Wankhede Stadium

History

Previous stadiums

Mumbai has seen Test matches played at three different grounds. The Mumbai Gymkhana ground hosted the first-ever Test in India, in 1933–34 against England. After World War II, the Cricket Club of India's (CCI) Brabourne Stadium – the second ground of the city – was used for 17 Tests.

Construction

Wankhede Stadium was built after disputes between the CCI, which owns Brabourne Stadium, and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) over the allocation of tickets for cricket matches. This became severe after the Test between India and England in 1973. At the initiative of S. K. Wankhede, a politician and the secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, BCA built the new stadium in South Mumbai near the Churchgate station by appointing Shashi Prabhu & Associates as their architects and B.E. Billimoria & Co as the contractors. It was named after Wankhede in 1974. It was built in approximately 13 months and opened in time for the final Test between India and the West Indies in 1975. Since then, Wankhede Stadium has been the main cricketing venue in the city.

Wankhede Stadium staged its first Test in the 1974–75 season when the West Indies toured India; India lost by 201 runs. The Test also featured a crowd disturbance after a fan who rushed onto the ground to greet West Indies player Clive Lloyd was treated roughly by the police. India's first victory at the stadium was against New Zealand two seasons later. The stadium has been a witness to great innings like Sunil Gavaskar's 205 against the West Indies and Alvin Kallicharan's 187 in the same game in the 1978–79 series and all-round heroics like Ian Botham's century and thirteen wickets in the Jubilee Test in 1979–80, which England won by ten wickets. The highest score by an Indian at the Wankhede Stadium is Virat Kohli's 235 against England in 2016–17. Incidentally Ravi Shastri's six sixes in an over off Baroda's Tilak Raj in Ranji Trophy, en route to the fastest double-hundred in first-class cricket were recorded on this ground in 1984–85. His unbeaten 200 in 113 minutes off 123 balls with 13 fours and 13 sixes at this ground is the fastest double century in first-class cricket since the 2017–18 season when Shafiqullah Shafaq scored a double century in 89 balls.

Reconstruction

Since ICC World Cup Cricket 2011 was to be hosted by India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, and Mumbai was selected to host the final, it was decided to redevelop the Wankhede Stadium to suit the modern facilities and comfort of spectators.

The Managing Committee invited presentations from reputed Architects and shortlisted M/s. P.K. Das & Associates and M/s. Shashi Prabhu & Associates to jointly draw up a project for the redevelopment of the Wankhede Stadium. While redeveloping the Stadium, major changes were at the North end and the South end with better facilities for the spectators in terms of bucket seating, a large number of toilets, and food courts.

While MCA undertook the redevelopment of Wankhede Stadium, the ground was not available for domestic and international cricket until February 2011. To ensure that MCA did not miss out on the turn of Test and ODI matches and also to develop a healthy working relationship with the Cricket Club of India.

One of the highlights of the stadium is the suspended cantilever roofs. The Teflon fabric roof is lighter in weight and heat resistant. There is no beam support for the roof to ensure that the spectators will have a better view. On the roof, there are exhaust fans that suck the hot air from the stands and allow the breeze from the West to flow in. The stadium has 20 elevators for North and South stands.

The stadium has a capacity of 33,108, following renovations for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Before the upgrade, the capacity was approximately 39,000.

World Cup 2023

Wankhede Stadium was proposed to be used as one of the venues for World Cup 2023. The up-gradation of the stadium is currently in works where Shashi Prabhu & Associates have once again been appointed to oversee the restoration of entire outfield. The matches were played in October and November 2023.

Pitch

The entire square is made of local red soil which gives extra bounce thus making batting slightly easier. The pitch over the years has generally favoured the batters more than the bowlers. However, the pitch came into serious criticism during the 4th test of Border Gavaskar Trophy 2004 where the test match ended in just around two-and-a half days apparently resulting in India's win and was declared a "Minefield" by then Aussies skipper Ricky Ponting as the ball started turning very sharply right from the 1st session of the game. Generally, the pace bowlers get some help off the pitch here with the new ball due to sea-breeze flow along the stadium.

Recent tournament results

[[Cricket World Cup]]

[[ICC Men's T20 World Cup]]

Cricket World Cup

This stadium has hosted 20 One Day International (ODI) matches every time that India has hosted the Cricket World Cup:

1987 Cricket World Cup

1996 Cricket World Cup

2011 Cricket World Cup

Finals

Main article: 2011 Cricket World Cup Final

India became the first country to win the Cricket World Cup on home soil at Wankhede stadium.

2023 Cricket World Cup

----{{Single-innings cricket match ----{{Single-innings cricket match

• Mohammad Shami became the highest wicket-taker for India at the Cricket World Cup, surpassing Zaheer Khan (44 wickets).
• This was India's largest win, in terms of runs, at the Cricket World Cup.
• India qualified for the semi-finals as a result of this match. ----{{Single-innings cricket match
• Glenn Maxwell (Aus) scored the highest score (201) at the number 6 position in ODI cricket.
• 202-run stand between Glenn Maxwell and Pat Cummins (Aus) is the highest 8th wicket partnership in ODIs.
• Glenn Maxwell (Aus) became the first Australian cricketer to score a double century in ODIs.
• Glenn Maxwell (Aus) also made the highest individual score batting second in ODIs.
• Australia qualified for the semi-finals as a result of this match.

Semi-final

• Mohammed Shami's 7/57 were the best bowling figures for India in ODIs, surpassing Stuart Binny's 6/4; in World Cups, surpassing Ashish Nehra's 6/23 in 2003; and in ODIs vs New Zealand, surpassing Amit Mishra's 5/18. He also surpassed Mitchell Starc to become the quickest to reach 50 wickets in World Cups, in terms of innings (17).
• Virat Kohli (Ind) broke Sachin Tendulkar's records of 49 and 673 for the most centuries in ODIs (50) and most runs in a single edition of the World Cup respectively (711).
• India overtook New Zealand's 393 in 2015 for the highest total in a World Cup knockout stage match (397).
• As a result of this match, India qualified for the finals of the World Cup for the fourth time, after 1983, 2003 and 2011.

Other events

• In 2014, the swearing-in ceremony of current Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was held inside this arena.

Records and statistics

Test records

• Highest total: 631-all out by India against England in the 2016/17 season.
• Lowest total: 62 by New Zealand against India in the 2021/22 season.
• The highest partnership at the Wankhede Stadium is 298 by DB Vengsarkar and RJ Shastri for India against Australia in the 1986/87 season.
• Sunil Gavaskar (1122 runs) has scored the most Test runs, followed by Sachin Tendulkar (921) and Dilip Vengsarkar (631).
• R Ashwin (41 wickets), Anil Kumble (38 wickets), and Kapil Dev (28)

ODI records

• Highest total: 438/4 by South Africa against India in the 2015 One Day International Series, then 397/4 by India in 2023 ODI World cup Semi-finals, 358/6 by New Zealand, 357/8 by India against Sri Lanka in 2023 ODI World Cup, 327/10 New Zealand vs India, 299/4 by India and Sri Lanka 289/7.
• Lowest total: 55 all out by Sri Lanka against India in the 2023 season.
• Virat Kohli (474 runs) has scored the most ODI runs, followed by Sachin Tendulkar (455) and Mohammad Azharuddin (302).
• Mohammed Shami, Venkatesh Prasad (15 wickets each) and Anil Kumble (12).

T20I records

• Highest total: 246/9 by India against England on 2 February 2025.
• Lowest total: 135/7 by Sri Lanka against India on 24 December 2017(3rd match in 3 match t20 series).
• Virat Kohli of India (197) has scored the most runs, followed by RG Sharma of India (165), and by Abhishek Sharma of India (135).

Stands

• MCA Stand
• MCA Stand
• Rohit Sharma Stand
• North Stand
• MCA Stand
• MCA Stand
• Sachin Tendulkar Stand
• Garware Stand
• Grand Stand

Gallery

Before renovation

File:Chennai Super Kings.jpg|Chennai Super Kings Wins Vs Kings XI Punjab at Wankhede in old structure File:Wankhede-1.JPG|The stadium in 2006 during Test match in old structure. File:Wankhede-1.jpg|Before renovation - stands, floodlight tower from a spectator view from one of the stands. File:Wankhede-main-entrance.jpg|Old entrance of the stadium File:Wankhede.jpg|Before renovation, from the railway lines next to the stadium

After renovation

File:The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi arrives at Wankhede Stadium for the swearing-in ceremony of the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, in Mumbai on October 31, 2014.jpg|Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the arena in October 2014 during Maharashtra gov swearing-in. File:Wankhede Stadium (86312941).jpeg| Panoramic view of the stadium after renovation. File:Wankhede ICC WCF.jpg|Stadium during the first innings of the 2011 Cricket World Cup final between Sri Lanka and India.

References

References

1. "Cricket Venues and Grounds". [[Board of Control for Cricket in India]].
2. "ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 – Media Guide". ICC.
3. Caless, Kit. (19 February 2017). "クリケットの街から眺めるインドサッカー界の未来". Vice Japan.
4. Afzal, Muhammad Ali. (26 January 2024). "Top 10 Largest Cricket Stadiums In The World By Capacity".
5. "Cricinfo: Brabourne Stadium". ESPNcricinfo.
6. Inglis, Simon. (25 May 2000). "Sightlines: a stadium odyssey". Yellow Jersey.
7. "Wankhede Stadium – CricBlogg".
8. (July 2025). "Every T20 record at the Wankhede Stadium | Highest total to highest run-scorer".
9. "MCA: Wankhede Stadium". mumbaicricket.com.
10. Janardhan, Arun. (17 October 2013). "Sachin's last Test: Wankhede braces for ticket rush".
11. "India vs Sri Lanka: Dilshan Madushanka becomes 4th Sri Lanka bowler to pick a 5-wicket haul in ODI World Cups". India Today.
12. (2 November 2023). "Mohammed Shami becomes India’s leading wicket taker in World Cup history with fifer vs Sri Lanka". The Indian Express.
13. (15 January 2023). "Kohli, Siraj shine as India break record for largest win margin by runs, beat Sri Lanka by 317 in 3rd ODI". Hindustan Times.
14. "Stats from India's record win: Shami makes history as Kohli climbs all-time list". [[International Cricket Council.
15. "Records for ODI Matches". [[ESPNcricinfo]].
16. (2 November 2023). "India become first team to qualify for 2023 World Cup semi-finals with unbeaten 7/7 record". [[Hindustan Times]].
17. "AUS vs AFG: Ibrahim Zadran becomes first Afghanistan batter to hit World Cup hundred". India Today.
18. "Most runs in an innings (by batting position)". ESPN Cricinfo.
19. "Glenn Maxwell hits iconic double century, pulls off a Kapil Dev to deny Afghanistan the greatest World Cup upset ever". Hindustan Times.
20. "Maxwell records highest individual score in a run chase, slams double century during AUS vs AFG, World Cup 2023 match". SportStar.
21. "Australia vs Afghanistan: Glenn Maxwell's ‘Superhuman’ innings helps Australia beat Afghanistan by three wickets". Mint.
22. (15 November 2023). "World Cup 2023: Mohammed Shami plays 100th ODI in high-voltage semi-final against New Zealand".
23. "ODI World Cup 2023: India pacer Mohammed Shami reveals why he felt TERRIBLE despite seven wickets vs NZ".
24. (15 November 2023). "Mohammed Shami becomes fastest to 50 wickets in ODI World Cup history".
25. (15 November 2023). "Sensational Virat Kohli Surpasses Sachin Tendulkar With Record-Breaking 50th ODI Ton".
26. "Stats – Shami, Kohli and Rohit on a record-breaking spree".
27. (20 January 2015). "BJP govt's swearing-in at Wankhede costed Rs 98.33 lakh: RTI".
28. "Records: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai: Test matches: Most runs". ESPN Cricinfo.
29. "Records: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai: Test matches: Most wickets". ESPN Cricinfo.
30. "Records: Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai: One-Day Internationals: Highest totals". ESPN Cricinfo.
31. Shivam. (2025-05-17). "Rohit Sharma Stand Inaugurated At Wankhede Stadium".