Eden Gardens: The ground of firsts
What's the story
The iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata is all set to host the first-ever Day-Night Test to be played between India and Bangladesh, starting Friday. The stadium has a rich history when it comes to Indian, as well as world cricket. As it prepares to write another piece of history, we take a look at some of the first instances in Eden's history.
First internationals
The first of international matches at Eden
Starting off with the first international matches at the ground, the opening match was a Test between India and England in 1934, which was drawn. The first ODI at the venue was played in 1987, against Pakistan, which the visitors won by two wickets. As for the first T20I, it was in 2011, against England, which the visitors won by six wickets.
Tournaments
The first of international tournaments
The venue hosted its opening World Cup match in 1987, between Zimbabwe and New Zealand. It also hosted the final of the same World Cup, between Australia and England, which the former won. The venue hosted its first ICC World T20 match in March 2016, between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka, while it also hosted the final between Windies and England, which the former won.
IPL
A look at Eden Gardens in IPL
Eden is the home to the two-time Indian Premier League (IPL) title-winning franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). As for the IPL, the ground went on to host its first match in April 2008, against Deccan Chargers (DC). Meanwhile, it hosted its first IPL final in May 2013, between Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI), which the latter won for their maiden title.
Player records
Records held by players at Eden
Harbhajan Singh became the first Indian to claim a hat-trick in Test cricket (March 2001). Ravindra Jadeja became the first Indian left-arm spinner to claim 150 ODI wickets (January 2017). Virat Kohli scored his maiden ODI century (107, December 2009). Rohit Sharma hit the ground's maiden ODI double hundred (264), which is also the highest individual ODI score.
Unique first time
Windies and India create a unique first-time record at Eden
Windies became the first team in history to win the Men's and Women's World T20 title on the same day, in the same year, as this historic moment was scripted in 2016. In March 2001, India scripted its first instance of winning a Test despite following on, as they beat Australia by 171 runs.