The Eden Gardens Stadium located in Kolkata, is one of the oldest and largest cricket stadiums in India. Fans also call this stadium “home of Indian cricket” because it has hosted major international competitions, including World Cups and World Twenty20 matches. One of the memorable events cricket fans witnessed was the Semi-Final match between India and Sri Lanka during the 1996 Cricket World Cup. The attendance during the match was huge, around 110,000. Here in this article let us take a look at more such facts about Eden Gardens.
Overview
The Eden Gardens Stadium was built over 160 years ago currently it has a capacity of 68,000 but before the 2010 renovation, it had a huge capacity of over one lakh. There’s a plan for its expansion to increase the capacity. Here are some basic details about the stadium:
| Location | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Establishment | 1864 |
| Capacity | 68,000 |
| Field shape | Circular |
| Surface | Grass |
| Owner | Eastern Command of the Indian Army |
International Matches
Here are the first and last matches of different forms of cricket matches that have been organized in Eden Gardens Stadium:
| Format | Date | Teams |
| First Test | 5–8 January 1934 | India vs. England |
| Last Test | 22–24 November 2019 | India vs. Bangladesh |
| First ODI | 18 February 1987 | India vs. Pakistan |
| Last ODI | 16 November 2023 | Australia vs. South Africa |
| First T20I | 29 October 2011 | India vs. England |
| Last T20I | 20 February 2022 | India vs. West Indies |
| First WODI | 1 January 1978 | India vs. England |
| Last WODI | 9 December 2005 | India vs. England |
| Only WT20I | 3 April 2016 | Australia vs. West Indies |
Records in this stadium in international cricket:
Test
- Most Runs: V.V.S. Laxman (1217 runs)
- Most Wickets: Harbhajan Singh (46 wickets)
One Day International
- Most Runs: Sachin Tendulkar (496 runs)
- Most Wickets: Anil Kumble (14 wickets)
Domestic Cricket
Apart from international cricket matches, domestic matches are regularly held here on this ground. Eden Gardens is famous as a cricket ground but it also hosts other events, for example, it also hosts football matches and one of its tenants is the Indian national football team.
It is the home ground of these cricket teams: Kolkata Knight Riders, Bengal cricket team, and Bengal women’s cricket team. The stadium usually witnesses the most crowd during the Indian Premier League where the Kolkata Knight Riders call it their home. Here you can see the IPL stats:
| Matches Played | 86 |
| Teams Won Batting First | 35 |
| Teams Won Chasing | 51 |
| Average First Innings Score | 160 |
| Highest Team Total | 235 |
| Highest Total Chased | 188 |
Pitch Report
The pitch of the Eden Gardens Stadium offers a balanced surface for both batsmen and bowlers in all formats of cricket. In T20Is and IPL matches, we often see high-scoring games. Overall it is considered to be a batting pitch, however, it provides assistance for fast bowlers early in the match and spinners shine later. In longer formats, the pitch helps fast bowlers while spinners get fewer opportunities. In night matches, dew can play a crucial role and may favor the chasing teams.
History
The Eden Gardens Cricket Stadium was established in 1864, and unlike many other famous stadiums, it was never renamed. Its intact name holds a little confusion about its origin, some believe it was named after the Eden sisters, Emily and Fanny, who were relatives of Lord Auckland while others associate it with the local folklore about Babu Rajchandra Das who was a prominent zamindar (landlord) of Kolkata in those days.
Over the past 160 years, Eden Gardens has hosted numerous historic cricket matches. The first international match it hosted was a Test game in 1934 between England and India. Around 53 years later in 1987, it hosted the first ODI match that was played between India and Pakistan. The first T20I was not played here until 2011.
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