Thursday, March 31, 2011

Wankhede Stadium Mumbai


General Information About Wankhede Stadium Mumbai:

* Location: D Road, Churchgate, Mumbai
* Established: 1974
* Seating Capacity: 45,000
* Floodlights: Yes
* Specialty:International Cricket Matches
* End Names: Garware Pavilion End, Tata End
* Home Team: Mumbai
* Owner: Mumbai Cricket Association
* First Test: India vs. West Indies – Jan 23-29, 1975
* First ODI: India vs. Sri Lanka – Jan 17, 1987
* First Match Played: January 23, 1975 – West Indies beat India by 201 runs
* Last Match Played: March 18, 2006 – England beat India by 212 runs
* Matches Played: 21
* Matches Tied: 0
* No Result: 6
* Most Successful Team: India
* Wins by Team Batting First: 10
* Wins by Team Batting Second: 5
* Most Prolific Batsman: Sunil Gavaskar (1122 Runs)
* Highest Individual Score: 242 by Clive Lloyd
* Most Prolific Bowler: Anil Kumble (38 Wickets)
* Best Bowling Analysis: 7/48 by Harbhajan Singh

More Information About Wankhede Stadium Mumbai:

Wankhede Stadium is the largest cricket stadium in Mumbai. Wankhade Stadium was the outcome of some disputes over ticket allocations that arose between the Cricket Club of India, the owner of Brabourne Stadium and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA). In 1973, after the Test between India and England, the dispute became severe and at the initiative of S.K. Wankhede, a politician and the Secretary of MCA, a new stadium was built near the Churchgate in South Mumbai. Wankhede Stadium got test status in 1974, when it hosted a match between India and the touring West Indies. It is the largest cricket stadium in Mumbai. Wankhede Stadium was born out the dispute between Cricket Club of India and Bombay Cricket Association. Wankhede Stadium has seen some wonderful display of both batting and bowling. It was here that Sunil Gavaskar made his fighting 205 against the fearsome West Indian bowling attack in 1978-79 series. In 1980 Ian Botham won the admiration of the fans in Wankhede Stadium by his wonderful display with a century and three wickets. Also an integral part of these wonderful memories is Ravi Shastri six sixes in first class cricket. Today, Wankhede Stadium has taken over Brabourne Stadium in all respect; with a whopping sitting capacity of 45,000 audiences the stadium offers a top-end cricketing spectacle. Wankhede Stadium is a cricket stadium that was established in 1975. Nobody knew that a dispute between the Cricket Club of India (CCI) and Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) would result into the largest cricket stadium in Mumbai. In 1973, a dispute over ticket allocations cropped up, after the test match between India and England. It became so severe that S.K. Wankhede (a politician and the Secretary of MCA) instantly took the decision of making a new stadium at Churchgate in South Mumbai (or Bombay). One of the two major cricket grounds in the city of Mumbai, Wankhede stadium was established in 1974, in a record time of 6 months. It is barely a few kilometers away from Brabourne stadium, the next cricketing venue in Mumbai. Before the establishment of Wankhede stadium, Brabourne stadium used to host all the Test matches allocated to Mumbai. The Bombay Cricket Association had a dispute with the authorities (the Cricket Club of India) of Brabourne stadium. Consequently, it decided to build its own stadium, which is now called Wankhede stadium. In the present time, Wankhede stadium is the venue for a number of important Test and ODI matches. Read on to know more about the stadium. Wankhede stadium has been hosting international cricket matches since 1975, the first being the Test in the 1974-75 season, when the West Indies toured India. Since then, it has taken over from Brabourne as the main cricketing venue in the city. In 1995, Wankhade stadium underwent an up-gradation drive, during which, floodlights were installed to provide excellent lighting for the day and night cricket matches hosted by it. The stadium holds a special place, because no other India cricketing venues have produced as many legendary cricketers as the Wankhede stadium has. Wankhede stadium has seen some classic sports and it has been witness to great innings like Gavaskar’s 205 against the Windies and Kallicharan’s 187 in the same game in the 1978-79 series. It was the same ground where all round heroics like Ian Botham’s century and thirteen wickets in the Jubilee Test unleashed complete mania in 1980 when England won by ten wickets. The highest score by an Indian at Wankhede remains Vinod Kambli’s 224 against England in 1992-93 in only his third Test. Incidentally Ravi Shastri’s six sixes in an over off Baroda’s Tilak Raj en route to the fastest double-hundred in first-class cricket was on this ground in 1984-85. Mumbai, the cricket capital of India, has seen Test matches played at three different grounds. The Bombay Gymkhana ground hosted the first ever Test in India, in 1933-34 against England. After WW-II, the Cricket Club of India’s Brabourne Stadium was used for 17 Tests. However, due to a dispute between the CCI and the Bombay Cricket Association, the BCA built the 45000-capacity Wankhede Stadium, less than a mile away from the Brabourne Stadium. It staged its first Test in the 1974-75 season when the Windies toured India. Clive Lloyd scored an unbeaten 242 and in Pataudi’s last hurrah, India lost by 201 runs. The Test also featured a crowd disturbance after a fan who rushed onto the ground to greet Lloyd was treated roughly by the police. India’s first victory here was posted against the New Zealand two seasons later. The stadium has been witness to great innings like Gavaskar’s 205 against the Windies and Kallicharan’s 187 in the same game in the 1978-79 series and all round heroics like Ian Botham’s century and thirteen wickets in the Jubilee Test in 1980. which England won by ten wickets. The highest score by an Indian at Wankhede remains Vinod Kambli’s 224 against England in 1992-93 in only his third Test. Incidentally Ravi Shastri’s six sixes in an over off Baroda’s Tilak Raj en route to the fastest double-hundred in first-class cricket was on this ground in 1984-85. The home ground of Sachin Tendulkar, no other Indian venue has produced as many legendary cricketers as the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai has. Barely a few meters away from the Brabourne Stadium, the Wankhede was constructed in a record 6 months time. Hosting internationals since 1975, the Wankhede Stadium, with a capacity of close to 50,000 has been witness to some epic performances –Ian Botham’s century and 13 wickets in the Jubilee Test in 1980 – the first time anyone had done the double of a century and 10 wickts in the same match – perhaps the stand out moment among many. The Wankhede was also the host to Ravi Shastri equalling Sir Gary Sobers’ feat of six sixes of an over in a First Class match. The stadium, now home to the IPL team Mumbai Indians, will undergo a reconstruction, so as to accommodate many more people for the Final of the 2011 World Cup, which it is scheduled to host. The seaside situation of the Wankhede stadium means that the swing bowlers get a fair amount of assistance during the early part of each day. The pitch has traditionally been full of runs, but it does help the spinners during the last couple of days, and in the last Test played on the ground, against Australia in 2005, the ball spun viciously from early on and this, coupled with low bounce, helped India win in under three days even though almost a whole day was lost to rain. The Wankhede stadium has stands named after famous Mumbai cricketers like Vijay Merchant, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar. The cricket pitch of Wankhade Stadium is bowler’s favorite with spinners having an edge. It has also pace friendly track. Proximity to the sea ensures spin and bounce to the spinners on the ground. In the year 1995, Wankhede Stadium was upgraded to host day and night matches as well. Wankhede Stadium has adequately honored India’s cricket’s legend and hence the main gates to the ground are named after Polly Umrigar and Vinoo Mankad. The stands are named after famous Mumbai cricketers like Vijay Merchant (West stand), Sunil Gavaskar (East stand upper) and Sachin Tendulkar (North stand).

Owing to the proximity to the sea, Wankhede Stadium has ample sea breezes blowing through it; this aids the faster bowlers with early swings. Wankhede Stadium has a wonderful batting pitch and usually produces high scoring matches.When it comes to test matches, the Wankhede generally offers assistance to swing bowlers, during the early part of each day. However, as the Test match progresses, precisely during the fifth day of the match, the stadium becomes a vicious turner, making a fourth innings run-chase extremely difficult for a team. This is probably because of its proximity to the sea. The pitch is largely a spinner and pace friendly track. It offers spin and bounce to spin bowlers and swing to fast bowlers during the day time. This makes the matches more challenging for the team, which is on a run chase. This is the reason why some of the stadium has witnessed some of the most incredible Test innings in the history of cricket. Currently, the stadium is home to IPL team Mumbai Indians. Nowadays, Wankhede Stadium has ousted Brabourne Stadium in all respects. It has become the main cricket venue in the city and always stands in competition to host an international match in India. With a seating capacity of 45,000 spectators, the coliseum tenders a spectacular sight of cricket. The sports ground has been testimony to the great innings, for instance Gavaskar’s 205 and Kallicharan’s 187 in the 1978-79 series. It is the same stadium, which offered the grounds to the laudable events like Ian Botham’s century, thirteen wickets in the Jubilee Test and the win of England by ten wickets in 1980. Vinod Kambli is the highest scorer amongst Indian players, with 224 runs at the stadium, while Ravi Shastri had six sixes in an over on this ground in 1984-85. Its fine cricket pitch has been the favorite of spinners with its pace friendly track. As a fitting tribute to the famous test cricketers from Mumbai, Wankhede Stadium’s stands have been named after Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Merchant. Being close to the sea, the ground proffers spin and bounce to the spinners and swing to fast bowlers. In 1995, Wankhede Stadium was upgraded with lights, to host day and night matches. Subsequently, it made the venue for an India-Australia match in the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The coliseum has been assigned to host the finals of 2011 Cricket World Cup; due to this it would undertake a major renovation. livescore.warofcricket.com provides information on Wankhede Stadium Mumbai and other Grounds around the World.

Records at Wankhede Stadium Mumbai:

* The highest Test total at the Stadium is 604/6 declared by the West Indies against India in the 1974/75 season.
* The lowest Test total at the Stadium is 93, scored by Australia, when it played against India in the 2004/05 season.
* India scored the highest ODI total at the Stadium. The team scored 299/4 against Sri Lanka in the 1986/1987 season.
* Bangladesh scored the lowest ODI total at the Stadium. The team was 115 all out, when it competed with India in the 1998 season.
* Ravi Shastri’s six sixes in an over off Baroda’s Tilak Raj en route to the fastest double-hundred in first-class cricket was on this ground in 1984-85.
* The highest partnership scored at the Wankhede stadium is 298. D.B. Vengsarkar and R.J. Shastri partnered to put the score on the board, for India against Australia in the 1986-87 season.

How to Reach Wankhede Stadium Mumbai:

One can easily reach Wankhede Stadium by boarding buses or trains, or by hiring autos or taxis from the city.This stadium is very near to Churchgate station, just walkable distance of 10 to 15 minutess. But if you are coming from outside India (i.e coming from Mumbai Airport) then the distance is long and need to catch a local train heading towards south of Mumbai (Western Railway) Churchgate Station. Alternately there are options for cool cabs and taxi from Airport.This is one of the most prestigious stadiums of the country. It is located at Mumbai, in Maharashtra. Airway serves as a heavy mode of transport because the Mumbai International Airport lies close to the Stadium. The Church Gate railway station is at around 30 minutes driving distance from the stadium which helps the people visiting here to come by trains. People can also come by buses, cabs and private cars. Board a local or hire a taxi/auto or bus

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