The Sardar Patel Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, named after the freedom fighter and India’s first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It is set to play host for the third test of ongoing England’s tour of India. Incidentally, the stadium will be the venue for the fourth test as well as the five T20s that will follow.

The stadium, also known as the Motera Stadium to avoid confusion with another stadium at the Navrangpura locality of Ahmedabad, will see cricket return to the venue after 2015 in the form of the day-night pink ball third test. Revamped from the scratch in the last six years. The new Motera Stadium has left cricketers, analysts, former players, and cricket fans in awe. Let us find out why.

About The New Motera Stadium

Motera Stadium, under the authority of Gujarat Cricket Association, was first opened to the public in 1982 and has been revamped at a massive cost of ₹850 crores over a period of six years. But, it can very well be said that it is money well spent as the stadium is now the world’s largest cricket stadium with a seating capacity of 110,000 and the second-largest stadium in the world after North Korea’s Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in Pyongyang. The new Motera stadium also boasts of the finest facilities that include a world-class indoor cricket academy; along with gyms right next to the four massive dressing rooms. There is also a swimming pool with the same proportions as an Olympic Games one. What also emphasizes on the enormous size of the ground is that apart from the playing field; there are three separate training grounds for practice.

The new Motera stadium also has a whopping 76 corporate boxes with a 55-room clubhouse. Designed by Populous, the American architectural firm that built the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The seating arrangements in the new Motera will offer an unobstructed 360° view of the match. As there are no pillars or support structures to obstruct the fans’ views. Set to host India’s second India vs England day-night test.

Flood Light & Pitch

The Motera stadium lighting has left everyone surprised too as the designers have done away with the floodlights. Instead, a ring of 580 LED lights attached to the circular roof of the stadium, will illuminate the ground. It is the first instance of this technology being used on any ground in India. But the stadium is not only setting records on the interior but also on the outside with a parking area that can hold up to 10,000 two-wheelers and 3000 cars at one go. Unbelievable!

What has also left the cricketing fraternity in awe of the Motera stadium is that there are 11 total pitches on the field, with each of these pitches made from either black soil, red soil, or a mixture of the two. Hence, bounce, pace, spin and seam, every variety of playing surface is on offer. It is expected that India will go with a spinning track in the third test. With rain being an issue in the cricket season in India. The stadium has an in-house world-class drainage facility that ensures quick revival of play even after heavy rains. 

Ticket Prices

The BCCI and the state government has allowed fans to be in the stadium but the capacity has been reduced to 50%. Thus, 55,000 tickets out of the total 110,000 have been put on sale. But keeping in mind the money crunch that Covid-19 has left everyone in, the organisers have kept low ticket prices. The majority of the tickets are priced at ₹300, ₹400, ₹450 and ₹500, with just the premium seating area and the clubhouse area coming at an expected price of ₹1,000 and ₹2,500. As is the case with most matches in India, tickets have almost been sold out for all the five day’s play.

Some Facts About Motera

Here are some facts about this stadium:

• The Motera Stadium has an illustrious history with cricketing legend Sunil Gavaskar completing his 10,000 runs on this ground against Pakistan in the 1986-87 season. 
• This was also where Kapil Dev took his 432th test wicket to go past Sir Richard Hadlee as the then leading wicket-taker in test history. 
• Sachin Tendulkar also has been in the thick of things in this Stadium with his first test double hundred in 1999. 
• The Little Master also went past the mark of 30,000 international runs during the quarter-final win against Australia in 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Conclusion

With its state-of-the-art facilities, we simply cannot wait for the third test to begin as this beautiful Motera cricket stadium. India has a good record against England here with one win and one draw in two matches and England will certainly hope that the third time is lucky for them.