Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium

The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium,[2][3] is an international cricket stadium in Lucknow, India. The arena has a seating capacity of 50,000, thus it is the fifth largest international cricket stadium of India.[4]

Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Ekana Cricket Stadium
Ekana cricket stadium
Inside view of the stadium
Former namesEkana International Cricket Stadium (2017-2018)
AddressEkana Sportz City, Gomti Nagar Extension,
Lucknow,
India
Coordinates26°48′40″N 81°01′01″E
Elevation104 m
OwnerEkana Sportz City
OperatorEkana Sportz City
Seating typeStadium
Capacity50,000
Field size160 x 156
Field shapeRound
SurfaceGrass
Construction
Opened2017 (2017)
ArchitectSkyline Architectural Consultants[1]
Tenants
Website
Ekana Sportz city
Ground information
End names
North End

South End
International information
Only Test27–29 November 2019:
 Afghanistan v  West Indies
First ODI6 November 2019:
 Afghanistan v  West Indies
Last ODI21 October 2023:
 Netherlands v  Sri Lanka
First T20I6 November 2018:
 India v  West Indies
Last T20I29 January 2023:
 India v  New Zealand
First WODI7 March 2021:
 India v  South Africa
Last WODI17 March 2021:
 India v  South Africa
First WT20I20 March 2021:
 India v  South Africa
Last WT20I23 March 2021:
 India v  South Africa
Team information
Uttar Pradesh cricket team (2017-present)
Lucknow Super Giants (2021-present)
UP Warriorz (2023-present)
As of 29 January 2023
Source: Cricinfo

In 2018, the stadium renamed to the current name by Uttar Pradesh government in honour of former 10th Prime Minister of the nation Atal Bihari Vajpayee. It was formerly named as Ekana cricket stadium, which locals prefer to address it as.[lower-alpha 1][5][3][2]

The stadium has the longest straight boundaries in comparison to all the stadiums in India. It is the home ground of Uttar Pradesh cricket team, UP women's cricket team and IPL franchise the Lucknow Super Giants.[6]

In 2019, the Afghanistan cricket team used it as their home ground.[7] K.D. Singh Babu stadium used to host international cricket matches in Lucknow before the venue was built.

The arena is scheduled to host five matches of the 2023 Men's Cricket World Cup.[8]

History

The project for constructing the world class stadium in Lucknow was commissioned in 2014, and the stadium was built under public-private partnership between Ekana Sportz City and Lucknow Development Authority during the tenure of the 2012-2017 state government under the watch of then UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav.[9][10] Ekana Sportz City is a Joint venture between Nagarjuna Construction Company, GC Construction & Development Industries Pvt Ltd. As per the agreement of the partnership, the government provided Ekana Sportz City with 35 year lease of 71 acres to build the cricket stadium, with the lease running through 2052. In addition, the government also provided 66 additional acres of land for real estate projects on a 99 year lease. The cricket stadium has been built with a budget of 360 crores (3.6 billion rupees).[11]

Before its international debut, it also hosted the final of the 2017–18 Duleep Trophy.[12] The stadium was allocated the 3rd ODI between India and New Zealand to be held on 27 Oct 2017. However, the venue was shifted to Kanpur after the stadium was declared incomplete.[13] On 6 November 2018, the stadium hosted its first international match, a Twenty20 International (T20I) between India and the West Indies,[14] becoming the 52nd stadium in India to host an international cricket match.[15] International cricket match returned to Lucknow after 24 years, after the India and Sri Lanka test match of 1994.[16] In that match Rohit Sharma became the first cricketer to score four centuries in T20Is.[17] India won that match by 71 runs.[18] The last time Lucknow hosted an international match was in January 1994, when India played a test match against Sri Lanka at the K.D. Singh Babu Stadium.[19]

In May 2019, Afghanistan Cricket Board requested the BCCI to use this venue for their international matches.[20] In August 2019, BCCI awarded the venue to Afghanistan national cricket team as their third home venue in India, being previously played in Dehradun and Greater Noida.[21]

It hosted all the matches during Afghanistan vs West Indies series in 2019.[22] On 6 November 2019, the venue hosted its first ODI match.[23] On 27 November 2019, the venue hosted its first Test match.[24]

In May 2022, the venue was scheduled to host all the matches of the fourth edition of Women's T20 Challenge. However, later the matches were shifted to Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.[25]

Events

The venue has hosted two major events organized by the UP government.

Award distribution ceremony

On 19 August 2021, an award giving ceremony was held at the stadium by the state government to honor the athletes who won the medals at 2020 Summer Olympics that was held in 2021 at Tokyo, Japan. They all were facilitated with monetary rewards given by the Uttar Pradesh government. The highest prize was given to Neeraj Chopra who was the only one from India to won gold medal in Javelin throw.[26]

Oath-taking ceremony

On 25 March 2022, at the venue Yogi Adityanath took oath as chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, after his victory in 2022 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly elections. The oath was given by the Governor of UP Anandiben Patel. Many VVIP's, celebrities, big businessmen were invited in the ceremony including the PM Narendra Modi, Home minister Amit Shah and the Chief Ministers of NDA lead states.[27]

Cricket World Cup

2023 Cricket World Cup
12 October 2023
14:00 (D/N)
 South Africa
311/7 (50 overs)
v
 Australia
177 (40.5)
Quinton de Kock 107 (106)
Mitchell Starc 2/53 (9 Overs)
Marnus Labuschagne 46 (74)
Lungi Ngidi 1/18 (8 Overs)
South Africa won by 134 run
Umpires: Joel Wilson (WI) and Richard Illingworth (ENG)
Player of the match: Quinton de Kock
16 October 2023
14:00 (D/N)
v

Records

Test matches

Only one Test century has been scored at the venue.[6]

No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsOpposing teamDateResult
1111*Shamarh Brooks West Indies214 Afghanistan28 November 2019West Indies won[28]

One Day Internationals

Three ODI centuries have been scored at the venue, two in a men's match and one in a women's match.[29][30]

Men's ODI centuries on the ground
No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsVersusDateResult
1109*Shai Hope West Indies145 Afghanistan11 November 2019West Indies won[31]
2109Quinton de Kock South Africa106 Australia12 October 2023South Africa won [32]
Women's ODI centuries on the ground
No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsVersusDateResult
1132*Lizelle Lee South Africa132 India12 March 2021South Africa won[33]

Twenty20 Internationals

Only one T20I century has been scored at the venue.[34]

No.ScorePlayerTeamBallsVersusDateResult
1111*Rohit Sharma India61 West Indies6 November 2018India won[35]

Test matches
No. Bowler Date Team Versus Inn Overs Runs Wkts Result
1Rahkeem Cornwall27 November 2019 West Indies Afghanistan125.3757West Indies won[28]
2Hamza Hotak27 November 2019 Afghanistan West Indies228.3745West Indies won[28]

T20Is
No. Bowler Date Team Versus Inn Overs Runs Wkts Result
1Karim Janat16 November 2019 Afghanistan West Indies24115Afghanistan won[36]

Explanatory notes
  1. "Ekana" is a Sanskrit words, which means 'unity' in English.

See also

References
  1. "Ekana International Cricket Stadium".
  2. "Ekana stadium named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee". United News of India. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  3. "Lucknow stadium renamed in honour of Atal Bihari Vajpayee ahead of India-West Indies T20I". India Today. 5 November 2018. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  4. "With on going inspections, Lucknow's cricket stadium a hot favourite to host IPL 2018 matches!". Knock Sense. Archived from the original on 5 September 2018. Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  5. "Yogi Adityanath Inaugurates Lucknow Cricket Stadium, Changes Its Name". NDTV.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  6. "Statistics - Statsguru - Test Matches - Batting Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  7. "Afghanistan cricket team gets Lucknow Ekana stadium as their new home ground: BCCI". United News of India. 7 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  8. "Venues at the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023: a guide". www.icc-cricket.com. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  9. Newsclick. 6 November 2018 https://www.newsclick.in/adityanath-govt-renames-akhilesh-yadavs-dream-project-atal-bihari-vajpayee-stadium?amp. Retrieved 2 April 2023. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. "Adityanath renames Lucknow stadium". NDTV. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  11. Ali, Qaiser Mohammad (6 December 2016). "With Ranji Game, Lucknow Set To Become New Sports Hub". Outlook India. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  12. "Raina, Parthiv, Abhinav to captain Duleep Trophy teams". ESPN Cricinfo. 30 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
  13. "Lucknow stadium 'not up to mark', Kanpur gets 3rd India-New Zealand ODI". Scroll.in. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  14. "India, West Indies top orders in focus in Lucknow's international return". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  15. Sarangi, Y. b. (5 November 2018). "Ekana stadium adds a new chapter to Lucknow". The Hindu. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  16. "India to host West Indies for T20 in Lucknow as international cricket returns to city after 24 years". Scroll.in. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  17. "Rohit Sharma Sets Record, Becomes First Batsman To Score Four T20I Centuries". NDTV Sports. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  18. "2nd T20I (N), West Indies tour of India at Lucknow, Nov 6 2018". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  19. "India vs West Indies 2nd T20: Reopening a Nawabi chapter in Lucknow". The Indian Express. 6 November 2018. Retrieved 6 November 2018.
  20. "Afghan seeks bigger home base in India". The Tribune. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  21. "Lucknow to be new venue for Afghanistan". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 1 August 2019.
  22. "Hayden Walsh jnr has big dreams wearing the maroon". Cricket West Indies. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  23. "CPL's best brace for Afghanistan spin barrage". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  24. "Afganistan [sic] face WI challenge in Ekana's maiden Test". Cricbuzz. Retrieved 27 November 2019.
  25. "Lucknow to host Women's T20 Challenge from May 24–28, confirms BCCI president Sourav Ganguly". Hindustan Times. 23 April 2022. Retrieved 24 April 2022.
  26. Khan, Fazal (19 August 2021). "Lucknow: Ekana Stadium decks up to welcome Tokyo Olympic achievers". The Times of India. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  27. "World's sixth-largest stadium for Yogi Adityanath's historic swearing-in: A sneak peek into Ekana Stadium". Firstpost. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  28. "Only Test, West Indies tour of India against Afghanistan at Lucknow, Nov 11 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  29. "Statistics - Statsguru - ODI Matches - Batting Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  30. "Statistics - Statsguru - WODI Matches - Batting Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  31. "3rd ODI (D/N), West Indies tour of India against Afghanistan at Lucknow, Nov 11 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  32. "World Cup 2023 (D/N), Oct 12 2023". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  33. "3rd WODI, South Africa Women tour of India at Lucknow, Mar 12 2021". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
  34. "Statistics - Statsguru - T20I Matches - Batting Records". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  35. "2nd T20I, West Indies tour of India at Lucknow, Nov 6 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 24 August 2019.
  36. "2nd T20I West Indies tour of India against Afghanistan 2019–20". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
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