Top 5 Beautiful Stadiums in the world

The first thing that comes to my mind as soon as I think about a cricket match is the atmosphere of the stadium. As an Indian and having followed so many matches, there have been instances in the past where the crowd can pull you up from a bad position. The best example I can remember is the incident between Amir Sohail and Venkatesh Prasad when Pakistan was chasing a decent target of 287 against the home team.

They were at a very good position until Sohail got under the nerves of Venkatesh and the whole Chinnaswamy crowd got behind the bowler. Everyone knows what happened after that and Pakistan eventually lost the match by 39 runs. Everyone remembers Sachin’s masterclass with the bat but not so many are aware of the way he won us matches bowling the final over.

Yes, the Hero Cup of 1993 where the whole Eden Gardens erupted when we won the match by 2 runs thanks to the little masters’ heroics. Stadium plays a lot of role in the outcome of a match. It’s not just the crowd, even the location and the ecosystem around it counts.

Here is a list of beautiful stadiums across the globe:

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#1 The Lord’s Cricket Ground, London :

This is the ‘Home of Cricket’.Named after its founder Thomas Lord, it is located in St. John’s Wood, London. Its capacity is around 28000 and is believed to be the oldest sporting museum in the world. To be on the honours board in Lord’s is the dream of every cricketer(a century or a 5-wicket haul or 10WM at Lord’s will put you on the honours board).

We have some fond memories on this ground, be it the 1983 World Cup victory, the 2002 Natwest series win or the test match win in 2014. This is where the sport was first played and the old tradition has been preserved to date.

#2 HPCA Stadium, Dharmashala:

Located in the city of Dharmashala, Himachal Pradesh is one of the beautiful cricket stadiums in the world. Though it was established in 2003 it had to wait for 10 years to get an international fixture. It is at situated at an altitude of 1457m above the sea level, with the Himalayan ranges at the backdrop.

This is one of those few stadiums where ryegrass is used in the outfield to prevent the grass from dying quickly because of low temperatures. The first test match was played between India and Australia in 2017 where the hosts won the match by 8 wickets.

#3 Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg:

This stadium is situated in Illovo, Johannesburg in Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is at an altitude of 6000 feet above the sea level and often gives problems to the visitors because of the altitude. So, the players arrive beforehand to acclimatize to the conditions.

This was built in 1956 and has a capacity of 34000. It has witnessed the fastest ODI century by AB de Villiers which came off 31 balls. This stadium looks exquisite with a wonderful crowd. It is often regarded as the ‘The Bullring’ because of its design.

#4 Sydney Cricket Ground:

Sydney Cricket Ground, usually called as the SCG is a multi-sport complex having a capacity of 44000. Along with cricket, Australian Rules Football, rugby league football and rugby are also played here. It is located in Moore Park, Sydney and was established in 1848.

It is the traditional ground for hosting the New Year’s Day Tests, as well as the final test of the Ashes which is often termed as the Pink Test, to raise breast cancer awareness. India won the first final of CB series at the same venue in 2008.

#5 Eden Park, Auckland:

Eden Park is NewZealand’s largest sports stadium located in Auckland. It has a seating of 42000 when cricket is played and 60000 when rugby is played. It was established in 1900 and from then on it has witnessed a number of events like the 2011 Rugby World Cup and the 2015 World Cup matches.

This ground hosted the first day-night test in New Zealand as the hosts wrapped up the English for just 58. It has small straights and produces hell lot of runs.