Cricket World Cup
| v |
* Eden Gardens was meant to host a Group B Match between India and England on 27 February 2011. The ICC, however, stripped the stadium of the match after deciding that the renovation of the grounds would not be completed in time.
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 1978
1 January 1978 (scorecard) |
| v |
England 65/1 (30.2 overs) | |
| DF Edulji 18 G Hullah 2/2 (6.3) M Wilks 2/6 (6.0) |
LD Thomas 43* DF Edulji 1/18 (10) |
ICC Women's Cricket World Cup 1997
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See also
References
- ↑ "Historic Eden Garden is meant for BCCI: CAB chief". india.com. 24 August 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Eden Gardens". CricInfo. Retrieved 12 April 2009.
- ↑ "India keep winning – but the crowds stay away". BBC news. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
- ↑ Bag, Shamik. "In the shadow of Eden". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 19 June 2015.
- ↑ "Eden Gardens". Kolkata City Tours. Retrieved 11 May 2016.
- ↑ Eden Gardens | India | Cricket Grounds | ESPN Cricinfo. Content-ind.cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 4 September 2011.
- ↑ "Kolkata's Eden Gardens to miss World Cup deadline?". 20 January 2011.
- ↑ "Hero Cup, 1993–94". Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
- ↑ "Unfortunately, they don't look for talent today: The Rediff Interview with Mushtaq Ali". Rediff.com. 17 December 2001. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
- ↑ "Border-Gavaskar Trophy – 2nd Test". Cricinfo.
- ↑ "Live cricket scores, commentary, match coverage - Cricket news, statistics - ESPN Cricinfo". Cricinfo.
- ↑ Kolkata's Eden Gardens stadium gets a new look for Cricket World Cup 2011. World Interior Design Network. Retrieved on 10 June 2010
- ↑ "Eden Gardens loses World Cup match". IndiaVoice. 28 January 2011. Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ↑ Basu, Rith (22 March 2011). "Empty end to Eden's Cup – And the roar died: just 15 match-day tickets sold for Zimbabwe-Kenya tie". Calcutta, India: The Telegraph (Kolkata). Retrieved 12 October 2011.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Eden Gardens. |
Kolkata/Maidan travel guide from Wikivoyage
- Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium Kolkata, India – Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium Seating Layout
- CricketArchive statistics for Eden gardens
- IPL-5 Matches at Eden Gardens – IPL 2012 Matches at Eden Gardens
- Stadium pictures
