Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium

Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium
Ground information
Location Dharamshala, Himachal Pradesh
Establishment 2003
Capacity 23,000[1]
Owner Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association
Operator Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association
Tenants Himachal Pradesh cricket team,
Kings XI Punjab,
Indian cricket team
End names
River End
College End
International information
First ODI January 27, 2013: India v England
Last ODI October 17, 2014: India v West Indies
As of October 18, 2014
Source: Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, cricinfo

Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium or HPCA Stadium is a cricket stadium located in the city of Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh, India.

Anurag Thakur is credited of making Himachal Pradesh capable of hosting international standard cricket at HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala. The town is best known internationally as the home of the Dalai Lama of Tibet.

History

The stadium is home to Himachal Pradesh cricket team for Ranji Trophy matches and other limited overs matches. The stadium was the venue for two IPL matches as it is a home stadium for the Kings XI Punjab.

Consequently floodlights have been installed.[2][3]

Dav Whatmore, the former Director of the Indian National Cricket Academy recommended during his tenure that the stadium is suitable for hosting international cricket matches.[2]

The venue is unique in India in that it is situated at an altitude of 1,457 m (4,780 ft 2 in) above sea level and has the snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background. It is often considered the fastest pitch in India. The first international team that played here was the Pakistan cricket team, which played a match against an India A in 2005.[3]

Getting to Dharamsala, however, is difficult. The terrain is hilly and the nearest airport is in Chandigarh, 250 kilometres away by road. The harsh winters, during which it rains and snows, are also deterrents to organizing international matches here but it hosted its first ODI in January 2013.

The first ODI was played between India and England in January 2013, which England won by 7 wickets easily, despite light snow falling at the ground in the preceding weeks. The second ODI was played between India and West Indies on 17th October 2014, which India comfortably beat the West Indies by 59 runs in the day/night affair. India posted a mammoth 330/5, with a century from Virat Kohli and supporting knocks from Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina and Ajinkya Rahane. In reply, West Indies had a slow start and not utilising the lively pitch and the late coming of dew, they kept on losing wickets at regular intervals, despite a 112 from Marlon Samuels and a quickfire 23-ball 46 from Andre Russell. Eventually, West Indies were bowled out for 271, with an over to spare. With the win, India won the series 2-1 and Virat Kohli took the Man of the Match award. Interestingly, this was India's first win in a picturesque venue in North India, the other being Sher-i-Kashmir Stadium in Srinagar, where India lost all their matches there previously.

The Dalai Lama graced the occasion in both the ODIs and felicitated the Indian team and the visiting teams with a scarf of silk. Also, he got an autographed West Indies t-shirt from the West Indies team.

The 2010 expansion of the IPL brought Dharamsala wider attention and it has the potential to become one of India's most popular venues.

Located behind the stadium is the Government College of Dharamshala which was built during British Raj.

List of International Matches

Tests

The ground has not yet hosted an international Test match.

ODI

The stadium has hosted following ODI matches till date.

Team 1 Team 2 Winner Margin Date
 India  England  England 7 Wickets 2013 [4]
 India  West Indies  India 59 Runs 2014 [5]

T20

The ground has not yet hosted an international T20 matches. However, it has hosted IPL matches for Kings XI Punjab.

Indian Premier League Matches

The 2010 expansion of the IPL brought Dharamsala into visibility. This stadium become the second home ground for the Kings XI Punjab franchise.

List of IPL Matches

IPL 2010

IPL 2010 had only two matches scheduled and played on this venue. The 51st [6] match of the season was the inaugural T20 match played followed by the 54th [7] match.

Team 1 Team 2 Winner Margin Date
Kings XI Punjab Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings By 6 Wickets 2010
Kings XI Punjab Deccan Chargers Deccan Chargers By 5 Wickets 2010

IPL 2011

Team 1 Team 2 Winner Margin Date
Kings XI Punjab Delhi Daredevils Kings XI Punjab By 29 Runs 2011
Kings XI Punjab Deccan Chargers Deccan Chargers By 82 Runs 2011

IPL 2012

Team 1 Team 2 Winner Margin Date
Kings XI Punjab Chennai Super Kings Kings XI Punjab By 6 Wickets 2012
Kings XI Punjab Delhi Daredevils Delhi Daredevils By 6 Wickets 2012

IPL 2013

Team 1 Team 2 Winner Margin Date
Kings XI Punjab Delhi Daredevils Kings XI Punjab By 7 Runs 2013
Kings XI Punjab Mumbai Indians Kings XI Punjab By 50 Runs 2013

IPL 2014

No matches were played in 2014 due to the first leg of the tournament was hosted in the United Arab Emirates so that the competition would not clash with the Indian elections, with the second leg to be hosted in India and there was less matches hosted in India.

Other Important Hosted Matches

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/ground/58056.html
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Indian Premier League | IPLT20 Ahmedabad". Iplt20.com. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Dharamshala to be ready for IPL by April 15 | Cricket News | Indian Premier League 2009 | ESPN Cricinfo". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
  4. ↑ http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/565816.html
  5. ↑ http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/match/770129.html
  6. ↑ http://www.espncricinfo.com/ipl2010/engine/match/419156.html
  7. ↑ http://www.espncricinfo.com/ipl2010/engine/match/419159.html

Coordinates: 32°11′52″N 76°19′34″E / 32.197672°N 76.325997°E