Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium
MCA Stadium
View of MCA Stadium
Ground information
Location Pune, Maharashtra
Establishment April 2012
Capacity 37,406[1]
Owner Maharashtra Cricket Association
Architect Hopkins Architects[2]
Operator Pune Stadium Ltd.
Tenants Maharashtra cricket team
Indian Cricket Team
Pune Warriors India (2012–2013)
Veer Marathi (2013–2016)
Kings XI Punjab (2015)
Rising Pune Supergiant (2016–2017)
Chennai Super Kings (2018-2019)
End names
Pavilion End
Hill End
International information
Only Test 23 February 2017:
 India v  Australia
First ODI 13 October 2013:
 India v  Australia
Last ODI 25 October 2017:
 India v  New Zealand
First T20I 20 December 2012:
 India v  England
Last T20I 9 February 2016:
 India v  Sri Lanka
As of 15 January 2017
Source: Ground Info

The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium (Marathi: महाराष्ट्र क्रिकेट असोसिएशन स्टेडियम) is a cricket stadium located at Gahunje, Pune, India.

It serves as the home stadium for the Maharashtra cricket team including headquarters for the Maharashtra Cricket Association.

With India having the largest cricket audience in the world and Indian influence in international cricket growing, the MCA decided a new stadium was needed. Hopkins Architects of London was commissioned to design a new 37,000 seat stadium in Pimpri Chinchwad and the stadium was the result. As of 19 Aug, 2017 it has hosted 1 Test, 3ODIs and 2 T20Is.

MCA stadium from outside

The MCA Stadium was inaugurated in April 2012 by Shri Shantanu Sarnayak of Akola (the former health minister's grandson) and the first match was played between Kings XI Punjab and Pune Warriors in April 2012. The first Twenty20 International match at the stadium was played between India and England in December 2012. The first Test match at the venue was played between India and Australia in February 2017.[3]

History

The MCA's decision to build a new Cricket stadium in Pune stemmed from a dispute with the Pune Municipal Corporation, regarding ticket allocations for Nehru Stadium. This conflict came to a head when an international match between India and Sri Lanka was moved to Kolkata, with the MCA stating they were in no position to host the match. Following this, the MCA decided a new stadium was needed.

MCA Pune was inaugurated by the then ICC President and Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on 1 April 2012.[4]

In 2013, the Indian company Sahara India Pariwar bought the naming rights and the stadium was renamed the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium. However, the name was changed back to the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium because Sahara paid only a part of the Rs. 200 crore that it had promised when acquiring the rights.[5]

In November 2015, the stadium was selected as one of the six new Test venues along with Holkar Stadium, JSCA International Stadium Complex, Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium and Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in India.[6]

Construction

The stadium was designed by British architecture company, Hopkins Architects. Its original completion date was November 2010 at a cost of Rs 1.50 billion, covering and area of 35 acres (140,000 m2).[7] However, the stadium was ready by 2012. As a result, the stadium was not able to host ICC Cricket World Cup matches as originally intended.

The site is located close to the Mumbai Pune Expressway, just outside the city of Pune, with dramatic views of the surrounding mountains.

The stadium and the seating arrangement have been designed in such a way that an unobstructed view is assured from each location.

The most important feature of this stadium is the rainwater drainage system. Often, matches are abandoned due to heavy downpour. To overcome this problem, MCA opted for sand-based outfield developed departmentally with technical assistance from STRI Limited, UK. Due to this technology, even during heavy showers, water on the outfield drained out fast making it ready for play again just in few minutes.[8]

Notable Events

In 2018 IPL, due to members of a few fringe political parties staging protests outside the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai as well as several parts of Chennai demanding the IPL matches to be moved out of the city until the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) was set up as directed by the honourable Supreme Court of India. Despite tight security for the match against KKR, the Chennai police expressed their inability in ensuring enough personnel at the venue for the smooth conduct of the remaining games. MCA Stadium in Pune was selected to host remaining six home games of Chennai Super Kings

Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium at Gahunje, the home ground of Pune Warriors India from 2012–2013

Controversy

In October 2017 a stadium groundsman, Pandurang Salgaoncar, was sacked after video emerged of him allegedly agreeing to tamper with the wicket before a one-day international between India and New Zealand.

The sting operation was conducted by India Today TV. They captured Salgaoncar on camera allegedly stating he would prepare the pitch to suit two unnamed bowlers.

The second ODI went ahead on schedule after the pitch had been inspected by match referee Chris Broad.

The India Today footage of Salgaoncar speaking with a reporter, who was posing as a bookmaker, was broadcast a few hours before the match.[9]

Feature

The MPIC project included:

  • A main 15 wicket match ground
  • Adjacent practice ground with nets, for practice and smaller matches
  • Spectator seating for 37,406 grouped into 4 stands
  • A Members' Pavilion and a media stand
  • Additional facilities for 5,000 members including squash and badminton courts, a swimming pool, spa, restaurants and bars
  • 80 corporate hospitality boxes
  • A state-of-the-art indoor Cricket Academy with residential accommodation for youth training schemes
  • Parking for almost 4,000 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Pune stadium sold out for India-England ODI".
  2. ↑ "MCA Pune International Cricket Centre". Hopkins. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  3. ↑ "Australia brace for tough road test on Pune's debut". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
  4. ↑ "International cricket stadium inaugurated near Pune". NDTV. 1 April 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2012.
  5. ↑ Naming rights tussle: Sahara stadium to go by ‘MCA’ name. Indian Express (2013-09-12). Retrieved on 2013-12-23.
  6. ↑ "BCCI revamps selection committee, announces new Test centres". espncricinfo.com.
  7. ↑ "Pune to have own cricket stadium". Indian Express. 22 October 2010. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  8. 1 2 "MCA". Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "India v New Zealand: Groundsman sacked after TV sting tampering claims". BBC News. Retrieved 25 October 2017.

Coordinates: 18°40′28″N 73°42′23″E / 18.67444°N 73.70639°E / 18.67444; 73.70639

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