National Stadium, Karachi

www.facebook.com/NationalStadiumKarachi

National Stadium
National Stadium, Karachi
Ground information
Location Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Coordinates 24°53′46″N 67°4′53″E / 24.89611°N 67.08139°E / 24.89611; 67.08139Coordinates: 24°53′46″N 67°4′53″E / 24.89611°N 67.08139°E / 24.89611; 67.08139
Establishment 21 April 1955
Capacity 34,228[1]
Owner Pakistan Cricket Board
Operator Karachi City Cricket Association
Tenants Karachi, Karachi Dolphins, Karachi Zebras, Karachi Kings, Pakistan International Airlines, Pakistan
End names
Pavilion End
University End
International information
First Test 26 February – 1 March 1955:
 Pakistan v  India
Last Test 21–25 February 2009:
 Pakistan v  Sri Lanka
First ODI 21 November 1980:
 Pakistan v  West Indies
Last ODI 21 January 2009:
 Pakistan v  Sri Lanka
First T20I 20 April 2008:
 Pakistan v  Bangladesh
Last T20I 3 April 2018:
 Pakistan v  West Indies
As of 4 April 2018
Source: Cricinfo

The National Stadium (Urdu: نیشنل اسٹڈیم‎) cricket stadium in Karachi, Pakistan. It is the home ground of Karachi Kings, and is home to many other Karachi's domestic cricket teams. The stadium is able to hold 34,228 spectators.[2] After renovations to Gaddafi Stadium reduced its capacity to 27,000, National Stadium became the highest capacity cricket ground in Pakistan.

The Pakistani cricket team have a remarkable Test record at the ground, having only lost twice in 40 Test matches[3] (vs. England, December 2000–01, and South Africa, October 2007–08). The stadium has witnessed several memorable moments, such as Viv Richards 181 against Sri Lanka at the 1987 Cricket World Cup, Mohammad Yousuf's record ninth century of the year to break Viv Richards' record of most runs in a calendar year, and Kamran Akmal's famous century against India on a very difficult pitch in 2006, after Pakistan had collapsed to 39 for 6, as part of a memorable come-from-behind victory.

History

Location of National Stadium in Karachi

Karachi, Pakistan's largest and most populous city, presents an interesting and colourful combination of the old and new. The National Stadium became Karachi's fifth and Pakistan's 11th first-class ground. The inaugural first-class match was played at NSK between Pakistan and India on 21–24 April 1955, and it became a fortress of Pakistan cricket.[3] In 34 Tests between that first match and December 2000, Pakistan won 17 and were never beaten. Their only Test defeat on the ground came in the gloom against England in 2000–01.

The first ODI at the National Stadium was against West Indies on 21 November 1980, and it went down to the last ball as Gordon Greenidge drove Imran Khan imperiously to the cover boundary with three needed. It has been a far less successful limited-overs venue, with defeats outnumbering victories. In fact, in a little under five years from the start of 1996, Pakistan failed to win on the ground. It also staged a quarter-final match in the 1996–97 World Cup.

Sachin Tendulkar and Waqar Younis played their first test match in this stadium.

Records

Test

One Day International

T20 International

Cricket World Cup

West Indies 
360/4 (50 overs)
v
 Sri Lanka
169/4 (50 overs)
20 October 1987
Scorecard
England 
244/9 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
247/3 (49 overs)
30 October 1987
Scorecard
West Indies 
258/7 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
230/9 (50 overs)

1996 Cricket World Cup

29 February
Scorecard
Pakistan 
242/6 (50 overs)
v
 South Africa
243/5 (44.2 overs)
Aamir Sohail 111 (139)
Hansie Cronje 2/20 (5 overs)
Daryll Cullinan 65 (76)
Waqar Younis 3/50 (8 overs)
South Africa won by 5 wickets
Umpires: K.T. Francis and Steve Bucknor
Player of the match: Hansie Cronje (SA)
3 March
Scorecard
England 
249/9 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
250/3 (47.4 overs)
Robin Smith 75 (92)
Mushtaq Ahmed 3/53 (10 overs)
Saeed Anwar 71 (72)
Dominic Cork 2/59 (10 overs)
Pakistan won by 7 wickets
Umpires: B.C. Cooray and Srinivas Venkataraghavan
Player of the match: Aamer Sohail (Pak)
11 March
Scorecard
West Indies 
264/8 (50 overs)
v
 South Africa
245 (49.3 overs)
Brian Lara 111 (94)
Brian McMillan 2/37 (10 overs)
Daryll Cullinan 69 (78)
Roger Harper 4/47 (10 overs)
West Indies won by 19 runs
Umpires: K.T. Francis and Steve Randell
Player of the match: Brian Lara (WI)

Return of Cricket 2018

PCB chairman Najam Sethi had announced in 2017 that Karachi’s National Stadium will host the final match of PSL 3 in March 2018. The condition of the stadium was improved for the final. The historic match, which was played between Islamabad United and Karachi Kings saw the return of international stars to National Stadium after a gap of nine years, ended up being relatively one-sided, as the champions of first edition Islamabad United were crowned champions once again. The event at the stadium was the first major event since 2009 in the port city and it was highly welcomed by crowds and the stadium witnessed packed house for the big game. In order to make it a successful event many security forces were deployed in and around the stadium to maintain the law and order situation, by there efforts the event was held successfully. In 2017 PCB Chairman had announced that west indies would tour Pakistan for 3 match T20I series which were scheduled to be played in lahore, the fixtures were to be played in November 2017. However, early in November 2017, reports announced that the West Indies team would not be travelling to Pakistan over security concerns. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi stated that the original schedule was changed due to unforeseen weather, logistic issues and challenges with security. In March 2018, the PCB confirmed that the fixtures would take place in April at the National Stadium in Karachi after the conclusion of PSL2018. The last time an international cricket match was played at the venue in Karachi was in February 2009, when Sri Lanka toured Pakistan. That series was cut short, following an attack on the Sri Lanka cricket team.

It was the first tour in Pakistan of more than one match against another Test nation since Zimbabwe toured in May 2015. In October 2017, Sri Lanka played a T20I match against Pakistan in Lahore.

Pakistan whitewashed the windies to cemment their place at the top of the ICC Rankings.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "World Stadiums - Stadiums in Pakistan". www.worldstadiums.com. Retrieved 23 February 2018.
  2. ↑ "Football stadiums of the world – Stadiums in Asia | Football stadiums of the world". www.fussballtempel.net (in German). Retrieved 2018-02-23.
  3. 1 2 "Stadium stories: Famous Pakistan cricket grounds". Dawn. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.