Barabati Stadium: One of India’s Most Iconic Cricket Stadiums

The Barabati Stadium is a cricket stadium in Cuttack, Odisha, that was built in 1958 and has a capacity of 45,000. It is the home ground of the Odisha Cricket team and used to be the home stadium of the IPL sides Hyderabad Deccan Chargers and the Kolkata Knight Riders. If you want to improve your knowledge about this stadium, please read on.

The History of the Barabati Stadium

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The Odisha Cricket Association built the Barabati Stadium back in 1958, making it one of the oldest venues in the whole of India. However, after the construction was complete, the people of Odisha had to wait nearly three decades before they had the opportunity to watch a test match at the ground. This was a match between India and Sri Lanka that India went on to win by an innings and 67 runs thanks to a majestic 166 by Dilip Vengsarkar. However, they did get to see an ODI game played here between India and England five years earlier. Once again, the Indian side was victorious. They bowled England out for 230 in 46 overs and then chased the score down in 42 overs thanks to Sunil Gavaskar, who scored 71 runs.

This ground has also hosted matches during the 1987 and 1996 Cricket World Cup. During the 1987 edition, the ground saw Australia triumph over Zimbabwe by 70 runs, while in 1996 India dispatched Kenya by 7 wickets. At the time of its completion, this stadium was one of the best in the country and it has managed to remain so over the years thanks to constant renovation. Nowadays, it is one of the most modern-looking cricket stadiums in India and is adorned with state-of-the-art floodlights and scoreboard. In 2012, the Odisha Cricket Association named their indoor cricket hall after Sachin Tendulkar. If you ever go here to watch a match, you need to go have a walk through the hall.

"As of November 2019, this ground has hosted 2 test matches, 18 ODIs, and 4 T20 matches."

Although this is primarily a cricket stadium, football matches and tournaments are also played here. For example, in 2012, it hosted the Santosh Trophy Football Tournament. So, if you are a football lover as well as a cricket lover, you should try and see both sports at this stadium. The atmosphere and the experience will be something that you will be telling your friends about for a long while.

What Entertaining Matches Have Been Played At This Iconic Stadium?

  • India V England in 2017: This was a day/night match that was played on the 19th of January. India batted first and scored 381 runs from their 50 overs thanks to centuries from Yuvraj Singh (150) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (134). England, in reply, batted well but they fell just 15 runs short of their target, despite a fine century from the captain Eoin Morgan (102).
  • India V Sri Lanka in 2014: This was also a day/night match that took place on the 2nd of November. India batted first and scored 363 from their allotted 50 overs thanks to fine centuries from Ajinkya Rahane (111) and Shikhar Dhawan (113). Sri Lanka never got going in their innings and they were bowled out for just 194 runs thanks to a 4-wicket haul from Ishant Sharma.
  • Pakistan V England in 1989: The two teams played a Nehru Cup match here and the crowd was thoroughly entertained by a low scoring game. Pakistan batted first and only managed 148 runs from their 50 England struggled during their reply, but they reached their target with fewer than 7 overs remaining and just 4 wickets left.
  • India v Sri Lanka in 2017: This was a night T20 match that took place on the 20th of December. India batted first and notched up 180 runs from their 20 overs thanks to Kannaur Rahul, who scored 61. In reply, Sri Lanka were bowled out for a mere 87 inside 16 overs thanks to a 4-wicket haul by Yuzvendra Chahal.

Some Fun Statistics to Enjoy

  • In January 1987, in a match against Sri Lanka, Kapil Dev picked up his 300th Test wicket when he got the ball through Rumesh Ratnayake’s
  • Anil Kumble, Ajit Agarkar, and Ishant Sharma have taken 7 ODI wickets at this ground, which is the most at this venue. It should be noted that Agarkar played two more matches than the other two, who played three ODI matches here.
  • Sachin Tendulkar has the most ODI runs at this stadium. In the 10 matches that he played, he scored 469 runs (1 century and 3 half-centuries) at an average of 62
  • Ajay Jadeja holds the record for the most ODI centuries scored at this venue. In the 3 matches that he played there, he scored 2 In his only other innings, he scored a half-century, meaning that his average at this ground is a staggering 136.50.
  • Daren Powell has the best ODI bowling figures at this stadium. In a match against India in 2007, he picked up 4 wickets for 27 runs from the 10 overs that he bowled.
  • England’s Liam Plunkett holds the record for the most expensive ODI bowling innings at this stadium. In 2017, in a match against India, he conceded 91 runs from the 10 overs that he bowled.
  • Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera has the record for conceding the most runs in a T20 match at this stadium. In 2017, he bowled 3 overs against India and was smacked for 38 runs - an economy of 66.

Should You Make an Effort to Watch a Match at This Stadium?

The Barabati Stadium is one of the best stadiums in the whole country, so you really should go and watch a cricket match there is the opportunity presents itself. The atmosphere is always electric, which is to be expected when 45,000 fervent fans are packed in to watch the match. If you are in Odisha when there is no cricket (or football match for that matter) being played, then you won’t be able to go inside as they, like many stadiums around the country, do not allow the public inside when it is not a matchday. However, if you would really like to take a peek inside, you could try being friendly to somebody who works there. You never know, you might get lucky.

Is it Simple to Get to?

The Barabati Stadium is not as well served by public transport as many of the other major cricket stadiums in India. You can do some of the journey using public transport, but it doesn’t look like there are any bus stops or train stations within walking distance of the station. If you don’t mind a bit of a walk, you can go to Cuttack Railway Station, which is about 4 kilometres away from the stadium. If you are a fast walker, you can walk this distance in about half an hour. If you are a slower walker, it could take you up to an hour. What we would recommend though is that you get a taxi to the stadium or hire a car. So, let us say that you are lucky enough to be visiting when a game is being played and you go and watch it and have a great time.

What else is there to see in Odisha when you have ticked the Barabati stadium off your to-do list? Well, you will be happy to hear that there is plenty to occupy you. We would recommend that you visit the Cuttack Chandi Temple, Dhabaleswar Island, the Odisha Maritime Museum, the Konark Sun Temple, Dhauligiri Shanti Stupa, the Barabati Fort, the Netaji Birth Place Museum, and the Nandankanan Zoological Park.

Of course, if you are not a local you are going to need to find a hotel to stay in during your visit to this wonderful part of India. Thankfully, you will have a wide selection to choose from, meaning you can find the perfect one. If you don’t like the idea of having to get a taxi to the stadium, you could always opt for a hotel near the stadium, of which there are quite a few.