As Eden Gardens gears up to host the country’s first ever pink ball test match spectacle between India and Bangladesh, allow us to jog your memory on what makes this stadium’s charm so enduring on cricketers past and present, generations young and old.
Eden Gardens, gets its name from one of the oldest parks of Kolkata that still exists at the back of the stadium. Set up in 1864, it is by far the largest cricket stadium in the country that can accommodate a whopping 68,000 people! Come to think of it, the stadium used to be twice the size of what it is today (seating capacity was reduced to half after a revamp in 2011).
Renowned for large and boisterous crowds, former Aussie captain Steve Waugh had once called it the ‘Lords of the Subcontinent’. It has been the home venue of not just cricket but football matches too. Who hasn’t heard of the ultimate showdown in 1977 when football maestro Pele had played for Cosmos against the Mohun Bagan Football Club at the Edens. Did we send you too far sprinting down memory lane? Come back to 2001 and reminisce India’s historic win against Australia at the Edens. That should pump you up for the upcoming #PinkBall Test that will have Virat Kohli and Co. take on Bangladesh right here at this iconic venue. Have you booked your tickets yet?
