The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is placed in Uppal, an eastern suburb of the city. The Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) had finite access to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium – which existb to the Sport Authority of Telangana State – and had to make a proposal for a new stadium.
Furthermore, due to its lesser size, the stadium was not examined for high-profile encounters. The HCA’s proposal was approved immediately by the then Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, N.Chandrababu Naidu.
Visaka Industries Limited won the ownership of the ground in an auction with a bid price of Rs 65,00,00,000. The stadium was named as Visakha International Cricket Stadium in 2004 but the state government decided to change it to Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium to honour the former Indian prime minister. For that, HCA had to pay Rs 43,00,00,000 to Visakha Industries.
The stadium hosted its first international game in 2005 when India and South Africa faced off in an ODI. The visiting side won the match by five wickets. This stadium has been home to the now-discarded Deccan Chargers (2008-2012) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (2013-present) in the Indian Premier League, which started in 2008.
Established: 2004
Capacity: 55,000
Location: Hyderabad, India
Home to: Hyderabad, Sunrisers Hyderabad
Formerly known as: Visaka International Cricket Stadium Ground
How does the pitch play?
The wicket here is considered flat but tends to slow down as the game progresses. The tracks are more favourable to the spinners. India almost chased down a target of 351 against Australia in 2009. Sachin Tendulkar scored 175 but the hosts fell short by three runs.
History of Tests
India have played fours Tests here and won three, while one against New Zealand in 2010 ended in a draw. They defeated New Zealand (2012) and Australia (2013) by innings, and then outclassed Bangladesh by 208 runs in 2017. Both R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have a superb record here.
While Ashwin has 24 wickets in three Tests, including three five-wicket hauls and a ten-wicket match haul, Jadeja has 12 wickets in the two games that he has played at this venue.
Overall Statistics
Tests: 4| India Won: 3 Drawn: 1 Lost: 0 | Average first innings score: 428 | Average second innings score: 380 | Average third innings score: 225 | Average fourth innings score: 159 | Highest total recorded: 687 for 6 by India
ODIs: 5 | India Won: 2 Lost: 3 | Average first innings score: 286 | Highest total recorded: 350 for 4 by Australia
T20Is: 1 | Abandoned
