Sardar Patel Stadium to host 7 matches in England’s tour of India: Know all about the biggest cricket stadium in the world

The schedule for England’s tour of India was announced today with 4 Tests, 5 T20Is and 3 ODIs to be held across just three venues due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The three venues are Chennai, Ahmedabad and Pune. Chennai will host the first 2 tests and Pune will host all 3 ODIs. The remaining 2 Tests and all the 5 T20Is will be played at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad. The first of the two Tests at Ahmedabad and the 3rd match in the series will be a Day-Night pink ball Test.

The Sardar Patel stadium hasn’t hosted a single match since 2014. This is because it was demolished and reconstructed from 2015 to 2020. Thanks to the reconstruction, the stadium now has a capacity of 1,10,000 making it the largest cricket stadium in the world.

History of the Sardar Patel Stadium

The Sardar Patel Stadium also known as the Motera Stadium is among the most popular stadiums in India. It has hosted at least one match in every Cricket World Cup which has been held in India. Constructed in 1983, the stadium was named after Sardar Vallabhai Patel.

Some of the notable events at the stadium include Sunil Gavaskar crossing 10,000 Test match runs, Kapil Dev picking up a 9-wicket haul against the West Indies, Sachin Tendulkar crossing 30,000 international runs and 18,000 ODI runs (in different matches). India’s win against Australia in the 2011 World Cup quarter-final also came at this venue.

Following the reconstruction work, the stadium was opened for the first time in February 2020 for the grand ‘Namaste Trump’ event which was the first visit of American President Donald Trump and his family. An attendance in excess of 1,00,000 people was reported at the event.

The stadium is historically known to offer bowler-friendly and slow pitches. However, following the demolition and reconstruction, one never knowns what the stadium has in store. Batsman-friendly or bowler-friendly, one thing is for certain: the day-night Test at the Sardar Patel Stadium will be a spectacle and so will the rest of the matches.

Also Read: Full schedule for England tour of India