Feroz Shah Kotla
 Ferozeshah Kotla Stadium |
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| Ground information | |
|---|---|
| Location | Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, Delhi |
| Coordinates | 28°38′16″N 77°14′35″E / 28.63778°N 77.24306°ECoordinates: 28°38′16″N 77°14′35″E / 28.63778°N 77.24306°E |
| Establishment | 1883 |
| Capacity | 48,000 |
| Owner | Delhi District Cricket Association |
| Operator | Delhi District Cricket Association |
| Tenants | Delhi, Delhi Daredevils |
| End names | |
| Stadium End Pavilion End |
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| International information | |
| First Test | 10 Nov - 14 Nov 1948: India v West Indies |
| Last Test | 6 Nov - 10 Nov 2011: India v West Indies |
| First ODI | 15 Sep 1982: India v Sri Lanka |
| Last ODI | 17 oct 2011: India v England |
| As of 27 December 2009 Source: Feroz Shah Kotla, Cricinfo |
The Feroz Shah Kotla (Hindi: फ़िरोज़ शाह कोटला, Punjabi: ਫ਼ਿਰੋਜ਼ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਕੋਟਲਾ, Urdu: فروز شاہ کوٹلا) or Kotla (Hindi: कोटला, Punjabi: ਕੋਟਲਾ, Urdu: کوٹلا) was originally a fortress built by Sultan Ferozshah Tughlaq to house his version of Delhi city called Ferozabad. A pristine polished sandstone pillar from the 3rd century B.C. rises from the palace's crumbling remains, one of many pillars left by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka; it was moved from Ambala, Punjab and re-erected in its current location in 1356. The Feroz Shah Kotla was established as a cricket ground in 1883. It is the second oldest international cricket stadium still functional in India, only after the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. It is located close to the 20,000 capacity Ambedkar Stadium, the home of association football club New Delhi Heroes FC.
In the 21 century, the Feroz Shah Kotla is famed for its cauldron-like atmosphere, which is supposed to be the best in the country. The vociferous home support has led to a great winning sequence for India in Test Matches, and the National Cricket Team has been undefeated for over 20 years at this ground.
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[edit] History
Firuz Shah Tughlaq (r. 1351-88), the Sultan of Delhi, established the fortified city of Firozabad in 1354, as the new capital of the Delhi Sultanate on the banks of Yamuna river, the site of the present Feroze Shah Kotla, literally Kotla (fortress or citadel) of Firoz Shah. Here he erected the Lat or Ashoka Column, attributed to Mauryan ruler Ashoka. The 13.1 metres high column, made of polished sandstone and dating from the 3rd Century BC, was brought from Ambala by Firoz Shah. Here it stands on the uppermost section of a three-tiered arcaded palace pavilion located near to the main royal residences and congregational mosque at heart of the fortified area. Most of the city was destroyed as subsequent rulers dismantled its buildings and reused the spolia as building materials.[1][2]
In the pre-independence era, due to lack of auditoriums in the capital, most classical music performances were stage here or at Qutub complex. Later Ebrahim Alkazi, then head of NSD, staged his landmark production of Dharamvir Bharati's Andha Yug here and its premiered in 1964 was attended by Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru.[3]
[edit] Feroz Shah Kotla cricket ground
The Feroz Shah Kotla was established as a cricket ground in 1883. The first Test match at this venue was played on November 10, 1948 when India took on the West Indies. Anil Kumble took 10 wickets in an innings on this ground in 1999, only the second time this feat has been achieved in test cricket. It is owned and operated by the DDCA (Delhi District Cricket Association). Since 2008 the stadium has been the home venue of the Delhi DareDevils of the Indian Premier League.[4] The stadium was designed by architects and conservationists Mr Danish Siddiqui and Naval Khanna.
On 27 December 2009, an ODI match between India and Sri Lanka was called off because pitch conditions were classed as unfit to host a match. Based on match referee's report of the match, Kotla, which is scheduled to stage four World Cup matches in 2011, faced strict sanction ranging from a fine to a ban of 12 to 24 months. More than 14 months ban would have meant Kotla's exclusion from 2011 Cricket World Cup. But the ICC decided to ban Kotla for only 12 months, and as a result of that Kotla continues to be one of the venues for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.[5]
[edit] Statistics
Most successful team: India:- 10 wins. India's most successful Test ground in terms of victories has been Kotla, where India posted seven successive Test victories from 1993-2007. They, however, drew their last match here against Australia in 2008. India have not lost a single Test in that period, and since the inception of Test matches on this ground, India have only lost 6 of 24 games here.
- Most successful visiting team:- England - 3 wins, West Indies - 2 wins. Of only 6 games won by visiting teams, England have won 3 games here.
- Highest Innings Score : 644/8 by West Indies on February 6, 1959 - India drew with West Indies.
- Lowest Innings Score : 75 all out by india on November 25, 1987 - West Indies beat India by 5 wickets.
- Wins Batting First : 5.
- Wins Bowling Last : 12.
- Average Innings Score : 288
- Most Prolific Batsman : Dilip Vengsarkar (671 runs).
- Highest Individual Score : 230* by Bert Sutcliffe v India on December 16, 1955 - India drew with New Zealand.
- Most Successful Bowler : Anil Kumble (58 wickets).
[edit] Sports history
In recent history, Kotla has become synonymous with Anil Kumble, whose favorite haunt as a bowler was this ground, culminating in 63 wickets from 11 games here. Next best was Kapil Dev who took 38 from 14. Kotla not only marked Kumble's last Test, it also was the venue to the historic ten-wickets in an innings haul of 10/74 against arch-rivals Pakistan in 1999. Eerily the year Kumble exited Test career, in 2008, Kotla entered an international Test ban for one year and has not hosted a Test match since. Its due to host England in 2011.
In 1952, playing against Pakistan, Hemu Adhikari and Ghulam Ahmed were involved in a record tenth wicket stand of 109 runs - a record that still stands. In 1965, S Venkataraghavan, in his debut series, demolished the New Zealand line up with figures of 8 for 72 and 4 for 80. In 1969-70, Bishen Singh Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna combined to spin India to a famous seven wicket win over Australia, the duo picking 18 wickets between themselves.[4]
England's John Lever had a memorable debut at the Kotla in 1976, when he notched up a half-century and had match figures of 10 for 70. Five years later, Geoff Boycott surpassed Gary Sobers' world record Test aggregate. In 1983-84, Sunil Gavaskar scored his 29th century to equal Don Bradman's long standing record for the highest number of hundreds in Test cricket. In 1999-2000, in a match against Pakistan, Anil Kumble took 10 for 74 in forth inning of a Test Match and became the second person to take 10 wickets in an innings after Jim Laker. In 2005-06, at the same ground, Sachin Tendulkar broke Gavaskar's record of most centuries with his 35th Test century.[4]
The highest scores were made by West Indies, scoring 644-8 in 1959 and 631 all out in 1948. The next highest score was made by India scoring 613-7 in 2008 in Test cricket. The most runs scored here was by Dilip Vengsarkar (673 runs), followed by Sunil Gavaskar (668 runs) and Sachin Tendulkar (643 runs). The most wickets taken here was by Anil Kumble (58 wickets), followed by Kapil Dev (32 wickets)and Bhagwath Chandresekhar (23 wickets).
The highest scores were made by West Indies, scoring 330-8 in the 2011 Cicket World Cup in ODIs. The next highest scores were made by Pakistan who scored 303-8 in 2005 and Australia who scored 294-3 in 1998.
The most runs scored here was by Sachin Tendulkar (300 runs), followed by Mohammed Azharuddin (267 runs) and Ricky Ponting (245 runs). Kemar Roach, Harbhajan Singh and Ajit Agarkar have taken 7 wickets on this ground in ODIs.
[edit] Cricket World Cup
This stadium has hosted One Day International (ODI) matches when India hosted the Cricket World Cup in 1987, 1996 and 2011.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "West Gate of Firoz Shah Kotla". British Library. http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/other/019xzz000007682u00011000.html.
- ^ "Pillar of Firoz Shah at Delhi". British Library. http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/other/019wdz000000709u00000000.html.
- ^ "Capital's cultural affair began in 50s". Hindustan Times. November 16, 2011. http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Capital-s-cultural-affair-began-in-50s/Article1-769751.aspx.
- ^ a b c Feroz Shah Kotla crickinfo.com
- ^ No International matches in Feroze Shah Kotla until end 2010
[edit] External links
- Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium Layout
- Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium picture
- Feroz Shah Kotla Notable Events
- Commonwealth Games News
- Article on the ground from The Hindu
- Stats on the ground from Cricinfo
- Report on Feroz Shah Kotla compiled by students of School and Planning & Architecture, New Delhi
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