5 great cricket venues to visit before you die

2. Eden Gardens, Kolkata

You see what “fanatic” means when you see the crowd at Eden Gardens. Before it was renovated for the 2011 World Cup, the Eden could house around 90000 people. Although that number seems to have come down to around 65000 now, there is still that buzz about the Eden.

A sporting pitch on most occasions, a fabulous crowd, and Team India. A Test match at The Eden is five days to enjoy and savour. No wonder it is located in “The City of Joy” then.

Eden Gardens has played host to arguably, India’s finest ever Test match in 2001. Following on after the first innings, VVS Laxman played the greatest knock ever played by an Indian to steer India back into the game, and Harbhajan Singh and Sachin Tendulkar made the most of the wear and tear of the 5th day pitch to force Australia into defeat.

But, passion can sometimes overboil, and The Eden has witnessed its share of crowd trouble, none more so than the 1996 World Cup Semifinal between India and Sri Lanka. But, it is this passion that keeps Eden Gardens going and makes it a great place to watch cricket.