The Aussie tour of India 2001
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    Tests at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta

    Click on the map to know more about the venues.

    by Mohandas Menon

    The venues

    The Eden Gardens is the oldest cricket ground in India and is also considered one of the finest in the world. The history of the Indian Cricket is irrevocably bound up with that of Calcutta Cricket Club, which did the pioneering work in cricket not only in Calcutta but in the whole of the eastern region of India. The present Eden Gardens Cricket Club came in existence some time in the year 1864. It is not certain as to whom the land belonged to although some records show that it was the property of then Maharaja of Cooch-Behar while some other records state that it belonged to the Auckland Family. However, the fact remains that the land was effectively passed into the hand of the Governor General's family who in turn presented it to the citizens of Calcutta for recreation. In course of time Calcutta Cricket Club established with its headquarters at the Eden Gardens. The pavilion was built in 1871 and cricket was played for a long period in Sylvan surroundings.

    The first ever first-class match to be played here was in 1917-18, while the first Test match was against Douglas Jardine's MCC in January 1934. Since then the ground has hosted 30 Tests matches - the maximum at any venue in India. In February 1987, the stadium hosted its first ODI match - against Pakistan. In all 16 ODI matches have been held here.

    As a part of modernization of the stadium during the 1987 World Cup, where the final match was held, covered stands were built all around, with a modern Club House and pavilion. The Club House now houses the offices of the Cricket Association of Bengal. In November 1993, a five-nation tournament was played in India to celebrate the CAB Diamond Jubilee, where day-night one-day international matches were played at this ground, thanks to the installation of four gigantic floodlights. It can now also legitimately boast of having one of the largest accommodation (nearly 100, 000) in the world for viewing the game.

    SUMMARY OF MATCHES
    Test No. Start Date Last Date Opponents Result
    1 5th Jan 1934 8th Jan 1934 England Drawn
    2 31st Dec 1948 4th Jan 1949 West Indies Drawn
    3 30th Dec 1951 4th Jan 1952 England Drawn
    4 12th Dec 1952 15th Dec 1952 Pakistan Drawn
    5 28th Dec 1955 2nd Jan 1956 New Zealand Drawn
    6 2nd Nov 1956 6th Nov 1956 Australia Aus won by 94 runs
    7 31st Dec 1958 4th Jan 1959 West Indies WI won by inn & 336 runs
    8 23rd Jan 1960 28th Jan 1960 Australia Drawn
    9 30th Dec 1960 4th Jan 1961 Pakistan Drawn
    10 30th Dec 1961 4th Jan 1962 England Ind won by 187 runs
    11 29th Jan 1964 3rd Feb 1964 England Drawn
    12 17th Oct 1964 22nd Oct 1964 Australia Drawn
    13 5th Mar 1965 8th Mar 1965 New Zealand Drawn
    14 31st Dec 1966 5th Jan 1967 West Indies WI won by inn & 45 runs
    15 12th Dec 1969 16th Dec 1969 Australia Aus won by 10 wickets
    16 30th Dec 1972 4th Jan 1973 England Ind won by 28 runs
    17 27th Dec 1974 1st Jan 1975 West Indies Ind won by 85 runs
    18 1st Jan 1977 6th Jan 1977 England Eng won by 10 wickets
    19 29th Dec 1978 3rd Jan 1979 West Indies Drawn
    20 26th Oct 1979 31st Oct 1979 Australia Drawn
    21 29th Jan 1980 3rd Feb 1980 Pakistan Drawn
    22 1st Jan 1982 6th Jan 1982 England Drawn
    23 10th Dec 1983 14th Dec 1983 West Indies WI won by inn & 46 runs
    24 31st Dec 1984 5th Jan 1985 England Drawn
    25 11th Feb 1987 16th Feb 1987 Pakistan Drawn
    26 26th Dec 1987 31st Dec 1987 West Indies Drawn
    27 29th Jan 1993 2nd Feb 1993 England Ind won by 8 wickets
    28 27th Nov 1996 1st Dec 1996 South Africa SA won by 329 runs
    29 18th Mar 1998 21st Mar 1998 Australia Ind won by inn & 219 runs
    30 16th Feb 1999 20th Feb 1999 Pakistan Pak won by 46 runs

    SUMMARY OF RESULTS
    Team Played Won Lost Draw
    Australia 6 2 1 3
    England 9 1 3 5
    New Zealand 2 - - 2
    Pakistan 5 1 - 4
    South Africa 1 1 - -
    West Indies 7 3 1 3
    India 30 5 8 17

    HIGHEST TEAM TOTALS
    Totals For Against Inn Test Series
    633-5d India Australia 1st 2nd 1997-98
    614-5d West Indies India 1st 3rd 1958-59
    565-9d India West Indies 1st 3rd 1987-88
    530-5d West Indies India 1st 3rd 1987-88
    462-9d New Zealand India 1st 2nd 1964-65

    LOWEST TEAM TOTALS
    Totals For Against Inn Test Series
    90 India West Indies 2nd 5th 1983-84
    124 India West Indies 1st 3rd 1958-59
    132 India New Zealand 1st 4th 1955-56
    136 India Australia 1st 3rd 1956-57
    136 India Australia 2nd 3rd 1956-57
    137 India South Africa 2nd 2nd 1996-97
    154 India West Indies 2nd 3rd 1958-59
    155 India England 2nd 2nd 1972-73
    155 India England 1st 2nd 1976-77
    The lowest by a visiting team:
    163 By England 2nd 2nd 1972-73
    163 By England 1st 1st 1992-93

    TESTS HUNDREDS (listed chronologically)
    Player Runs For Against Inn Test Series
    EdeC Weekes 162 WI Ind 1st 3rd 1948-49
    EdeC Weekes 101 WI Ind 2nd 3rd 1948-49
    CL Walcott 108 WI Ind 2nd 3rd 1948-49
    Mushtaq Ali 106 Ind WI 2nd 3rd 1948-49
    DG Phadkar 115 Ind Eng 1st 3rd 1951-52
    DH Shodhan 110 Ind Pak 1st 5th 1952-53
    JR Reid 120 NZ Ind 1st 4th 1955-56
    Pankaj Roy 100 Ind NZ 2nd 4th 1955-56
    GS Ramchand 106* Ind NZ 2nd 4th 1955-56
    RB Kanhai 256 WI Ind 1st 3rd 1958-59
    BF Butcher 103 WI Ind 1st 3rd 1958-59
    GStA Sobers 106* WI Ind 1st 3rd 1958-59
    NC O'Neill 113 Aus Ind 1st 5th 1959-60
    MC Cowdrey 107 Eng Ind 1st 3rd 1963-64
    ML Jaisimha 129 Ind Eng 2nd 3rd 1963-64
    B Sutcliffe 151* NZ Ind 1st 2nd 1964-65
    BR Taylor 105 NZ Ind 1st 2nd 1964-65
    MAK Pataudi 153 Ind NZ 1st 2nd 1964-65
    RC Fredericks 100 WI Ind 1st 3rd 1974-75
    GR Viswanath 139 Ind WI 2nd 3rd 1974-75
    AW Greig 103 Eng Ind 1st 2nd 1976-77
    SM Gavaskar 107 Ind WI 1st 3rd 1978-79
    AB Williams 111 WI Ind 1st 3rd 1978-79
    SM Gavaskar 182* Ind WI 2nd 3rd 1978-79
    DB Vengsarkar 157* Ind WI 2nd 3rd 1978-79
    GN Yallop 167 Aus Ind 1st 5th 1979-80
    CH Lloyd 161* WI Ind 1st 5th 1983-84
    M Azharuddin 110 Ind Eng 1st 3rd 1984-85
    RJ Shastri 111 Ind Eng 1st 3rd 1984-85
    M Azharuddin 141 Ind Pak 1st 2nd 1986-87
    CG Greenidge 141 WI Ind 1st 3rd 1987-88
    AL Logie 101 WI Ind 1st 3rd 1987-88
    CL Hooper 100* WI Ind 1st 3rd 1987-88
    DB Vengsarkar 102* Ind WI 1st 3rd 1987-88
    M Azharuddin 182 Ind Eng 1st 1st 1992-93
    AC Hudson 146 SA Ind 1st 2nd 1996-97
    G Kirsten 102 SA Ind 1st 2nd 1996-97
    M Azharuddin 109 Ind SA 1st 2nd 1996-97
    G Kirsten 133 SA Ind 2nd 2nd 1996-97
    DJ Cullinan 153* SA Ind 2nd 2nd 1996-97
    M Azharuddin 163* Ind Aus 1st 2nd 1997-98
    Saeed Anwar 188* Pak Ind 2nd 3rd 1998-99
    Note: 42 hundreds have been scored at this venue, with Rohan Kanhai's 256 being the highest.

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Eden Gardens MA Chidambaram The Wankhede Stadium