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NARENDRA MODI STADIUM

The Gujarat Cricket Association-owned Sardar Patel Stadium, more popularly known as Motera Stadium, is one of the premier cricket grounds in India. It was renamed Narendra Modi stadium on February 24, 2021 after the incumbent prime minister of India. 

The venue is located in Ahmedabad city in the state of Gujarat. It was a regular venue for Test and limited-overs cricket before being demolished in 2016 to construct a new Stadium with a larger seating capacity and modern facilities. The Motera Stadium was reconstructed with an estimated cost of Rs 8 billion.
 
Seating capacity of Motera Stadium
 
The stadium, with seating capacity of 110,000, is the world’s largest cricket stadium and second largest sports ground in World. The Rungrado May Day Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, is the world’s largest stadium with a seating capacity of 114,000.
 
Construction and reconstruction of Motera Stadium
 
Motera Stadium came into existence after the Gujarat government donated 100 acres of land on the banks of the Sabarmati river in 1982. The construction work was completed within nine months. Prior to that, international cricket matches were played at Ahmedabad’s Municipal Corporation Stadium.
 
The reconstruction work at Sardar Patel Stadium started in 2016. According to various media reports, the proposal for new Stadium with a larger capacity was proposed by Narendra Modi, when he was president of the Gujarat Cricket Association and Chief Minister of Gujarat.
 
Larsen and Toubro was the principal contractor for designing and rebuilding the Motera Stadium.
The new Motera Stadium is spread across 63 acres and has three entry points. It has 76 corporate boxes with a seating capacity of 25 each. It also has an Olympic-size swimming pool and four dressing rooms. The new Sardar Patel Stadium will not have flood lights. Instead, LED lights are being installed on the roof. The roofing at Motera Stadium has been designed by consulting and engineering firm Walter P Moore. PTFE, or polytetrafluoroethylene, a Teflon-coated woven fiberglass, was stretched across a circumferential inner tension ring and an outer compression ring. These rings float between the bowl and the roof via radial cable spokes to allow for movement in case of seismic activity.
 
History of Motera Stadium
 
The Motera Stadium hosted its first One-Day International (ODI) match in the 1984-85 India vs Australia bilateral series, which India lost.
 
The Sardar Patel Stadium was one of the venues for the 2006 edition of the ICC Champions Trophy, and hosted five of the 15 games. In fact, Motera Stadium has so far always been a venue whenever India has hosted an ICC World Cup. The first World Cup match at Motera Stadium was played between England and New Zealand during the 1996 World Cup. In the 2011 World Cup, India defeated Australia in the quarterfinals here, and went on to become the champions after defeating Pakistan in semi-final and Sri Lanka in grand finale. Till August 19, 2017 it hosted 12 Tests, 23 ODIs and one T20 International.
 
Key facts about Motera Stadium
 
Test records
 
  • Highest innings total: 760-7 (dec) by Sri Lanka against India in second innings on November 16, 2009.
  • Lowest innings total: 76 by India against South Africa in first innings on April 3, 2008.
  • Highest individual score: Sri Lanka’s Mahela Jayawardene 275 in 435 balls (27 fours and 1 Six).
 
ODI records at Motera Stadium
 
  • Highest total: 365-2 by South Africa against India on February 27, 2010.
  • Lowest total: 85 by Zimbabwe against West Indies on October 8, 2006
  • Highest individual score: Sourav Ganguly's 144 in 152 ball (8 fours and 6 sixes) during India vs Zimbabwe match on December 5, 2000.
Important landmarks
 
  • Sunil Gavaskar completed 10,000 runs in Tests in 1986–87 against Pakistan.
  • Kapil Dev surpassed Sir Richard Hadlee’s 431 wickets record in Tests and became highest wicket taker in Test cricket at that time.
  • In October 1999, Sachin Tendulkar scored his first Test double-hundred in a match against New Zealand.
  • Sachin Tendulkar became the first-ever cricketer to score 18,000 runs in One day cricket in a match against Australia during 2011 Cricket World Cup.
 

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