Wankhede Stadium

Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Opening: 1974

Capacity: 55000

National Team: India National Cricket Team

Domestic team: Mumbai cricket team

Domestic team: Mumbai Indians

Review of Wankhede Stadium

At the moment, Wankhede Stadium is one of the largest and most famous cricket stadiums in India. It is located in Mumbai and can accommodate up to 33,500 people at the same time. The Mumbai Cricket Association operates the ground; the Mumbai cricket team plays home matches here. We tell you about the construction and history of this stadium, its features and records.

Wankhede Stadium: the creation and history of the club

Mumbai has been the cricket capital of India since the beginning of the last century. International matches were held at Brabourne Stadium and Bombay Gymkhana. The reason for the construction of another stadium was a conflict between the Mumbai Cricket Association and the Cricket Club of India, which concerned the distribution and sale of tickets for matches. The inability to reach an agreement forced the Mumbai Cricket Association to start building a new stadium, even though there were already cricket grounds in the city.

Wankhede Stadium was built in 1974 in just six months and initially could accommodate up to 45,000 spectators (the capacity decreased after reconstruction for the stadium to become suitable for hosting major international matches and meet the requirements of the ICCC).

The stadium was named after Seshrao Krishnarao Wankhede, a politician and the head of the Mumbai Cricket Association. Now it is one of the most prestigious cricket grounds in India. There are only seven stands here, three of which bear the names of great Indian cricketers: Sachin Tendulkar, Sunil Gavaskar and Vijay Merchant. The stadium also has a grandstand named after Vithal Divecha, an administrator in the field of cricket.

The new venue, due to its size and large capacity, quickly became popular. Wankhede Stadium has experienced two stages of restoration during its existence:

• In 1996, when floodlights were installed, allowing matches to be held at night and in the evening.
• In 2010-2011, when the stadium was preparing to host World Cup matches. After this reconstruction, the capacity of the stadium was reduced to the current size – 33,500 spectators.

Now international matches in Test cricket, ODI and T20 are held here.

Significant events in the history of the stadium

Although Wankhede Stadium is relatively new, international and Indian cricket history has already begun to be written here. For example, such famous players as Sunil Gavaskar, Ravi Shastri, as well as many other star cricketers took to the field here.

• This venue became famous after India met with the West Indies in an international Test cricket match. It happened in the 1974-75 season, Clive Lloyd scored 242 points (still the current record for this stadium), and the Indians lost. Riots marred the game: one of the fans ran onto the field to greet Clive Lloyd but was rather harshly detained by the police.
• The first victory at this stadium was won by the Indian team in the 1976-1977 season in a match against New Zealand.
• Vinod Kambli scored a record number of points for a cricketer from India at Wankhede Stadium (224). This result was achieved during a test match against England in the 1992-93 season.
• The first place in the Best Bowling rating (Innings and Matches) at this stadium is occupied by Englishman Ian Botham (7/48 and 13/106, respectively). These results were achieved during the match India v England 1979-1980. Harbhajan Singh shares the first place in the Best Bowling (Innings) rating with Ian Botham.
• The stadium hosted such significant competitions as the final of the ICC World Cup 2011 and the semi-final of the ICC Twenty20 Cricket World Cup 2016.
• The final of the ICC World Cup 2011, for which the stadium was restored, ended with the victory of the Indian team; the opponent was Sri Lanka.
• At the moment, the Indian national team has played 33 matches at this stadium, won 15, drew 8, lost 10.

Wankhede Stadium is located near St. Thomas Cathedral, the first Anglican church in Mumbai, and close to the ‘Gateway of India’ – an arch built at the beginning of the last century that is one of the most interesting sights of Mumbai. Even though this venue does not have such a flair of romance as, for example, Eden Gardens, which has already become legendary, Wankhede Stadium occupies an important place in the culture of the game of cricket, which has existed in India for many years. This stadium is one of the symbols of Mumbai at the moment.