Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium

Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium (formerly known as Visakha International Stadium) is the principal cricket stadium in Hyderabad, India and is the home ground of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA). It is located in Uppal, an eastern suburb of the city. It has a capacity of 40,000 spectators presently and extends across 16 acres of land. The previous capacity was 55,000, however it has been reduced to 40,000 for the Indian Premier League matches. The ends are named Pavilion End and North End.

History

HCA's previous home ground was the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in the Fateh Maidan sports complex at Basheerbagh in central Hyderabad. The ground belonged to the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) and HCA had limited operating autonomy over this ground. Moreover, due to its smaller size, it soon came to be known as a high-scoring ground and so Hyderabad was not considered for many high profile cricket matches in India.

In 2003, the proposal for a new stadium was submitted by HCA to the government of Andhra Pradesh, then headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu. The proposal was quickly cleared and HCA was allocated a budget for the same. The government also identified a large piece of land suitable for the project at Uppal.

Most of the funding for the project came after an open auction of the stadium's title was held. Visakha Industries won the auction with a bid price of Rs. 650,000,000. A sum of Rs. 430,000,000 was paid in advance and the stadium was named as Visakha International Stadium in 2004.

By 2005 when most of the stadium was built, it was ready to host its first ODI Match between India and South Africa. However, Y.S. Rajashekhara Reddy of the Congress Party, the current Chief Minister decided to change the name of the stadium to Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, in memory of the former Prime Minister of India and Congress President Rajiv Gandhi.

Following this decision, HCA was required to pay Visakha Industries six times the contract price in accordance with the contract clauses governing any subsequent renaming of the stadium or the Visakha name not remaining attached to the stadium. HCA however, following some negotiations, got away by paying an amount of Rs. 430,000,000, i.e. the contract price only.

Deccan Chargers

Deccan Chargers is the team representing Hyderabad city in the Indian Premier League and the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is the team's home ground. Since most of the Indian Premier League games are played in day/night format, the stadium has been installed with flood lights.

Matches Played

The stadium has hosted two ODI matches till date.

1. India (249/9 in 50 overs) defeated by South Africa (252/5 in 48.5 overs) on 16th November,2005.

2. India (243 all out in 47.4 overs) defeated by Australia (290/7 in 50 overs) on 5th October,2007.

External links

* [http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/ground/58142.html Cricinfo Website - Ground Page]
* [http://www.cricketfundas.com/hydbvsfeaturenov14.html The Story of Hyderabad's Brand new stadium]