In India cricket is a religion. People actually offer prayers before matches to please the gods that their team wins, such is the craze about Cricket in India. People will fight with their friends and family if someone says something derogatory about their favorite cricketer. Probably Cricket matches are the most watched events when it comes to Indian audience. Owing to the popularity of Cricket in India, the country is also home to some of the grandest cricket stadiums in the world, while Eden Garden tops them all. Located in the jovial city of Kolkata, Eden Gardens is the most iconic cricket stadium in India.
Unarguably we all have heard about Eden Gardens, being a admirer of Cricket, but there is a lot that you do not know about this iconic spot. In this blog we have listed some of the top facts about Eden Gardens that you can boast of with your friends and family over a little cricket chatter.
1 – History of establishment of Eden Gardens dates back to 1864. The name of Eden Gardens was put after the sister of Lord Auckland, who was the then Governor General of India. The first cricket match that was played in Eden Gardens was back in 1865, which also makes it one of the oldest Cricket Stadiums of the world. In India it is the oldest cricket stadium.
2 – Eden Gardens is the home ground of the Bengal Ranji Team and the Kolkata Knight Riders IPL Team. The custodian of Eden Gardens is the Indian Army, while the matches are organized by the CAB, Cricket Association of Bengal.
3 – The Eden Gardens has a capacity of whooping 60000 plus of audience, which makes it one of the largest cricket stadiums in the world in terms of capacity. It is only second to the Melbourne Cricket ground when it comes to the capacity. But before 2011 when the stadium was renovated, the capacity of Eden Gardens was double than what is now at present. Then it was even bigger than Melbourne Cricket Ground.
4 – It was in Eden Gardens in the year of 1952 that India recorded their first victory against England. India won that match by 8 wickets, and this match is still considered to be one of the most iconic events in Indian Cricket history, as India got its recognition in Cricket.
5 – The first cricket test match ever played in Eden Gardens was back in 1934 between England and India. The first ever One Day International was played in Eden Gardens back in 1987, between India and Pakistan.
6 – It was in Eden Gardens when Sachin Tendulkar scored his first Test century. It was during the match between India and England. It was the year of 1990 and at the time of the match Sachin Tendulkar was only 17 years old. With his innings in that match Sachin Tendulkar became the youngest Cricketer in history of Indian Cricket to score a test century. It was from here Sachin Tendulkar embarked his journey of becoming one of the most iconic Cricketers.
7 – Up till the construction of Yuva Bharati Krirangan in Salt Lake of Kolkata, Eden Gardens has hosted several Football matches. Eden Gardens has also hosted many concerts, rallies, and big events. It is not just a Cricket stadium but has a deep cultural significance as a place in Kolkata.
8 – During the 1983 World Cup, in a match played against Zimbabwe, Kapil Dev has recorded a memorable feat of scoring 175 runs. It was because of this innings that India single handedly won that match and this innings of Kapil Dev is still etched in the memory of Indian cricket fans.
9 – Eden Gardens is located near the banks of River Ganga, and the breeze that flows over the river into the stadium becomes a deciding factor on how the ball is going to spin and bounce. The captains of the team that play matches here take this into consideration during the toss.
10 – It was in Eden Gardens that India recorded its first Test Cricket victory against South Africa. The year was 2010 and in that historic match India won by an innings and 57 runs. It was a historic moment of Indian cricket.
11 – Sunil Gavaskar made his test cricket debut in Eden Gardens in a match played against West Indies. It was in year 1971, and he made a history by scoring century in both the innings of the match. He became the first Indian for doing so. It would be right to say that legendary career of Sunil Gavaskar started in the Eden Gardens.
12 – In a match against Pakistan which was played in Eden Gardens, Anil Kumble became the only second bowler in history of cricket to take all 10 wickets in a single innings. It was in the year of 1993 and this performance of Anil Kumble went on to become one of the most memorable Cricket moments in India.
13 – Eden Gardens also hold the feat of having hosted the first ever day and night test match in Indian Cricket history. It was the first time that the pink ball was used, for this match and it was in year 2019.
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