On October 23, India will begin its T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground and, for the next couple of hours, the 1,00,000 capacity stadium, arguably one of the greatest sporting venues in the world, will transform into a coliseum where every action of the players will be under intense scrutiny and every incident in the game will have the potential to be turned into a story that will be narrated for generations to come.
Any match between these two sides, irrespective of the stadium in which it is being played, ends up becoming a great occasion for lovers of cricket all over the world. The tickets of the match to be played on October 23 were sold out “within minutes” and this is despite the MCG being one of the largest stadiums in the world.
Speaking exclusively to HT Brunch, veteran cricket journalist Ayaz Memon went back in time for a look at 10 iconic cricket stadiums across the world, each one a place where the greatest matches between India and Pakistan have been played (or should have been played).
1. Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG):
The MCG was where India beat Pakistan in the 1985 Benson and Hedges World Championship Final to re-establish their position as the champions of world cricket. “Prior to that game, many nations looked upon India as a ‘one-time wonder’ after their 1983 ODI World Cup win. After winning this tournament then, India skipper Kapil Dev famously said, ‘We have done it twice. So, no one can say it was a fluke again.’” remembers Ayaz.
The World Championship Final win enhanced India’s status in the cricketing world, particularly after their wins in the 1983 World Cup and 1984 Asia Cup. In this three-year period, India had beaten all the big teams in world cricket and shown that they were a force to reckon with.
{{/usCountry}}The World Championship Final win enhanced India’s status in the cricketing world, particularly after their wins in the 1983 World Cup and 1984 Asia Cup. In this three-year period, India had beaten all the big teams in world cricket and shown that they were a force to reckon with.
{{/usCountry}}2. The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg:
This venue in South Africa was where the final of the inaugural T20 World Cup was played in 2007. The match was iconic due to the fact that India played against Pakistan. In the final over, Pakistan skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, requiring just six runs off four balls to win, mistimed a scoop shot off Joginder Sharma that was caught by Sreesanth at short fine-leg, making a nation of a billion people erupt with joy. “The T20 format became a global phenomenon after this event. In the wake of this tournament came the Indian Premier League in 2008,” says Ayaz.
3. Sharjah Cricket Stadium, UAE:
This stadium was built in 1982 with a capacity of 16,000, primarily to host India vs Pakistan encounters and bring Mediterranean offshore success to the cricketing world. The plan worked wonders and as many as 28 ODI matches—the most at any venue between these two teams—have been held here between 1984 and 2018. “Unfortunately for India, the Sharjah ground is one of the few places where they have a poor record against Pakistan, having won just nine of the 28 matches,” says Ayaz. “However, some iconic games have been played at this ground, including the 1996 match in which Sachin Tendulkar scored 118 (140), the first time in limited-overs cricket that Team India scored over 300 runs (305/5).”
4. IS Bindra Stadium, Mohali:
This 27,000 capacity stadium just outside Chandigarh featured one of the most memorable cricket matches for Indian fans when India took on Pakistan in the semi-final of the 2011 ODI World Cup. With India as the hosts of the tournament, the expectation from the home team was sky high. Add to it a tense India-Pakistan affair with the Prime Ministers of both the nations—India’s Manmohan Singh and Pakistan’s Yousaf Raza Gilani—sitting in the VIP box and cheering for their respective teams.
“India won the match by 29 runs, but what every Indian fan remembers from this game, and celebrates, is the fact that Pakistan’s fielders dropped Indian maestro Sachin Tendulkar four times, dropping along with that their chances of advancing to the final,” reminisces Ayaz.
5. Old Trafford, Manchester:
“An India vs Pakistan match is incredibly interesting at any venue in England because the occasion seems like a ‘home game’ for both the teams,” Ayaz observes. “The stadium is filled with blue and green jerseys.”
At the 26,000 capacity historical ground at Old Trafford during the 2019 ODI World Cup, Rohit Sharma toyed with the Pakistan bowling line-up and hit 140 off 113 balls, earning India an 89-run win by the D/L Method.
6. SuperSport Park Stadium, Centurion:
“One of the greatest chapters of an Indo-Pak cricket rivalry was written at this ground during the 2003 ODI World Cup,” says Ayaz. “The mood and the atmosphere here on March 1 that year was unparalleled, exceeding even the atmosphere at Sharjah during an Indo-Pak clash.”
Sachin Tendulkar played a memorable innings of 98 runs off 75 balls and the way he went after a fantastic Pakistani bowling line-up consisting of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shoaib Akhtar took the crowd by surprise.
7. The Oval, London:
This was the venue of the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy Final between India and Pakistan. The 23,500 capacity stadium may not be big by modern standards, but it is one of the oldest in the world, established in 1845. The result of the match, however, broke the hearts of Indian fans as this was the first time that Pakistan beat India in the final of an ICC tournament. The highlight of the game was a magnificent century by the then newcomer Fakhar Zaman, whose whirlwind 114 (106) took the game away from India.
8. Eden Gardens, Kolkata:
The Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata is called the ‘Mecca of Indian Cricket’ for reasons that are obvious whenever a cricket match is held at this majestic 80,000 capacity stadium. Before its renovation for the 2011 World Cup, crowds in excess of one lakh could be seen here when India played a match.
“A packed Eden Gardens is a sight to behold,” says Ayaz. “In the 1987 World Cup, the final was to be played in Kolkata and it was expected to be an India vs Pakistan clash. But in the semi-final in Lahore between Australia and Pakistan, the hosts, who were the favourites, were defeated by the Allan Border-led side, and the following day in Mumbai, England defeated Mumbai. But even though the final was not an India-Pakistan match, Eden Gardens was absolutely packed when Australia defeated England to lift their maiden World Cup title.”
9. Queens Park Oval, Port of Spain:
This quaint 25,000 capacity stadium in the picturesque Trinidad and Tobago islands of the West Indies, the home ground of the legendary Brian Lara, should have had an India vs Pakistan clash in the 2007 ODI World Cup. However, a shock exit for both India and Pakistan in the group stages of the tournament meant that it wasn’t to be.
“But this is a historic venue that is particularly dear to Indian cricket fans as it was where India defeated the mighty West Indies in Test cricket for the first time in 1971. They managed to do this on their 25th attempt,” says Ayaz. “This match was also the legendary Sunil Gavaskar’s Test debut and he hit a half-century in both the innings.”
10. Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai:
The Shiv Sena’s staunch stand against the Pakistan cricket team has meant that not many India vs Pakistan games have been held at Wankhede. In fact, in October 1991, Shiv Sainiks dug up the Wankhede pitch and the entire series between the two countries had to be cancelled. The two teams have played each other at this venue just once: a Test match in December 1979, which India won by 131 runs.
As a Mumbaikar, Ayaz has fond memories of the Wankhede Stadium. “Who can forget Dhoni hitting the majestic six and India winning the 2011 World Cup after 28 years?” he asks. He also has fond memories of the other stadium in Mumbai—the Brabourne Stadium—where, as an eight-year-old, he watched his first live match between India and Australia. India, led by MAK Pataudi, won the game by two wickets.
From HT Brunch, October 22, 2022
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