The Wankhede Stadium, on the other hand, was built in 1975 and is Mumbai's largest cricket stadium. Cricket is clearly regarded as a religion in the city, but other sports played in stadiums are also viewed as vital. Scroll through this section to discover more about Mumbai's prominent cricket stadiums.
In fact, the only thing that keeps Mumbai cricket fans at bay is the fact that they don't have a national team to support. The city has always produced great players, but never before had they been able to express themselves with the nation behind them. With the introduction of the Mumbai Indians franchise in 2012, however, that is now possible. The team has already won two titles - one at the inaugural Indian Premier League (IPL) season and another last year. They will be playing their next match on April 29 against Chennai Super Kings.
Mumbai has always had a strong connection with cricket. The game was invented here and several greats have come from the city. It also serves as a refuge for those who want to pursue their passion outside India's overcrowded sports scene. In fact, several international stars call Mumbai home either fully or partly because there is no other sporting competition worth taking part in.
Mumbai has many stadiums that host various games. Some are famous others aren't, but they all play an important role in the city's sports landscape.
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, cricket team/arenas/stadiums
The Wankhede Stadium (Marathi: vaankhedde stteddiym) is a cricket stadium located in Mumbai, India. Following improvements for the 2011 Cricket World Cup, the stadium presently has a capacity of 33,108. Prior to the refurbishment, the capacity was around 45,000.
Mumbai Stadiums/Arenas/Indians Wankhede Stadium is a sports stadium in Mumbai, India. It is primarily used for cricket matches and is the home stadium of the Indian Premier League team Mumbai Indians.
The stadium has been referred to as "the Cathedral of Cricket" because of its large size and number of rooms inside it where games can be watched on giant screens. The Wankhede Stadium has a capacity of 40,000 and was built in 1956 by the Bombay (now Mumbai) Municipal Corporation.
It has been called India's largest indoor stadium because of its size, but this title also belongs to Dharamshala Shree Rajiv Gandhi International Sports Arena which has a capacity of 50,000 people. The Wankhede Stadium is also the largest by area with an enclosed yard space of 643 m² (6703 ft²). It has become a popular venue for music concerts, award shows, and fashion weeks.
Inside the stadium, there are several restaurants and bars where one can have snacks and drinks while watching a match. There are also shops where you can buy souvenirs and other cricket equipment.
The most sought-after stadiums are Brabourne and Wankhede, as well as other grounds such as Gymkhana Ground, Marine Lines Ground, Bombay Presidency Golf Club, Middle Income Group Ground, Vengsarkar Cricket Academy Ground, and so on. These are the venues where most of the matches of the Indian Premier League (IPL) are played out. The reason behind this is that these are all major venues with good spectator facilities.
Other than these, the oldest ground in Mumbai called Elphinstone College Ground is also popular among cricket fans for its history of hosting important games. It has also been used as a venue for international matches and domestic tournaments like the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Cup.
Finally, we come to the biggest stadium in Mumbai called Wankhede Stadium. It is known as the home of which team?
The Wankhede Stadium is owned by the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai and is one of the largest sports complexes in India. It is also used for music concerts, art exhibitions, and product launches. The Wankhede Stadium has a capacity of 40,000 people and it usually hosts IPL games.
It was built in 1949 by the British government as Lord's of London during the era of independence in India.
Visaka International Cricket Ground, located in Uppal, Hyderabad's eastern suburb, is an important cricket venue. The Hyderabad Cricket Association owns the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, one of the city's main cricket fields. It is located in Malkajgiri district, 20 kilometres from the center of Hyderabad.
RCSI Hyderabad has established itself as the leading cricket academy in India. It has produced many Indian cricketers over the years and also coaches several national teams including India. The RCSI campus comprises more than 10 acres with facilities such as gymnasiums, sports science laboratories, indoor stadiums, outdoor nets, etc. It also has a hospital and an educational institution attached to it.
RCSI Hyderabad was founded in 1969 by Sir Richard Hadlee, a New Zealand cricketer who had moved to India to take up a coaching job with the government-run Defense Academy at Shillong. He decided to set up his own academy for young cricketers in Hyderabad because there were no such institutions then. He approached the government with this proposal and received permission to start the Rangaraya College of Sports Sciences & Technology. The college began its first academic year in 1970 with only three students and four staff members. It now has more than 500 students and 50 staff members.
Stadium Motera President Ram Nath Kovind opened the newly-built Motera Stadium in February this year, which was renamed the Narendra Modi Stadium before of the pink-ball Test between India and England. With a total capacity of 1,32,000, the stadium is the largest cricket venue in the world. It has been built by Royal Enfield in collaboration with Delhi Capitals and Hockey India.
The stadium is also used for athletics meets and football matches. It has been designed by British architect John Parker who has also done Lord's and Eden Gardens - the other two Indian stadiums.
Motera is an urban village near Delhi University in Rajouri Garden, New Delhi. The stadium is owned by the Delhi Capitals sports franchise of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
It took only three years to build this stadium. The cost is estimated to be around Rs 100 crore ($15 million).
This is one of the many projects undertaken by the Union government's 'Smart Cities' initiative. Other cities developed by this scheme include Ahmedabad, Amaravati, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nairobi, New Delhi, Pune, Surat, Tirupati, and Vishakhapatnam.
The Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium is India's newest cricket venue. It is India's 21st T20 international stadium and the country's 51st international cricket venue. The stadium is created using cutting-edge technology and is located in the lovely city of Dehradun. It hosts all forms of cricket and is also used for athletics events.
The ground broke its opening day record when India played Australia in a One Day International match on 8 February 2010. In the first ever match to be held at the stadium, India won by eight wickets. This scoreline was bettered when India beat New Zealand by four runs a few days later. The stadium has been praised for its beauty with some saying it is like a scene out of a movie. It has been built around the base of a mountain and has two open stands with grass pitches. There is also a roof over the main stand which can be closed for bad weather matches.
India will continue to play their home matches at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium until 2015 when they move into their new stadium - Vidarbha Institute of Medical Science (VIMS) Stadium, Nagpur. The VIMS Stadium will have all indoor facilities including a gym, a library, a medical centre, and training rooms. It is expected that once the new stadium is ready, India will shift all their home matches to it.