World Cup 2023 Venues

The hallowed turf of Eden Gardens is located in the heart of Kolkata, West Bengal in India. Also known as the home of Indian cricket, it is the country's oldest stadium and also, the largest in terms of capacity. It can now accommodate around 68,000 people since it's renovation before the 2011 World Cup. Sometimes, the stadium has also been used for football but the main purpose is cricket. It's the ground in India that has hosted the most number of international cricket matches. The first ever match played at the Eden Gardens was in January 1934 when India took on England in a Test match. Some of the more famous matches held so far are the 1987 World Cup final, when it became only the second venue to host the WC final. It also played host to the 1996 WC semi-final as well as the final of the T20 World Cup in 2016 which West Indies lifted after an incredible assault in the final over that saw Carlos 'Remember the name' Brathwaite smash 4 sixes in 4 balls off Ben Stokes.

The most famous cricketer whose home ground Eden Gardens is will definitely be Sourav Ganguly. The left-hander was one of India's most successful captains as well as one of the best limited-overs openers. He has a stand named after him in the stadium as well. A special fact about the ground is that it is owned by the Indian Army. A game that will deserve special mention here will be the massive heist India performed on the Aussies in a Test in 2001 to win a game after being forced to follow-on due to the heroics of Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman with the bat and Harbhajan Singh with the ball. More recently, Rohit Sharma recorded the highest ever score in a One-Day International game with his incredible 264 against Sri Lanka in 2014. The ground also plays hosts to the Bengal Ranji team and the Kolkata franchise in the Indian T20 League.

The Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in New Delhi is the second oldest functional cricket stadium in India after the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It is managed and controlled by the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA). The first ever Test match played there was between India and West Indies in 1948. Since then it has been a solid venue for international cricket and has seen a lot of records being created on its hallowed turf. It is also home to the Delhi Ranji team and Delhi Capitals in the Indian Twenty20 League.

Some of the famous records that have been created at Feroz Shah Kotla would be the 10-wicket haul in a single Test innings by Anil Kumble against Pakistan in 1999. The ground has also been one which has seen Sunil Gavaskar equal Don Bradman's tally of 29 Test centuries in 1983 and then saw the former's record of 34 Test centuries be broken by fellow Mumbaikar, Sachin Tendulkar when he scored his 35th against Sri Lanka in 2005.

The Kotla had also come under some criticism in 2009 when an ODI between India and Sri Lanka had to abandoned mid-way due to the pitch being deemed unfit. Following that, the pitch report from the referee to the ICC resulted in the ground being banned from hosting international cricket for 12 months. The Kotla, returned to international cricket in 2011 when it hosted matches of the 50-over World Cup. As of now, it remains one of the most successful hunting grounds for the Indian cricket team in Tests as they are unbeaten for more than 31 years here.

M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru is one of the stadiums with the best and state-of-the-art facilities in India. It is located in the heart of the city and is named after the former president of BCCI, Mangalam Chinnaswamy. The stadium has a capacity of around 40,000 and plays home to the Karnataka state Ranji team and the Bangalore Franchise in the Indian Twenty20 League, other than the Indian national team, of course. The ground's ownership rests in the hand of the state government who have leased it out to the KSCA.

The stadium boasts of being the first stadium to use solar energy and produce electricity, a part of the 'Go Green' initiative. The first ever Test played here was in 1974 and is famous because it was also the debut match for legendary players like Sir Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge. The World Cup quarter-final between India and Pakistan in 1996 was played here and it was also the first match under lights at this ground.

Chinnaswamy also houses the National Cricket Academy where young talent in the country is spotted and honed. It is home to many famous Indian cricketers, the biggest of whom will be GR Viswanath, Erapalli Prasanna, Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble. The small boundaries at the venue ensure high totals and lots of excitement for the general public in the limited over games. Some of the famous games are firstly - the tied World Cup game between India and England in 2011 where both teams ended up making 338, then the nail-biting match between India and Bangladesh in the 2016 WT20 which the hosts won by 1 run.

This venue also saw Rohit Sharma make his first-ever double hundred in ODIs against Australia in 2013. A high-scoring ground and lots of excitement for the crowd - that will be the best way to describe this stadium. In fact, the highest score recorded in the history of T20 cricket (263/5) has come at this very ground when Chris Gayle smashed a 175 (highest individual T20 score) against the now-defunct Pune franchise in the Indian T20 league.

M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai is one of the most cricket-crazy venues in India. It was formerly known as Madras Cricket Club but then renamed after the former President of the BCCI, M.A.Chidambaram. The stadium plays hosts to the Tamil Nadu cricket team in the domestic circuit and the Chennai franchise in the Indian T20 league, other than of course being a host to the national team's games.

The ground saw its first Test being played in 1934 between India and England. Chidambaram stadium is also famous for being the ground where India recorded their first ever Test victory in 1952 over England. The ground also was the host of the first-ever Ranji Trophy game in 1936 when Madras played Mysore. Another famous event that occurred here was a tied Test match between India and Australia in 1986, only the second-ever tied Test in the history of the game, also known for Dean Jones' incredible 210. The ground also played host to the famous bowling spell of Narendra Hirwani, who finished with the best match analysis by a bowler on Test debut, claiming 16 for 136.

The crowd at the Chepauk is known to be a very knowledgeable and sporting one, so much so as to giving standing ovation to Saeed Anwar of Pakistan when he recorded the then highest score in ODIs of 194 in 1997. A Test match against England in 2016 saw young Karun Nair becoming only the 2nd Indian ever to score a triple century. The previous man, Virender Sehwag who has two to his name had also scored his highest score in Tests, 319 at this very venue against South Africa in 2008.

The Narendra Modi Stadium is built on the banks of the Sabarmati River on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. Earlier, the stadium was known as the Sardar Patel Stadium. The stadium was built in a span of only nine months on a 50-acre land donated by the Gujarat government. It is owned by the Gujarat Cricket Association. Prior to that, all the international cricket matches were played at Ahmedabad’s Municipal Corporation Stadium. It had the capacity of housing 49,000 fans. The stadium hosted its first international Test match on November 12, 1983 between India and West Indies. In 2006, the ground was renovated ahead of the Champions Trophy.

The Motera Stadium has witnessed some memorable feats achieved in the history of cricket - Sunil Gavaskar became the first-ever cricketer to achieve 10,000 runs in Test cricket at this very venue and Kapil Dev also claimed his 432nd Test wicket surpassing Sir Richard Hadlee’s record here. In the 2011 ICC World Cup, India defeated Australia at this stadium in the quarter-finals and two years later, Sachin Tendulkar became the first batsman to score 30,000 runs in international cricket.

Motera Stadium was a regular venue for Test and limited-overs cricket but in 2015, the GCA decided to reconstruct the stadium and make it the largest Cricket Stadium in the world. It was reconstructed with an estimated cost of 8 billion. The redevelopment task got completed after five years and now has the capacity to accommodate 1.3 lakh cricket fans surpassing Melbourne Cricket Ground which holds the capacity of 90,000 fans. When it comes to infrastructure, the stadium is spread across 63 acres and has 4 entry points. The field size of the stadium is 180 yards x 150 yards. It has four dressing rooms and six indoor practice pitches along with state-of-the-art floodlights and covered stands. The stadium offers the audience a 360-degree unobstructed view of the field enhancing the viewing experience for the fans.

The pitch was a bowler-friendly track in its early days but lost its spice and started becoming slower as the years passed by. In 2021, during the India vs England Test series, the pitch was heavily criticized as the third Test between the sides got wrapped up inside two days which saw England suffer a crushing defeat by 10 wickets. ICC soon intervened and looked into the incident and rated the pitch as ‘average’.

In February 2021, the stadium got renamed as the ‘Narendra Modi Stadium’ in honor of the current prime minister of India. The stadium also hosted its first pink-ball Test match between India and England in that year.

Formerly named after its contractors, Visaka Industries, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad was established in 2004. It is home to the Hyderabad Cricket Association and is operated from the Pavilion End and North End. The ground has a capacity of 55,000 and extends across 16 acres of land. HCA's previous home ground – the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium was owned by the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh, due to which the HCA had limited control over it and thus, the need to build their own stadium was felt. The name was changed from the old one to the present, in memory of former Indian PM, Rajiv Gandhi.

But, even before the ground could host its maiden first-class match, it was declared unfit to host a big game. The stadium has been surrounded by controversies, initially because of its name and later, due to its size. It soon came to be known as a high-scoring ground due to its smaller size and hence, it was considered inappropriate to host big matches. Later, changes took place and the ground became fully ready by 2008, with floodlights installed. It hosted the Deccan Chargers in the first edition of the IPL, but unfortunately for the team, they did not win a single game on their home ground until 2011.

Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. There cannot be enough said about this ground. The Eden Gardens is no doubt the oldest stadium in India but the cricketing cauldron of the country lies in the city of Mumbai. The stadium came into existence due to disputes between the CCI and the MCA, two cricketing bodies that have their offices in the city. The CCI-owned Brabourne Stadium was the main venue till then and some issues with MCA caused S.K.Wankhede, the secretary of the latter and also a politician to build a brand-new stadium.

It was made in 1975 and hosted its first Test the same year against the Windies. Since then, the Wankhede stadium has been the main cricketing venue in the city. It plays hosts to the Indian cricket team, the Mumbai Ranji team and the Mumbai franchise in the Indian Twenty20 league. The ground underwent reconstruction before the 2011 World Cup and was then made ready to host the final of the mega-event. The renovation was done for the breeze to be able to flow freely across the stadium and also for the viewers to watch the game without hindrances. The ground has seen a number of brilliant games being played here, international and domestic.

The most important game held so far will have to be the 2011 World Cup final when India lifted the trophy after 28 years. It's home to two of the biggest names, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, and the latter also played his 200th Test and final international game at the same venue. With a capacity of around 33, 000 and a closed amphitheatre-type formation, it gets really loud at times. Short boundaries and a true pitch more often than not promise a good game. As of now, it has hosted more than 50 international games and there is no reason why the ground will not go on to host more.

Giving competition to internationally acknowledged beautiful stadiums like the Adelaide Oval, Newlands of South Africa, Queenstown Events Centre of New Zealand is not a small task, and the picturesque ground in Dharamsala remains on par for the title of the most beautiful cricket stadium in the world. Built with an initial cost of 35 crore rupees, Dharamsala is layered with a snow-capped Dauladhar hill-range as a fitting scenic back-drop. Not only it adds to the beauty equation, it is touted as one of the best cricket stadiums in the whole of India. The stands in Dharamsala are situated at a low level with an open view, which enables a superb view for the spectators and assists the bowlers to get wind assistance for seam bowling. Hence, most of the captains winning the toss at this ground, chooses to field first in to make use of the swinging conditions.

The first match played at this stadium was a tour game between India Board President's XI and Pakistan in the year, 2005.The issue with the stadium is that it's located quite far from public transport, with the nearest being Chandigarh Airport, which is stationed 250 km away. During harsh cold times, most of the matches have to be called off here due to snowfall and low temperatures.

The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, also known as the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium is situated in Pune and boasts of a 55,000 seating capacity. It is home to the state team of Maharashtra and also acts as headquarters for the Maharashtra Cricket Association. The ground hosted its first IPL game in 2012, when the home team Pune Warriors India took on Kings XI Punjab. Later, it also hosted its maiden international game, when India played England in a T20I.

Formerly known as Ekana Cricket Stadium, in 2018, the state government decided to rename it in honour of the former Indian Prime Minister, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

This stadium was commissioned in the year 2014 and hosted its first international match four years later. Before that, it had played host to the final of the 2017-18 Duleep Trophy. Situated in the beautiful city of Lucknow, a place known for its manners, poetry, music and delicious cuisines, this stadium has a seating capacity of more than 50,000 spectators.

In 2018, the doors of international cricket opened for the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium when India hosted West Indies in a T20I match. That game was a special one as the home team not only outclassed the Men in Maroon but also witnessed the fourth T20I century from the bat of Rohit Sharma, who became the first cricketer to achieve this feat in this notorious format.

In the Indian T20 League, Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium acts as the home ground for the Lucknow franchise, and it has also offered its services to the Afghanistan national team by allowing them to host a few of their international games.

This venue has witnessed quite a few international games across formats and is picked to host five games of the ICC Cricket World Cup, 2023, which includes a blockbuster clash between India and England.