Cricket,as anywhere in India is played in all nooks and corners of the city. Bangalore has contributed immensely to Indian cricket right from spinners Chandrashekar and Prassana who formed the famous spinning quartet along with Bedi and Venkatraghavan; to the graceful batsman Gundappa Vishwanath; to the 1983 World Cup heros Roger Binny and Syed Kirmani;to the present Rahul Dravid,Anil Kumble and Venkatesh Prasad. The city boasts of the magnificient Chinnaswamy stadium which has played host to many a state,national and international matches.Cricket affairs in the state are managed by the Karnataka State Cricket Association(KSCA) which is affiliated to the Board of Cricket Control in India(BCCI),the governing body for cricket in the country.Some of the important cricket stadiums and grounds are highlighted here.
CHINNASWAMY STADIUM:
The stadium is named after M Chinnaswamy,the former Board president from 1977-80.The stadium made its debut in the 1972-73 season.The first big match was the Ranji trophy semi-final played between hosts Karnataka and Bombay where Karnataka ended Bombay's 15-year reign as Ranji Trophy champions in the year 1973-74. The stadium was accorded Test status in the 1974-75 season where the West Indies beat the hosts by 267 runs. more contrasting . The highlight of the Test was an 85-ball hundred by Clive Lloyd and test debuts for the Gordon Greenidge and master blaster Vivian Richards. India beat Tony Greig's side by 140 runs in the 1976-77 series to bring up their maiden triumph on this ground.The next test match was when England toured India in 1981-82 when Sunil Gavaskar scored a patient 172 . The Test against Pakistan in 1983-84 was notable for being the first in which no balls and wides were credited to the bowler's analysis.
The next match at Bangalore was a thriller in the 1986-87 season where India went down to Pakistan by 16 runs on an underprepared wicket and Gavaskar, in his farewell Test, displayed his class in the second innings with an effort of 96 that took India to the doorstep of victory. Other landmarks at this ground include Richard Hadlee taking over from Ian Botham as the highest wicket taker in Test history in 1988-89 with his 374th wicket (Arun Lal) and Kapil Dev equalling Hadlee's record tally of 431 wickets off the last ball of the Test against Sri Lanka in 1993-94. The highest individual score at the Chinnaswamy stadium is Sachin Tendulkar's 177 against Australia in 1997-98. Mark Waugh responded with his highest Test score of 153 not out and Australia won the game by eight wickets, their first Test victory in India since 1969-70. The match also saw Azharuddin become the second Indian after Gavaskar to take hundred catches in Tests.
Apart from these international test matches,numerous one-day internationals have been played on this magnificient ground;the most notable one being the tense quater-final between India and Pakistan in the 1995 World Cup which India won.The stadium presently also houses the National Cricket Academy to fine tune the skills of mushrooming future cricket talent of the country.