Established in 1883, the Feroz Shah Kotla - run by the politicised Delhi District Cricket Association (DDCA) - is undergoing its latest facelift - one that began over two years ago. Work has progressed so slowly that the last one-dayer of the 2004-05 India-Pakistan series was nearly played at another venue. Only a last-gasp push to complete the construction - as well as political presure - resulted in a game here, amid unfinished pillars shooting into the sky and stands where construction work was concealed under tarpaulin. But the smallish ground has witnessed a number of feats, most notably Anil Kumble's 10 in an innings against Pakistan.
The Kotla staged its first Test in the 1948-49 season when the mighty West Indies under John Goddard took on India for a five Test series and the ground has produced some really good performances. In the 1952 Test against Pakistan, Hemu Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed were involved in a record tenth wicket stand of 109 runs - a record that still stands. In 1965, S Venkataraghavan, in his debut series, demolished the New Zealand line up with figures of 8 for 72 and 4 for 80. In 1969-70, Bedi and Prasanna combined to spin India to a famous seven wicket win over Australia, the duo picking 18 wickets between themselves. England's John Lever had a memorable debut at the Kotla in 1976, when he notched up a half-century and had match figures of 10 for 70. Five years later, Geoff Boycott surpassed Gary Sobers' world record Test aggregate. In 1983-84, Sunil Gavaskar scored his 29th century to equal Don Bradman's long standing record for the highest number of hundreds in Test cricket.