The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, also known as the Kaloor Stadium is located in Kochi, Kerala. It is used primarily for the games of cricket and football.
With a capacity of 55,000 spectators it is one of the largest stadiums in India. The most innovative aspect of the stadium is its unique lighting towers of 2kW flood lights which when switched on fully can provide lighting levels for HD telecast.
It is one of the noisiest stadiums in the world due to its unique architecture.
The stadium served as the home to the Kochi Tuskers Kerala team in the India Premier League. It presently serves as the home to the Kerala Cricket Team and the Kerala Blasters FC of the Indian Super League.
History
It was built in 1996 by the Government of Kerala with Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA).
The Kaloor Stadium was initially and primarily constructed to be used for football, since Kerala is one of the few places in the country where football enjoys wide popularity.
By 1998, football went down and cricket took the centre-stage for many years, drawing sell-out and high money grossing games.
The first ODI played on this ground was between India and Australia on 1 April 1998 in which the hosts achieved a 41-run victory.
On 9th April, 2011 the stadium hosted its first IPL match, which was also the first IPL game for the then home team, Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
Major Matches
The Indian cricket team has achieved great success in this stadium, winning against fellow international heavyweights like South Africa and Australia.
However, Zimbabwe managed to pull off an upset by defeating India by six wickets on the 13th of March, 2002.
Kochi Tuskers Kerala, played their first ever IPL match in this stadium in the April of 2011 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. To the disappointment of the hosts, RCB won by a massive margin of six wickets.
Controversies
The stadium remains a center of controversy because of its duality of purpose. This has been the cause of constant disagreements between different sporting and civil authorities.
Recently, a row has broken out between the Kerala Football Association (KFA) and the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) over the cost of using the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium for the Indian Super League (ISL) matches.
Recent Matches
The most recent cricket game that the Kaloor Stadium hosted, was back in 2014, between India and West indies. The hosts won the match by a massive margin.
