Venue Description:

One of the biggest sporting centres, Kolkata's Eden Garden holds a special place of interest in the history of Indian cricket. Capable of holding more than one lakh people at one stage, the capacity has now been reduced to a little more than 66,000 after the stadium underwent renovation before the 2011 World Cup.

Referred as "Cricket's answer to the Colosseum," the Eden Gardens, the largest cricket stadium in India, has hosted many prominent matches. The Eden Gardens crowd simply loves their sport. The first World Cup final outside Lord's was at this majestic venue. Anil Kumble's 6/12 against West Indies in the final of the 1993 Hero Cup was on this hallowed turf.

Sachin Tendulkar's famous run-out during the Asian Test Championship match against Pakistan, resulted in Kolkata's mob fury in action once again - the match was eventually finished in front of empty stands. This wasn't the first time though - not to forget the previous instance, when India slumped to 120/8, chasing 252 against Sri Lanka in the semi-final of the 1996 World Cup.

There have been happier times as well. The 376-run stand between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid during the famous 2001 Test series against Australia, which inspired a famous Indian victory, came here. Rohit Sharma's belligerent ODI world record, a 173-ball 264, against Sri Lanka, in Nov 2014, also came on this famous ground.

The stadium hosted its first Test in 1934, with India hosting England. While the Test match came early, it had to wait until 1987 to host its first ODI, against Pakistan. While the stadium is synonymous with cricket, until 1984, it was also used as a football venue, with several of prominent derbies being held over the maidan.

How does the pitch play?

The Eden Gardens track is considered as one of the better batting surfaces although spinners tend to come into action as the match wears on. Spinners have enjoyed bowling here in IPL games as well.

Stats and Trivia

The highest ODI score by any batsman was made on this ground. Rohit Sharma smashed 264 against Sri Lanka in November, 2014

Eden Gardens has hosted as many as 39 Tests - the most by any venue in India.

by Pradeep Krishnamurthy