Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, a cricket stadium located in Pune, Maharashtra, India. It is situated next to the Pune–Mumbai Expressway in the Pune district. It serves as the headquarters of the Maharashtra Cricket Association (MCA) and the home venue of the Maharashtra Cricket Association. This stadium is located in the village of Gahunje, just outside the city limits of Pune.
The MCA decided a new stadium was required because India has the largest cricket audience in the world, and an increasing amount of Indian players play for international teams. Hopkins Architects of London designed a new 37,000-seat stadium in Pune, which is the result. 2 Tests, 4 ODIs, and 3 T20Is were held there on 10 October 2019.
Michael Hopkins designed this arena. It has a deep bowl-like shape to it. It has floodlights so that contests can be held at night.
Let’s Find out the History of Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium
The MCA's decision to build a new cricket stadium in Pune was a dispute with the Pune Municipal Corporation over the allotment of tickets to the Nehru Stadium. The conflict reached a tipping point when the international match between India and Sri Lanka was shifted to Kolkata and the MCA declared that they were ineligible to host the match. The MCA then decided that a new stadium was needed.
The stadium was renamed the Subrata Roy Sahara Stadium after the Indian company Sahara India Pariwar acquired the naming rights in 2013. However, because Sahara only paid a portion of the Rs. 200 crore that it had pledged when acquiring the rights, the name of the stadium was changed back to the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium.
In November 2015, the stadium was chosen as one of the six new Test venues along with Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Holkar Stadium, JSCA International Complex, Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium and Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in India.
Here Are the Notable Cricket Events Hosted by Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium
Test Matches
The stadium hosted several test matches, including India's first-ever day-night test against Bangladesh in November 2019. The stadium also hosted India's test match against Australia in February 2017, the last test match played by Australian cricketer Michael Clarke.
IPL Matches
The stadium has been a popular venue for Indian Premier League (IPL) matches. It has been the home ground for the Rising Pune Supergiants and the Pune Warriors India. In 2017, the stadium hosted the IPL final between the Mumbai Indians and the Rising Pune Supergiants.
One-Day International Matches
The stadium has also hosted several one-day international (ODI) matches, including the India vs. Australia ODI in October 2013, where Rohit Sharma scored a double century, becoming the third player in ODI history to do so.
T20 International Matches
The stadium has also hosted T20 international matches, including India vs. Sri Lanka T20 match in January 2020, where India won by 78 runs.
2011 ICC Cricket World Cup
The stadium hosted three matches during the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup. These included a group-stage match between South Africa and England, a group-stage match between Zimbabwe and New Zealand, and a quarter-final match between India and Australia. The quarter-final match was particularly memorable as it saw Yuvraj Singh's all-round performance, with four wickets and a half-century, helping India win the game by five wickets.
Indian Women's Cricket Team's First-ever day-night International
In March 2019, the Indian Women's Cricket team played their first-ever day-night international match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium against Australia. The game was part of a three-match ODI series.
First-ever Match at the Stadium
The first-ever match at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium was a warm-up match between India A and England A in 2012. The game was played before the stadium was officially opened for international competitions.
First IPL Match at the Stadium
The first IPL match at the stadium was played on April 7, 2012, between the Pune Warriors India and the Kings XI Punjab. Pune Warriors India won the game by 22 runs.
Renovation of the Stadium
In 2018, the stadium underwent a major renovation ahead of the 2019 IPL season. The renovation included installing a state-of-the-art drainage system and a new outfield. The stadium's capacity was also increased to 37,000 seats.
Other Notable Events
IPL 2018 as members of some neighboring parties protested outside the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, and several venues in Chennai have demanded that the IPL matches be shifted out of the city until the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) is set up as directed by the Supreme Court of India. Although tight security for the match against KKR, the Chennai Police said, they were unable to ensure that the venue was adequately staffed for the remainder of the game. The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune has been selected for Chennai Super Kings' remaining six home matches.