Sawai Mansingh Stadium

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium is a cricket stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. It was built in the reign of Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II whom was also known as SMS hence the name of the SMS Stadium in short. It is situated at one corner of the Rambagh Circle. The stadium seats 30,000.

The Sawai Mansingh Stadium has hosted a solitary Test match, between India and Pakistan, starting on February 21, 1987, when Pakistan President General Zia-ul-Haq crossed the border to watch the second day's play as part of his "Cricket for Peace" initiative. The Test was notable for Younis Ahmed's return to the Test fray after an absence of over 17 years and also for Sunil Gavaskar's dismissal to the first ball of the Test match, for the third time in an otherwise illustrious career. The game sputtered to a draw after the third day's play was abandoned following heavy rain and a controversy over the alleged deposition of sawdust on the wicket which Pakistan objected to.

The stadium's ODI debut had kicked off with a contest between the same two sides on October 2, 1983. Fresh from their World Cup triumph, the Indians comfortably won by four wickets, sporting the same XI that won the World Cup final. The ground has also hosted two World Cup matches in 1987 and 1996 respectively, the West Indians losing to England in the former and beating Australia in the latter. The last ODI played on the ground is between India and Pakistan on 17 December 2007.

The Highest individual score by any batsman on this ground in ODI is 183 (not out) by Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

External links

* [http://content-usa.cricinfo.com/india/content/ground/58162.html| Cricinfo Website - Ground Page]

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