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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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M.A. Chidambaram Stadium

M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, commonly known as the Chepauk Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Chepauk, Chennai. It is named after former BCCI president M. A. Chidambaram, and is operated by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. It was established in 1916 and is the second oldest international cricket stadium in the country that is still in use after the Eden Gardens.

It hosts matches of the Indian cricket team and the Indian women's cricket team apart from matches during major international cricketing events. It serves as the home ground of the Tamil Nadu cricket team and Tamil Nadu women's cricket team for domestic matches. The Indian Premier League (IPL) team Chennai Super Kings plays its home matches at the stadium and the venue hosted the finals of the IPL in 2011, 2012, and 2024. It is also used as a venue for the Tamil Nadu Premier League.

Chepauk hosted its first cricket test match in February 1934 during England's tour of India. It subsequently hosted the first match of the inaugural Ranji Trophy in November of the same year. The India cricket team recorded its first test victory in 1952 against England at the venue. The venue was the host of the second ever tied test match in the history of the game during Australia's tour in 1986.

The Indian women's team played their second ever women's test in November 1976 against West Indies at Chepauk. The stadium hosted its first one day international match between India and Australia during the 1987 Cricket World Cup. It subsequently served as one of the venues when India hosted the World Cup in 1996, 2011, 2023, and the 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup. As of October 2024, the ground has hosted more than 80 international cricket matches.

History

Early years

In 1846, a cricket ground designed by Henry Irwin was established by Alexander Arbuthnot in the Chepauk palace grounds. In 1859, the Madras Presidency acquired the Chepauk palace from the Nawab of Carnatic. In 1865, a new pavilion was constructed and it became the home of the Madras Cricket Club (MCC). The original Chisholm pavilion located in the southwestern corner of the ground was badly damaged in a cyclone in 1889, and a new pavilion was constructed to replace the same in 1892. The new Irwin pavilion was built in Anglo-Indian architecture. The venue hosted a match between the touring Europeans versus the Indians Presidency in 1908. The stadium was formally established in 1916, when the presidency matches were planned as an annual event.

International venue

Chepauk hosted its first cricket test match in February 1934 during England's tour of India which was won by England. It is the second oldest international cricket stadium in India that is still in use after the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It subsequently hosted the first match of the inaugural Ranji Trophy between Madras and Mysore in November of the same year. In 1946, first attempts were made to build a larger stadium by Anthony De Mello, which was accepted by the MCC subject to the approval of the Indian government. The stadium played host to the fifth test of the series when England toured India in 1951-52. In February 1952, India recorded its first ever test win when it beat England by an innings and eight runs.

When M. A. Chidambaram became the president of the Madras Cricket Association (MCA) in 1956, the association wanted to occupy the ground on a permanent basis. However, the MCC was reluctant to loan the use of the ground, fearing that regular use would lead to deterioration of the facilities. Hence, after India's first test victory in 1952, test matches in Madras were hosted at the corporation stadium till January 1967. When the 30-year lease of the stadium held by the MCC ended in 1966, the MCA obtained the least from the Madras government.

Permanent structure and renaming

The MCA changed its name to Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) after the state was renamed from Madras State to Tamil Nadu. The TNCA wanted to build a permanent structure as the stadium still hosted matches with temporary stands and the foundation stone for the new stadium structure was laid in 1971. The Government of Tamil Nadu gave 1.5 million (US$18,000) with Chidambaram donating a similar amount from his personal wealth and the Madras Race Club donated 0.5 million (US$6,000). The remaining amount of 14 million (US$170,000) was loaned by the banks. The construction was completed in 1981.

Beginning in the late 1960s till the late 1980s, the stadium hosted a Test match in the second week of January which was termed the Pongal Test, as it coincided with the Pongal harvest festival. The Indian women's team played their second ever women's test in November 1976 against West Indies at Chepauk. The stadium was renamed from Madras Cricket Club Ground to M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in 1986. The venue was the host of the second ever tied test match in the history of the game during Australia's tour in 1986. The stadium hosted its first one day international match between India and Australia during the 1987 Cricket World Cup. It further hosted matches during the subsequent 1996 Cricket World Cup and 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup.

Major venue and further upgrades

Newly renovated stands with fabric tensile roofs

A major reconstruction work was undertaken at the cost of 1.75 billion (US$21 million) in 2010 ahead of the 2011 Cricket World Cup. The plan consisted of constructing three new reinforced concrete stands which would accommodate an additional 12,000 spectators and the addition of 24 hospitality boxes. The renovation also included the construction of new translucent PTFE roofs to replace the old roofs supported by pillars that blocked the view of spectators and redesigning of the stands at a gradient of 36°, which would let the sea breeze to get into the ground. The stadium hosted four matches during the 2011 Cricket World Cup, which was won by India.

On 31 March 2015, the Supreme Court of India ruled that the renovation violated regulations relating to public safety. The court further ruled that the parts of the renovation which violate the regulations must be demolished and ordered the new stands to be sealed then. The stands remained sealed as the MCC gymnasium had to be demolished to adhere to the safety regulations laid down by the Greater Chennai Corporation and the MCC was reluctant to do so. After the lease agreement between the government and TNCA ended in 2016, the agreement was renewed in 2019 for a period of 21 years with revised conditions. The stands were finally de-sealed and opened in March 2020.

Further renovation works were planned in 2021-22 ahead of the 2023 Cricket World Cup. In December 2021, the old Anna pavilion, some of the stands and the MCC clubhouse were demolished to make way for a new pavilion and new stands. The demolition temporarily reduced the capacity to 31,140. The renovations were done at a cost of 1.39 billion (US$17 million) and following its completion, the permanent seating capacity of the stadium expanded to 38,000. The new stand which housed the Anna Pavilion was named after former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and was inaugurated on 17 March 2023. The stadium hosted five matches during the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

Location and access

The stadium is located close to the Marina Beach and can be accessed from Wallajah Road in the north, Bells Road in the west, and Victoria Hostel Road parallel to the Buckingham Canal in the east. The Chennai MRTS line abuts the stadium and the Chepauk MRTS Railway Station is located to the south-east. The nearest station of the Chennai Metro is the Government Estate station.

Notable records

A panoramic view of the stadium

Statistics

Overall

Individual

Cricket World Cup

This stadium has hosted 12 men's one-day matches across four Cricket World Cups and a single WODI match during the 1997 Women's Cricket World Cup.

1987 Cricket World Cup

9 October 1987
Australia 
270/6 (50 overs)
v
 India
269 (49.5 overs)
Geoff Marsh 110 (141)
Manoj Prabhakar 2/47 (10 overs)
Navjot Sidhu 73 (79)
Craig McDermott 4/56 (10 overs)

13 October 1987
Australia 
235/9 (50 overs)
v
 Zimbabwe
139 (49.4 overs)
Allan Border 67 (88)
Kevin Curran 2/29 (8 overs)
Kevin Curran 30 (38)
Simon O'Donnell 4/39 (9.4 overs)

1996 Cricket World Cup

11 March 1996
New Zealand 
286/9 (50 overs)
v
 Australia
289/4 (47.5 overs)
Chris Harris 130 (124)
Glenn McGrath 2/50 (9 overs)
Mark Waugh 110 (112)
Dion Nash 1/44 (9 overs)

1997 Women's Cricket World Cup

26 December 1997
Scorecard
New Zealand 
175/6 (50 overs)
v
 England
155 (47.5 overs)
Debbie Hockley 43 (104)
Karen Smithies 3/40 (10 overs)
Janette Brittin 32 (88)
Clare Nicholson 2/29 (10 overs)
New Zealand Women won by 20 runs
Umpires: N Muralidaran and P Venkatesan
Player of the match: Debbie Hockley (NZ)
  • New Zealand women won the toss and elected to bat

2011 Cricket World Cup

20 February 2011
Kenya 
69 (23.5 overs)
v
 New Zealand
72/0 (8 overs)
Rakep Patel 16 (23)
Hamish Bennett 4/16 (5 overs)
Martin Guptill 39* (32)
Thomas Odoyo 0/25 (3 overs)

6 March 2011
England 
171 (45.4 overs)
v
 South Africa
165 (47.4 overs)
Ravi Bopara 60 (98)
Imran Tahir 4/38 (8.4 overs)
Hashim Amla 42 (51)
Stuart Broad 4/15 (6.4 overs)

17 March 2011 (D/N)
England 
243 (48.4 overs)
v
 West Indies
225 (44.4 overs)
Jonathan Trott 47 (38)
Andre Russell 4/49 (8 overs)
Andre Russell 49 (46)
James Tredwell 4/48 (10 overs)

20 March 2011 (D/N)
India 
268 (49.1 overs)
v
 West Indies
188 (43 overs)
Yuvraj Singh 113 (123)
Ravi Rampaul 5/51 (10 overs)
Devon Smith 81 (97)
Zaheer Khan 3/26 (6 overs)
India won by 80 runs
Umpires: Simon Taufel and Steve Davis
Player of the match: Yuvraj Singh

2023 Cricket World Cup

8 October 2023
14:00 (D/N)
Australia 
199 (49.3 overs)
v
 India
201/4 (41.2 overs)
Steve Smith 46 (71)
Ravindra Jadeja 3/28 (10 overs)
KL Rahul 97* (115)
Josh Hazlewood 3/38 (9 overs)
India won by 6 wickets
Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZ) and Richard Kettleborough (Eng)
Player of the match: KL Rahul (Ind)
  • Australia won the toss and elected to bat first

13 October 2023
14:00 (D/N)
Bangladesh 
245/9 (50 overs)
v
 New Zealand
248/2 (42.5 overs)
Mushfiqur Rahim 66 (75)
Lockie Ferguson 3/49 (10 overs)
Daryl Mitchell 89* (67)
Mustafizur Rahman 1/36 (10 overs)
New Zealand won by 8 wickets
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SL) and Nitin Menon (Ind)
Player of the match: Lockie Ferguson (NZ)
  • New Zealand won the toss and elected to field first

18 October 2023
14:00 (D/N)
New Zealand 
288/6 (50 overs)
v
 Afghanistan
139 (34.4 overs)
Glenn Phillips 71 (80)
Naveen-ul-Haq 2/48 (8 overs)
Rahmat Shah 36 (62)
Lockie Ferguson 3/19 (7 overs)
New Zealand Won by 149 runs
Umpires: Joel Wilson (WI) and Paul Wilson (Aus)
Player of the match: Glenn Phillips (NZ)
  • Afghanistan won the toss and elected to field.

23 October 2023
14:00 (D/N)
Pakistan 
282/7 (50 overs)
v
 Afghanistan
286/2 (49 overs)
Babar Azam 74 (92)
Noor Ahmad 3/49 (10 overs)
Ibrahim Zadran 87 (113)
Hasan Ali 1/44 (10 overs)
Afghanistan Won by 8 Wickets
Umpires: Paul Reiffel (Aus) and Rod Tucker (Aus)
Player of the match: Ibrahim Zadran (Afg)
  • Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat.
  • This was Afghanistan's first win against Pakistan in international cricket.

27 October 2023
14:00 (D/N)
Pakistan 
270 (46.4 overs)
v
 South Africa
271/9 (47.2 overs)
Saud Shakeel 52 (52)
Tabraiz Shamsi 4/60 (10 overs)
Aiden Markram 91 (93)
Shaheen Afridi 3/45 (10 overs)
South Africa won by 1 wicket
Umpires: Paul Reiffel (Aus) and Alex Wharf (Eng)
Player of the match: Tabraiz Shamsi (SA)

See also

References

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