6 Cricketers and their favorite hunting ground

Bonding between a cricketer and his favorite ground is always special. There have been players who have played the game at different venues but they enjoyed a connection with some stadiums and scripted fairy tale performances at that very ground.

Over the years, many such cricketers have publicly revealed that they have enjoyed playing at selected venues and that affinity has been translated into tons of runs by the batsmen or incredible spells and heap of wickets by the bowler at a particular venue.

On that note, we take a look at the six cricketers who were at their very best playing at a specific and over the course of their glittering career has created numerous records at that very ground.

#6 MS Dhoni at M. A. Chidambaram Stadium

Dhoni enjoyed a lot of support and love from the people of Chennai over the years and has played some memorable knocks for Team India and Chennai Super Kings.

The former Indian captain averages 100-plus in One Day Internationals at Chepauk. Dhoni also played his best Test innings at Chepauk when he smashed a stunning 224 off 265 balls against Australia in 2013.

The Ranchi born stalwart made his Test Debut at the Chepauk in December 2005 against Sri Lanka. He has been the Captain of the CSK team ever since the first edition of IPL and has enjoyed a lot of success while leading the Franchise.

Chennai Super Kings is arguably the most successful team in the Indian Premier League and Dhoni deserves a lot of credit. Dhoni has a staggering record as CSK captain having played over 140 matches.

#5 Muralitharan at Colombo (Sinhalese Sports Club)

Muttiah Muralitharan

Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan was at his very best whenever he played at Colombo (SSC). He holds the record for the most wickets by a bowler at a single venue in Test Cricket with 166 wickets to his name in 24 matches at an average of 20.69 with a best of 8/87.

The spin bowling legend also picked up four ten-wicket hauls and 14 five-wicket hauls to his name at that very venue along with some memorable performances including an eight-wicket haul against India in 2001.

#4 Sachin Tendulkar at Sydney Cricket Ground

Sachin Tendulkar

The Master Blaster played at his best at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). Sachin Tendulkar once revealed that Sydney was his favorite ground away from home and that love was on display once the legend batted at the SCG.

In the five tests in which he played at the SCG, Sachin has scored three centuries and two fifties which included an unbeaten 241 in the 2003-04 series. It was his maiden double century in Test match cricket. He averaged around 157 at the ground in the longest format.

His only hundred in 50 over cricket down under came in the Commonwealth Bank Series 2008 when he scored 117 not out as he helped India chase the target in the first final against Australia to gain a 1-0 lead which was crucial in their series win.

#3 VVS at Eden Gardens

VVS Laxman

Next on our list is VVS Laxman. He enjoyed a lot playing at the Eden Garden and over the course of his illustrious career, Laxman has played some memorable knocks for India.

In the famous 2001 series, Laxman scored 281 against a legendary Australian side and was involved in a mammoth 376 partnership with Rahul Dravid as the duo batted through Day four. They scripted one of the most famous Tests wins for India after being asked to follow on.

His 281 was the highest individual score by an Indian in Test matches before Virender Sehwag surpassed it after his triple hundred at Multan.

Numbers don’t tell a different story about VVS and his connection with Eden Gardens. He amassed 1217 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 110.63 with five centuries and three fifties and the best of 281.

#2 Virat Kohli at Adelaide

Virat Kohli

Second on our list is Virat Kohli. The Indian Captain enjoys a special affection towards the Adelaide Oval. Virat Kohli has performed exceptionally well at the venue in all the formats of the game with the bat. He enjoyed some success as captain too.

He scored his first hundred in the longest format of the game in 2012 at the Adelaide Oval and thereby cemented his spot in the test team. In the fourth Test, Virat scored 116 in what was the final Test of a disastrous tour as India was whitewashed in the four-match series.

When he returned to the venue after three years, Kohli was the stand-in Captain of the team. He scored tons in both the innings of the Test match but India fell 48 runs short of a memorable victory.

In the first match of the ongoing series in Australia, Kohli led the team to a famous victory. Also, in India’s first match at the ICC World Cup 2015, Kohli scored a century against Pakistan in Adelaide and was the architect of India's victory. In 2016 T20I series when India whitewashed Australia, he scored an unbeaten knock of 90 at Adelaide in the first game of the series.

#1 Rohit Sharma at Eden Gardens

Rohit Sharma

On top of our list, is none other than Rohit Sharma. Over the past decade, the Hitman has played some memorable knocks at the venue in all the formats of the game and his exploits are not only limited to the international level but also in domestic cricket as well as the IPL.

Rohit Sharma made his much-awaited Test debut in 2013 at the Eden Gardens and scored a stroke-filled 177 against West Indies. Earlier that year, Rohit captained Mumbai Indians for the first time in IPL and also won the final at the same venue. Two years later, Rohit guided Mumbai Indians to their second IPL title and incidentally, the final was played at the Eden Gardens.

As a batsman, Rohit Sharma has scored a hundred and a 98 not out against Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL 2012 and 2015 respectively. In 2014, he scored 264 against Sri Lanka and holds the world record for the highest individual score in ODIs.