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Cricket,as
anywhere in India is played in all nooks and corners of
the city. Bangalore has contributed immensely to Indian
cricket right from spinners Chandrashekar and Prassana who
formed the famous spinning quartet along with Bedi and Venkatraghavan;
to the graceful batsman Gundappa Vishwanath; to the 1983
World Cup heros Roger Binny and Syed Kirmani;to the present
Rahul Dravid,Anil Kumble and Venkatesh Prasad. The
city boasts of the magnificient Chinnaswamy stadium which
has played host to many a state,national and international
matches.Cricket affairs in the state are managed by the
Karnataka State Cricket Association(KSCA) which is affiliated
to the Board of Cricket Control in India(BCCI),the governing
body for cricket in the country.Some of the important cricket
stadiums and grounds are highlighted here below.
CHINNASWAMY
STADIUM: Chinnaswamy
stadium is located right in the heart of the city,at one
end of M.G.Road.The stadium is named after M.Chinnaswamy,the
former Board president from 1977-80.The stadium made its
debut in the 1972-73 season.The first big match was the
Ranji trophy semi-final played between hosts Karnataka and
Bombay where Karnataka ended Bombay's 15-year reign as Ranji
Trophy champions in the year 1973-74. The stadium was accorded
Test status in the 1974-75 season where the West Indies
beat the hosts by 267 runs. more contrasting . The highlight
of the Test was an 85-ball hundred by Clive Lloyd and test
debuts for the Gordon Greenidge and master blaster Vivian
Richards. India beat Tony Greig's side by 140 runs in the
1976-77 series to bring up their maiden triumph on this
ground.The next test match was when England toured India
in 1981-82 when Sunil Gavaskar scored a patient 172 . The
Test against Pakistan in 1983-84 was notable for being the
first in which no balls and wides were credited to the bowler's
analysis. The
next match at Bangalore was a thriller in the 1986-87 season
where India went down to Pakistan by 16 runs on an underprepared
wicket and Gavaskar, in his farewell Test, displayed his
class in the second innings with an effort of 96 that took
India to the doorstep of victory.
Other
landmarks at this ground include Richard Hadlee taking over
from Ian Botham as the highest wicket taker in Test history
in 1988-89 with his 374th wicket (Arun Lal) and Kapil Dev
equalling Hadlee's record tally of 431 wickets off the last
ball of the Test against Sri Lanka in 1993-94. The highest
individual score at the Chinnaswamy stadium is Sachin Tendulkar's
177 against Australia in 1997-98. Mark Waugh responded with
his highest Test score of 153 not out and Australia won
the game by eight wickets, their first Test victory in India
since 1969-70. The match also saw Azharuddin become the
second Indian after Gavaskar to take hundred catches in
Tests. Apart
from these international test matches,numerous one-day internationals
have been played on this magnificient ground;the most notable
one being the tense quater-final between India and Pakistan
in the 1995 World Cup which India won.The stadium presently
also houses the National Cricket Academy(NCA) to fine tune
the skills of the future cricket talent of the country.
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