Narendra Modi Stadium - The Largest Cricket Stadium in the World

Cricket is not just a sport; it is a game that brings people together and ignites a sense of excitement and passion. And cricket grounds are not just green playing fields, where the bat and ball collide, it’s a place where thousands of fans, with their emotions and passion, come under a single roof to cheer up and celebrate their teams. Over the years, such fields have become iconic landmarks and places where fans have witnessed countless miracles. One such venue, which in its small recent history has seen some of the biggest moments and miracles in the sport, one of the most fairytale climaxes to a love story and which is also the world’s largest cricket stadium, is the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Motera. 

Credit: ESPN Cricinfo

In this chapter of ZAP about Cricket Venues, let’s get to know more about the biggest cricket stadium in the world. 

Introduction:

The Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad under the Gujarat Cricket Association, is the world’s biggest cricket stadium and has already seen some of the biggest matches of all time. The IPL Final of 2023, where that last ball finish by Jadeja won the match for CSK, will be written as one of the greatest fairytale stories in the sport. The GOAT of IPL, MS Dhoni surely got crowned as the greatest captain of the tournament ever! Built on the banks of the Sabarmati River, the ground stands tall as one of the biggest architectural marvels in Indian Sporting history!

The History of The Motera:

Formerly known as the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad, this iconic venue underwent a historic transformation in 2020 and was renamed the Narendra Modi Stadium. Originally, it was built in 1983, the same year India won the World Cup, and was renovated in 2006, before getting completely shut in the year 2015 to be reconstructed as the biggest cricket ground in the world. On 24th February, 2020, it was inaugurated when the then US President, Donald Trump Visited India, and over a hundred thousand people turned up in the seats of the largest cricket stadium in india for his reception. 

Credit: NBC News

Architectural Mastery of the World’s largest cricket ground:

The Ahmedabad stadium is bigger than any previous venue and dethroned the historic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) (now the 2nd largest cricket stadium in the world) to earn this title. Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium’s capacity sits at around 132,00 seated spectators, which makes it larger than the Camp Nou football ground, the home ground of FC Barcelona, and one of the biggest football venues in the world. But not just the size, the beauty of the structure lies in the stunning architecture that combines form and purpose. The ground is lit up by the circular LEDs that are fitted on the roofs that enclose the seating. This is a first in India where such lighting is used, while every other ground has lights on tall towers. The total ground area is comparable to 32 football fields, and it is also the only one in the world with 11 centre pitches. 

Conditions for the size and pitch

The field size of the 63-acre venue is believed to be 180 yards by 150 yards. At the facility, there are 11 clay pitches—six with red soil and five with black soil—with 6mm of grass cover. Therefore, bowlers are favoured to have the most influence in all of the games that will be played on this field.

Some of the Biggest Games played at this ground:

The First Test Match at the Motera Stadium:

Although the first ever test match here was played between India and West Indies in the 1983/84 West Indies tour of India, the rebranded venue only started hosting games a couple of months ago. 

The venue kicked off its services by hosting a pink ball test match between India and England, and followed with two more tests of the same series and followed with 5 T20Is. 

India's bowling ripped through the English batting lineup as the match ended in just 2 days, a bizarre incident. 

The first T20I at the Narendra Modi Stadium

The First T20I here, was a part of the same India vs England series as of the test match. In the 5 match series, India beat the Englishmen 3-2, where King Kohli won the player of the series. 

IPL Matches:

The stadium has hosted 8 matches including two finals of the biggest t20 tournament in the world. The first ever IPL match at the rebranded venue was the Final of the 2022 edition between Rajasthan Royals and the Gujarat Titans. GT clinched the title in their very first year in the tournament and that too in their home ground, which was a huge achievement for the sport in Gujarat. It held more games including a playoffs match and the IPL Finals, in the 2023 edition and we all know how that ended. 

Credit: ESPN Cricinfo

Memorable moments, records and landmarks:

The renowned Narendra Modi Stadium has been a host to 14 Test matches, 24 ODIs, and six T20Is, including the recent T20I series between India and England.

• Back in 1987, this venue gained prominence when Sunil Gavaskar became the first cricketer to achieve 10,000 runs in Tests during a match against Pakistan. 
• In 1994, Indian bowler Kapil Dev surpassed Sir Richard Hadlee's then-record of 431 Test wickets, taking down Hashan Tillakaratne in the third Test against Sri Lanka. This outstanding feat made Kapil Dev the leading wicket-taker in Tests, and fans celebrated by releasing 432 balloons at the venue.
• Sachin Tendulkar, one of the game's greatest batsmen, shares a special bond with the Motera Stadium. In 1999, he scored his first double-century in Test format against New Zealand, becoming the first player to reach 30,000 runs in international matches during the 2009 Test against Sri Lanka. This particular match also marked Tendulkar's 20th year in international cricket.
  Read about the player with the most runs in cricket here. 
• Later, Tendulkar made history once again by surpassing the 18,000-run milestone in ODI cricket during the quarter-finals of the 2011 ICC ODI World Cup against Australia.

Credit: Sportsadda

Here are top 10 largest cricket stadiums in the world:

A Fun Fact:

In terms of size by boundary, MCG is the largest cricket stadium in the world by boundary. The square boundary is 86.23 metres long and the straight boundary is 83.43 metres long.

Conclusion:

The Narendra Modi Ground, in Motera Ahmedabad, which is also the largest cricket stadium in the world, is a huge architectural masterpiece and will be the face of BCCI in years to come. By already hosting some of the most important games of the Indian sporting calendar, and being about to host the India vs Pakistan game and the World Cup Final at the ICC ODI World Cup, the venue has already established itself as a legendary venue.