The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is the principal cricket stadium in Hyderabad, Telangana, India and is the home ground of the Hyderabad Cricket Association.
It is located in Uppal, an eastern suburb of the city. It has a capacity of 33,000 spectators presently and extends across 16 acres (65,000 m2) of land. The ends are named Pavilion End and North End. On the retirement of VVS Laxman, the HCA decided to honour the state hero by naming the North End after him. Being one of the best stadiums in India, this stadium never hosted an ICC event and T20 International.
History
HCA's previous home ground was the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in the Fateh Maidan sports complex at Basheerbagh in central Hyderabad. The ground belonged to the Sports Authority of Telangana State and HCA had limited operating autonomy over this ground.
Moreover, due to its smaller size, it soon came to be known as a high-scoring ground and so Hyderabad was not considered for many high profile cricket matches in India.
In 2003, the proposal for a new stadium was submitted by HCA to the government of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, then headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu. The proposal was quickly cleared and HCA was allocated a budget for the same. The government also identified a large piece of land suitable for the project at Uppal.
Most of the funding for the project came after an open auction of the stadium's title was held. Visaka Industries Limited won the auction with a bid price of Rs. 65,00,00,000. A sum of Rs. 43,00,00,000 was paid in advance and the stadium was named as Visakha International Cricket Stadium in 2004.
By 2005 when most of the stadium was built, it was ready to host its first ODI Match between India and South Africa. However, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh decided to change the name of the stadium to Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in memory of the former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.
Following this decision, HCA was required to pay Visakha Industries six times the contract price in accordance with the contract clauses governing any subsequent renaming of the stadium or the Visakha name not remaining attached to the stadium. HCA however, following some negotiations by Govt, got away by paying an amount of Rs. 43,00,00,000, i.e. the contract price only.
Ground capacity & factors
- Now Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is regarded one of the Professional and good Cricket stadiums that extends across 16 acres and has a seating capacity of 25000 spectators, The ends are Pavilion End and North End (V.V.S. Laxman end).
- Flood lights are also mounted on Six towers to illuminate the stadium during day-night matches, Flood lights were commissioned in April 2007.
- The wicket here is considered as a flat track,This means that the spinners would enjoy bowling here than the pacers,India almost chased down 350 in an ODI against Australia - Sachin Tendulkar scored 175,which has a reputation of being batsman friendly and high scoring pitch.
A Panoramic view of Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium
SunRisers Hyderabad
SRH Fans while an ipl match
Sunrisers Hyderabad (Telugu: సన్ రైజర్స్ హైదరాబాద్) is a cricket franchise based in Hyderabad by the IPL Governing Council.[1] The team is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun TV Network.[2]
David Warner is the captain of the team. Tom Moody is the head coach and Simon Helmot is the assistant coach of the team. Kris Srikkanth and VVS Laxman are the mentors of the team while Waqar Younis was the bowling coach of the team.[3]
The team jersey was unveiled on 8 March 2013, and team anthem directed by GV Prakash Kumar was released on 12 March 2013. Their logo was unveiled on 20 December 2012, along with the announcement that the team's management would be led by Kris, Tom Moody and VVS Laxman.
The stadium suffered from a jinx of losing matches for the home team so the management had decided to change the dressing room position of the home team and also installed a sculpture of Lord Ganesha who is the god for success and the efforts of the management finally resulted in a win for India in the next match beating England with a margin of over a hundred runs. India won 2 out of 3 test matches hosted at this venue (1 Drawn). It also turned the fortunes of Sunrisers Hyderabad with almost all wins at home.
Test cricket
It is the 101st venue for test matches in world cricket.[3]
Test Matches Records
One Day International cricket
The stadium has hosted following ODI matches to date.
Stadium Records
- Australia had scored 351/4, it is the highest score at the stadium.
- England had scored 174, it is the lowest score at the stadium.
- Yuvraj Singh's 233 scored in three matches is the most of runs scored at the stadium.
- Sachin Tendulkar's 175 is the highest individual score at the stadium.
- Sachin Tendulkar completed 17,000 ODI runs, made his 45th ODI century and received his 60th ODI Man of the match award.
- 697 runs made for the loss of 14 wickets in one match.
One Day International Records
Category | Information |
Highest Innings Total | Australia Australia 350/4 - India v Australia, 1 innings, 5 Nov 2009 |
Lowest Innings Total | England England 174 - 2 innings, 14 Oct 2011 |
Highest Individual Score | Sachin Tendulkar India 175 (Balls:141 4x19 6x4) - India v Australia, 5 Nov 2009 |
Best Bowling In A Match | R Ashwin India 3/35 (8.1 overs) - India v England, 14 Oct 2011 |
Most Runs | Yuvraj Singh India 233 Runs (Mat:3 Inn:3 HS:121 Ave:77.66 SR:94.33 100x2 50x0) |
Most Wickets | R Ashwin India 3 Wickets (Mat:1 Runs:35 Best:3/35 Ave:11.66 Econ:4.28) |
References
- ↑ http://www.worldofstadiums.com/asia/india/telangana/rajiv-gandhi-international-cricket-stadium/
- ↑ spa-aec.com
- ↑ List of Test cricket grounds
- ↑ Cricket Records | Records | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad | Test matches | Most runs | ESPN Cricinfo
- ↑ Cricket Records | Records | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad | Test matches | High scores | ESPN Cricinfo
- ↑ Cricket Records | Records | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad | Test matches | Most hundreds | ESPN Cricinfo
- ↑ Cricket Records | Records | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad | One-Day Internationals | Most runs | ESPN Cricinfo
- ↑ Cricket Records | Records | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad | One-Day Internationals | High scores | ESPN Cricinfo
- ↑ Cricket Records | Records | Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad | One-Day Internationals | Most hundreds | ESPN Cricinfo
External links
Coordinates: 17°24′23.4″N 78°33′01.6″E / 17.406500°N 78.550444°E / 17.406500; 78.550444