Sardar Patel Stadium is one of the leading cricket stadiums in India, located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. It is generally known as the “Motera Stadium” to avoid confusion with another stadium of the same name in the nearby area of Navrangpura.
It is owned by the Gujarat Cricket Association and is currently undergoing redevelopment after being demolished completely in late 2015.
History
Before this stadium came into existence, international matches were played at the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's stadium, bearing the same name. However, in 1982, the Gujarat Government donated a 50-acre land on the banks of the Sabarmati river and the Motera stadium was constructed in a span of only nine months.
The first international match to be hosted here was a Test between India and West Indies on November 12, 1983.
The ground was renovated in 2006, just before the Champions Trophy. After renovation, state-of-the-art floodlights were added to the stadium along with covered stands, three new pitches and a new outfield.
Major Matches
In the 1984–85 Australia-India series, Sardar Patel Stadium hosted its first ODI. In the match, Australia won the toss and asked Indians to bat first. Batting first, India set a target of 207 which was easily achieved by Australia with the help of Allan Border, who top-scored with 62 runs not out and Australia won by seven wickets.
This ground has been a witness to some memorable Indian feats - Sunil Gavaskar got to his 10,000 Test runs here against Pakistan in 1986-87. Seven years later, Kapil Dev nailed his 432nd victim to go past Richard Hadlee as Test cricket's leading wicket-taker.
In October 1999, Sachin Tendulkar scored his first Test double-hundred in a match against New Zealand.
Controversies
In 2010, due to heavy rainfall, the stadium was inundated upto 12 to 15 feet. The stadium suffered loss of a lot of money, approximately Rs. 50-60 lakh.
Recent Matches
The stadium was one of the venues for the 2006 ICC Champions Trophy. Five of the 15 games being played here.
AB de Villiers reached his first double-hundred against India during the second test of South Africa's tour to India in 2008 at this very stadium.
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