Eden Gardens

Eden Gardens
Ground information
Location	Kolkata
Establishment	1865
Capacity	90,000
Owner	Indian Army [1]
Operator	Cricket Association of Bengal
Tenants	Bengal cricket team, Kolkata night Riders
	End names
	High Court End; Pavilion End
International information
First Test	5 Jan - 8 Jan 1934:; India v England
Last Test	30 Nov - 4 Dec 2007:; India v Pakistan
First ODI	18 Feb 1987:; India v Pakistan
Last ODI	24 Dec 2009:; India v Sri Lanka
	As of 15 February 2009; Source: Eden Gardens, Cricinfo

Eden Gardens (Bengali: ইডেন গার্ডেন্স) is a cricket ground in Kolkata, 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.^[1]

History

The Eden Gardens is India's biggest cricket stadium, and one of the most famous cricket venues in the world. Established in 1864, Eden Gardens currently holds 90,000 people following renovations, which have reduced the capacity from its previous one of 120,000.^[1] Nevertheless, it remains joint 22nd with Wembley Stadium in the list of largest stadiums in the world. It is also the second biggest cricket stadium in the world, behind the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It is also the second largest stadium in India behind the Salt Lake Stadium.

The stadium is located in the Dalhousie 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 ODI in 1987.^[1] Sporting floodlights, bowlers deliver from the High Court End or the Pavilion End of a pitch under curator Probir Mukherjee.^[1] The ground area of the stadium is also one of the largest in the world.

The stadium is famous 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." ^{Reference Needed}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 hosted its first Indian Premier League match on April 20, 2008, when the Kolkata Knight Riders took on the Deccan Chargers.^[2]

The stadium is undergoing renovations which will reduce the seating capacity by 14,500 seats to 73,000 from the current 90,000.^[3] These renovations are taking place in order to provide the stadium with the minimum qualifications required to hold the semi-finals in the 2011 Cricket World Cup.^[4]

The contracts for renovation have been awarded to two companies, one from Ahmedabad and one from USA. [2]

Noted events

Rioting has been seen at the ground during the 1966/67 West Indies and 1969/70 Australian tours.^[1]
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 with Sri Lanka on the verge of victory over the home side.^[1]
Harbhajan Singh took a hat-trick against the Australians in 2000/01 at the ground. He became the first Indian to take a hat-trick in Test cricket.
Kapil Dev took a ODI hat-trick against the Sri Lankans in 1991 at the ground. He became the second Indian to take a ODI hat-trick.
VVS Laxman scored 281 against the Australians 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".^[1]

Cricket World Cup

This stadium has hosted One Day International (ODI) matches every time when India hosted the Cricket World Cup and they are

i. 1987 Cricket World Cup

ii. 1996 Cricket World Cup

iii. 2011 Cricket World Cup

1. On 23-Oct-1987 NewZealand v/s Zimbabwe (League match)

  Zim: 227/5 (50 overs) : Andrew Pycroft 52(46), Stephen Boock 2/43 (10 overs)
   NZ: 228/6 (47.4 overs) : Jeff Crowe 88(105), Ali Shah 2/34 (10 overs)
  Result: New Zealand won by 4 wickets
  Umpires: Khizer Hayat and PW Vidanagamage
  Man of the Match: Jeff Crowe

2. On 8-Nov-1987 Australia v/s England (Final match)

  Aus: 253/5 (50 overs) : David Boon 75(125), Eddie Hemmings 2/48 (10 overs)   
  Eng: 246/8 (50 overs) : Bill Athey 58(103), Steve Waugh 2/37 (9 overs) 
  Result: Australia won by 7 runs
  Umpires: Ram Gupta and Mahboob Shah
  Man of the Match: David Boon

ii. 1996 Cricket World Cup

3. On 13-Mar-1996 India v/s Sri Lanka (Semifinal match)

  SL: 251/8 (50 overs) : Aravinda de Silva 66(47), Javagal Srinath 3/34(7 overs)
  Ind: 120/8 (34.1 overs) : Sachin Tendulkar 65(88), Sanath Jayasuriya 3/12(7 overs)   
  Result:srilanka won by default 
  Umpires: Steve Dunne and Cyril Mitchley
  Man of the Match: Aravinda de Silva

  The match was awarded to Sri Lanka by match referee Clive Lloyd when play could not continue due to the rioting crowd.

iii. 2011 Cricket World Cup

4. Sunday 27 Feb – India v England, Kolkata

5. Tuesday 15 Mar – South Africa v Ireland, Kolkata

6. Friday 18 Mar – Ireland v Netherlands, Kolkata

7. Sunday 20 Mar – Zimbabwe v Kenya, Kolkata

External links

CricketArchive statistics for Eden gardens

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Eden Gardens". CricInfo. Retrieved 2009-04-12.
^ http://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/14/949_ipl.html
^ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090915/jsp/sports/story_11496153.jsp
^ http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091011/jsp/sports/story_11601446.jsp

22°33′52.46″N 88°20′35.97″E / 22.5645722°N 88.3433250°E / 22.5645722; 88.3433250

Template:1987 Cricket World Cup Stadiums Template:1996 Cricket World Cup Stadiums Template:2011 Cricket World Cup Stadiums

[cric-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g "Eden Gardens". CricInfo. Retrieved 2009-04-12.

[2] ttp://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Grounds/14/949_ipl.html

[3] ttp://www.telegraphindia.com/1090915/jsp/sports/story_11496153.jsp

[4] ttp://www.telegraphindia.com/1091011/jsp/sports/story_11601446.jsp

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