Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium
Picturesque backdrop of the HPCA Stadium | |
Ground information | |
---|---|
Location | Dharamsala Kangra, Himachal Pradesh |
Establishment | 2003 |
Capacity | 23,000[1] |
Owner | Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association |
Operator | Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association |
Tenants |
Indian cricket team Himachal Pradesh cricket team Kings XI Punjab |
End names | |
River End College End | |
International information | |
First Test |
25–29 March 2017: India v Australia |
First ODI |
27 January 2013: India v England |
Last ODI |
16 October 2016: India v New Zealand |
First T20I |
2 October 2015: India v South Africa |
Last T20I |
18 March 2016: Australia v New Zealand |
As of 25 March 2017 Source: ESPN Cricinfo |
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, abbreviated as the HPCA Stadium, is a picturesque cricket stadium located in the city of Dharamsala District Kangra in Himachal Pradesh, India. The town of Dharamsala is best known internationally as the home of the Dalai Lama of Tibet.
Location and history
The stadium served as the home ground for the Himachal Pradesh cricket team for Ranji Trophy matches and other domestic matches. The stadium also hosted some IPL matches as a home stadium for Kings XI Punjab.[2]
The picturesque venue is unique in India as it is situated at an altitude of 1,457 m above the sea level and has the snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background. Getting to Dharamsala from the nearest airport Is Kangra Airport, which is about 8 kilometres away through the hilly terrain and the harsh winters, during which it rains and snows are some of the deterrents in organizing regular matches.
Dav Whatmore, the former Director of the National Cricket Academy in India had recommended during his tenure that the stadium is suitable for hosting international cricket matches. The first international team who played in this ground was the Pakistani cricket team, when they played a warm-up match against an India A side in 2005.[2]
The first One Day International (ODI) at this stadium was played between India and England on 27 January 2013. England won the match by 7 wickets. The first Test at this stadium was played between India and Australia from 25–29 March 2017.[3]
In November 2015, the HPCA stadium was selected as one of the six new Test match venues in India along with the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, JSCA International Stadium Complex, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Holkar Stadium and Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.[4]
ACC Centre of Excellence
In December 2015, Asian Cricket Council decided to set up Centre of Excellence at Dharamsala.[5]
2016 ICC World Twenty20
On 21 July 2015, the BCCI announced the names of the eight cities which would be hosting matches during the 2016 ICC World Twenty20. Dharamsala was announced as one of the eight venues for the event.[6] On 11 December 2015, ICC announced the fixtures of the event where the HPCA Stadium was scheduled to host all the first round Group A matches and a single Super 10 Group 2 match.[7] Originally the marquee India vs Pakistan match was scheduled to be hosted by this venue.[8] Due to security concerns for the Pakistani team,[9] the match was moved to Eden Gardens, Kolkata.[10]
See also
- List of international cricket centuries on Indian cricket grounds
- List of international cricket five-wicket hauls on Indian cricket grounds
References
- ↑ "Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium | India | Cricket Grounds". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- 1 2 "Dharamshala to be ready for IPL by April". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 23 January 2012.
- ↑ "Dharamsala decider promises more surprises". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
- ↑ Arun Venugopal. "BCCI revamps selection committee, announces new Test centres". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ↑ "ACC sets up Centre of Excellence in Dharamsala". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ↑ "Eden Gardens to host 2016 World T20 final". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
- ↑ "Fixtures for the ICC World Twenty20 India 2016". ICC Cricket. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ↑ "Dharamsala to host World T20 India-Pakistan". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ↑ Gollapudi, Nagraj (1 March 2016). "Political tussle clouds India-Pakistan World T20 match". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
- ↑ "India-Pakistan game moved to Kolkata". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
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Coordinates: 32°11′52″N 76°19′34″E / 32.197672°N 76.325997°E