Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad

HCA's previous home ground was the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in the Fateh Maidan sports complex at Basheerbagh in central Hyderabad. The ground belonged to the Sports Authority of Telangana State and HCA had limited operating autonomy over this ground.

Moreover, due to its smaller size, it soon came to be known as a high-scoring ground and so Hyderabad was not considered for many high-profile cricket matches in India.

In 2003, the proposal for a new stadium was submitted by HCA to the government of erstwhile Andhra Pradesh, then headed by N. Chandrababu Naidu. The proposal was quickly cleared and HCA was allocated a budget for the same. The government also identified a large piece of land suitable for the project at Uppal.

Most of the funding for the project came after an open auction of the stadium's title was held. Visaka Industries Limited won the auction with a bid price of ₹65,00,00,000. A sum of ₹43,00,00,000 was paid in advance and the stadium was named as Visakha International Cricket Stadium in 2004.

By 2005 when most of the stadium was built, it was ready to host its first ODI Match between India and South Africa. However, Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh(before separation of Telangana) decided to change the name of the stadium to Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in memory of the former Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi.

Following this decision, HCA was required to pay Visakha Industries six times the contract price in accordance with the contract clauses governing any subsequent renaming of the stadium or the Visakha name not remaining attached to the stadium. HCA however, following some negotiations by Govt, got away by paying an amount of ₹43,00,00,000, i.e. the contract price only.

The ends are named Pavilion End and North End. On the retirement of VVS Laxman, the HCA decided to honour the veteran by naming the North End after him.

Matches Hosted

• Test — 5
• ODI — 6
• T20I — 2

• The stadium extends across 16 acres and has a seating capacity of 55,000 spectators. The ends are Pavilion End and North End (V.V.S. Laxman end).
• A stand was named after Newly-appointed Hyderabad Cricket Association President Mohammad Azharuddin and opened on 6 December 2019.
• Floodlights are mounted on six towers to illuminate the stadium during day-night matches having been commissioned in April 2007.
• The wicket here is considered as a flat track, with a reputation of being a batsman-friendly and high-scoring pitch.

A Panoramic view of Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium

SRH fans during an IPL match

Sunrisers Hyderabad is a cricket franchise based in Hyderabad by the IPL Governing Council. The team is owned by Kalanithi Maran of the Sun TV Network. David Warner is the captain of the team. Trevor Bayliss is the head coach and Brad Haddin is the assistant coach of the team. VVS Laxman is the mentor of the team while Muttiah Muralitharan was the bowling coach of the team. The team won 2016 IPL season.

The team jersey was unveiled on 8 March 2013, and team anthem directed by GV Prakash Kumar was released on 12 March 2013. Their logo was unveiled on 20 December 2012, along with the announcement that the team's management would be led by Kris, Tom Moody and VVS Laxman.

The stadium suffered from a jinx of losing matches for the home team. Deccan Chargers lost all their matches in 2008 Indian Premier League. So the management had decided to change the dressing room position of the home team and also installed a sculpture of Lord Ganesha who is the god for success and the efforts of the management finally resulted in a win for India in the next match beating England with a margin of over a hundred runs. India won 4 out of 5 test matches hosted at this venue (1 Drawn). It also turned the fortunes of Sunrisers Hyderabad with almost all wins at home.

In IPL 2019, Hyderabad Cricket Association won the award for best ground and pitch.

It was the 101st venue for Test matches in world cricket.[3]

Test Matches Records

Most career runs[4] Runs Player Nationality Period 510 (5 Innings) Cheteshwar Pujara  India 2012-2018 379 (4 Innings) Virat Kohli  India 2012-2018 293 (4 Innings) Brendon McCullum  New Zealand 2010-2012 282 (3 Innings) Murali Vijay  India 2013-2017 203 (4 Innings) Virender Sehwag  India 2010-2013 157 (4 Innings) Kane Williamson  New Zealand 2010-2012

Highest individual score[5] Runs Player Nationality Year 225 vs India Brendon McCullum  New Zealand 2010 204 vs Bangladesh Virat Kohli  India 2017 204 vs Australia Cheteshwar Pujara  India 2013 167 vs Australia Murali Vijay  India 2013 159 vs New Zealand Cheteshwar Pujara  India 2012 127 vs India Mushfiqur Rahim  Bangladesh 2017 111* vs New Zealand Harbhajan Singh  India 2010 108 vs Bangladesh Murali Vijay  India 2017 106* vs Bangladesh Wriddhiman Saha  India 2017 106 vs India Roston Chase West Indies 2018 102 vs India Tim McIntosh  New Zealand 2010

|

Most centuries[6]
Centuries	Player	Period
2 (5 Innings)	Cheteshwar Pujara	2012-2018
2 (3 Innings)	Murali Vijay	2013-2017
1 (1 Innings)	Mushfiqur Rahim	2017
1 (2 Innings)	Wriddhiman Saha	2017
1 (2 Innings)	Harbhajan Singh	2010-2013
1 (2 Innings)	Tim McIntosh	2010
1 (5 Innings)	Virat Kohli	2012-2018
1 (4 Innings)	Brendon McCullum	2010–2012
1 (1 Innings)	Roston Chase	2018

The ground was scheduled to host its first ever Twenty20 International on 13 October 2017, against Australia. However, it was called off due to a wet outfield.[10]

The ground finally hosted a Twenty20 International on 6 December 2019, against West Indies. It was a high scoring match, with India winning the match by 6 wickets.

Twenty20 International Records

Most career runs at this ground[11] Runs Player Team Period 94 (1 Innings) Virat Kohli  India 2019 62 (1 Innings) K. L. Rahul  India 2019

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.

• Cricinfo Website - Ground Page