3 most iconic ODIs hosted by Eden Gardens, venue of 2023 World Cup semifinal

The BCCI and ICC recently announced the schedule for the 50-over World Cup in India, confirming that the tournament will kick off on October 5 and the final will be played on November 19.

As per the official schedule, a total of 48 matches will be played across 10 venues in India with 10 teams participating in the tournament. Eden Gardens at Kolkata will host five games, including one of the semi-finals which will be played on November 16.

It will also host two high-octane encounters with India playing South Africa on November 5 and England playing Pakistan on November 12. One of the oldest stadiums in the country, the Eden Gardens has a rich heritage of some classic encounters being played at the venue.

On that note, we take a look at three iconic ODIs hosted by Eden Gardens, a venue for the World Cup 2023 semi-finals.

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#1 Australia vs England, World Cup Final 1987

In this humdinger of a game at Eden Gardens, Australia managed to win their first World Cup title after getting the better of England. Batting first, David Boon led the way with a well-constructed knock of 75 to carry Allan Border's side to a total of 253/5.

In reply, Bill Athey, Mike Gatting, and Allan Lamb put England in the driver's seat during the chase, cruising comfortably at 170 for 3 at one stage. However, the Australians fought back courtesy of breakthroughs from Allan Border and Steve Waugh, clinching an enthralling seven-run win in the end.

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#2 India vs South Africa, Hero Cup 1993

In the semi-finals of the Hero Cup in 1993, India managed to eke out a crucial victory in an absolute thriller at Eden Gardens. Mohammad Azharuddin, with his 90, and a 45 from Pravin Amre helped India to somehow to get to 195.

Despite a half-century from Andrew Hudson to give the Proteas a steady start, they collapsed in the middle overs, losing four wickets for 39 runs. They managed to tick along with Brian McMillan and with six runs needed off the final over, Azharuddin threw a curveball to hand Sachin Tendulkar the ball.

The little master delivered on that gamble, eventually helping India win by three runs.

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#3 India vs Sri Lanka, 2014

This might not be a classical thrilling encounter, but it is certainly one of the most iconic games played at Eden Gardens. In this one-sided contest between India and Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma broke the record for the most runs in an ODI innings by any batter, dismantling the Sri Lankan bowling unit.

He clobbered his way to 264 in 173 balls, hitting 33 fours and nine sixes in his knock. That helped India post a total of 404/5, and eventually win the game by a margin of 153 runs. Needless to say, the current Indian captain earned the Player of the Match award for his performance at one of his favorite grounds.