The Barabati stadium is a sports stadium located in the city of Cuttack, Odisha. It is one of the regular International cricketing venues and is the home of the state cricket team of Odisha.
It has a capacity of 45,000 and features a bowl-like structure for seating. It also was an alternate home venue for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and was an adopted venue by former IPL team Deccan Chargers.
History
The Barabati stadium was built and established in 1958 by the Odisha Cricket Association. The stadium is said to be one of the oldest venues in India and hosted several tours for other sides - the MCC, the West Indies team and the Australian side.
It hosted its very first Test match from 4-7 January 1987 between India and Sri Lanka. The first ODI was played here on 27 January 1982, between India and England.
Major Matches
The Barabati Stadium has hosted a total of only two test matches, the first one being in 1987 and the last one being in 1995. The first match was between India and neighbours Sri Lanka. The last one was a battle between India and New Zealand.
A total of 18 ODIs have been played here. The highest team score achieved here was by India against Sri Lanka, racking up a total of 400 runs.
Another notable achievement is the best bowling figures achieved by an Indian here, Narendra Hirwani (6 for 59 against New Zealand in the 1995-96 test series).
Controversies
The first T20I held here saw the stadium get itself into a lot of trouble. The crowd halted play twice in the match between India and South Africa by hurling bottles in to the ground. The hurling did not stop for a long time and the authorities took a very long time to bring the crowd under control.
India scored the second-lowest total in the T20 internationals here as they were bowled out for 92, with South Africa registering a six-wicket win in the chase.
Former Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar had called for an action against the stadium by banning it as an international venue.
Recent Matches
The most recent match held here was a T20I between India and Sri Lanka on 20 December 2017.
