M. Chinnaswamy Stadium

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium (Kannada: ಚಿನ್ನಸ್ವಾಮಿ ಕ್ರೀಡಾಂಗಣ, Chinnasvāmi Krīḍāngaṇa), located in Bangalore, Karnataka, is one of the cricket stadiums of India. Flanked by the picturesque Cubbon Park, Queen's Road, Cubbon and uptown MG Road, this four decade old stadium is situated in the heart of the city of Bangalore. Formerly known as the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) stadium, the ground was later rechristened in tribute to Mr. M. Chinnaswamy, who had served the KSCA for four decades and was also president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 1977-1980. This stadium with a seating capacity of 55,000 not only regularly hosts Test cricket, One Day Internationals (ODI) and other First-class cricket matches, but also other musical and cultural events. The stadium is also the home ground of the Karnataka state cricket team and the Indian Premier League franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore. It is owned by the Government of Karnataka and has been leased out to the KSCA for a period of 99 years.

History and development

With generous patronage from the Government of Karnataka, the foundation stone of this stadium was laid in 1969 and construction work commenced in 1970. The stadium was first used for First-class cricket matches during the 1972-73 season. It earned Test status during the 1974-75 season when the West Indies toured India.

The first Test played at this stadium was on 22-29 November 1974. Incidentally, this was the début Test match for the West Indian batting giants Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge. The West Indians led by Clive Lloyd crushed M. A. K. Pataudi's Indian team by a massive margin of 256 runs. India registered their first Test win on this ground against the touring English team led by Tony Greig in 1976-77. The first ODI match at this venue was played on 6 September 1982. India defeated Sri Lanka by six wickets in that match.

Floodlights were first installed at this stadium for the 1996 Wills World Cup. The first match played here under lights was the quarter-final clash between arch-rivals India and Pakistan on 9 March 1996 in which India defeated Pakistan by 39 runs in a thrilling encounter. In 2007, Sourav Ganguly and Yuvraj Singh lead a 300 run partnership fightback from 61/4 breaking several records. India's 365/5 at stumps was the highest 1st day score in whole of India. The 300 run partnership was the highest partnership at the stadium and the highest left-hander batsmen partnership. Sourav Ganguly's 239 is the highest left-hander score.

After the BCCI chose Bangalore as the centre for the National Cricket Academy in 2000, many budding cricketers have passed out of the Academy housed on this ground. This stadium also served as venue for the 1996 Miss World pageant. The KSCA now plans to increase the seating capacity to 70,000. After the launch of the IPL, it has also become the home ground of the Bangalore franchise team, the Royal Challengers Bangalore. The stadium was also given a facelift for the first season of the IPL. It was painted in red and yellow, the team colors of the Royal Challengers and also the colors of the Karnataka flag.

Apart from holding all cricket matches it has also been associated with all small and major events held in Bangalore or India.

Cricket World Cups

This stadium has hosted One Day International (ODI) matches for all the World cups whenever India has hosted the World cups namely

Quarter final match

Cricket World Cup

This stadium has hosted One Day International (ODI) matches for all the World cups whenever India has hosted the World cups namely

Records

Test match records

Highest innings total: India 626/all out - India vs Pakistan, 3rd Test in Bangalore, 8-12 December 2007. The second highest score was made by Pakistan who were all out for 570 in 2005. The third highest score was made by India again who scored 541-6 against Sri Lanka in 1994.

Highest individual score: 267 - Younis Khan, Pakistan v India, 24-28 March 2005

Best innings bowling: 7-27 - Maninder Singh, India v Pakistan, 13-17 March 1987

Most runs were scored by Sachin Tendulkar(825 runs) in this stadium. He is followed by Sunil Gavaskar(625 runs) and Sourav Ganguly (503 runs).

Most wickets were taken by Anil Kumble, (41 wickets) in this stadium. He is followed by Harbhajan Singh (30 wickets) and Kapil Dev(27 wickets)

One day international match records

Highest total: 347-2 - Australia v India 12 November 2003. The second and third highest scores were tied at 338 in the India-England match.

Highest Run Chase : 329-7 - Ireland scored 329 (in 49.1 overs) against England's 327 runs from 50 overs, 02 March 2011.

Highest individual score: 163 scored by Andrew Strauss

The most runs were scored by Sachin Tendulkar(534 runs) followed by Virender Sehwag(328 runs) and Michael Clarke(238 runs)

The most wickets were taken by Zaheer Khan(14 wickets) followed by Javagal Srinath(10 wickets) and Venkatesh Prasad & Kapil Dev(8 wickets each)

Gallery

See also

• List of Test cricket grounds

References

External links

• Chinnaswamy Stadium Layout + IPL 2010 Updates
• M Chinnaswamy Stadium Notable Events
• Details on Cricinfo