The heart of Hyderabad: Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium

2024 IPL was a very gratifying season for Sunrisers Hyderabad as they conveniently shattered plenty of records. With a united effort of their top 5 batsmen, the team was casually hitting 200+ plus scores. In fact, on a number of occasions, they even surpassed 250. The team looked Invincible as they smashed almost every ball out of the fence. Their top order consisting of Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Rahul Tripathi, looked flamboyant while striking the ball. And as the game proceeded, the middle order batsmen- Nitish Reddy, Aiden Markram and Heinrich Klaasen, were carrying the momentum. The prime reason for their huge success was the ‘All out’ approach by their batsmen. They were looking to score huge on every ball and that mindset proved very fruitful. Another reason for their success was that they took full advantage of the home ground conditions, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. It is a batting friendly deck and that primarily helped SRH in smashing those humongous totals.

Today, in this article by ZAP cricket, we talk about this majestic ground, located in the heart of Hyderabad- Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. 

About the stadium

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, commonly known as Uppal Stadium, is owned and operated by Hyderabad Cricket Association. It is named after former prime minister of India- Rajiv Gandhi and was built by architect Mr. Shashi Prabhu. It is the home ground for Hyderabad’s cricket team, both men and women, as well.

The ground was established in 2003 and has a capacity of 55,000. The two ends are- North end and Pavilion end. Later, on the retirement of VVS Laxman, the HCA decided to honor the veteran by naming the North End after him.

First matches at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium 

• First Test- 12-16 November, 2010 between India and New Zealand
• First ODI- 16 November, 2005 between India and South Africa 
• First T20I- 6 December, 2019 between India and West Indies 

Pitch report and ground conditions at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium 

The surface at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium generally produces a high scoring game. The deck in this stadium is flat, but tends to get slow as the game progresses. Hence, it provides more assistance to spinners than to pacers. 

The wicket is ideal for short games as it provides support to pinch hitters. In fact, the average score in T20Is here is 197. Teams winning the toss, opt to bowl first as it’s easier to chase than to defend in the second innings. 

The straighter boundaries are around 69-71 metres and the squarer boundaries are around 66-69 metres. Hence, the ground is average sized, providing full assistance in clearing rope. The outfield is lush green, helping the ball to travel fast.

Records at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium

Test records

Highest total: 687/6d by India vs Bangladesh 

Lowest total: 127 by West Indies vs India 

Most runs: Cheteshwar Pujara: 510 runs 

Highest score: Brendon McCullum: 225(543)

Most hundreds: Murali Vijay: 2

Most wickets: Ravichandran Ashwin: 33

Best bowling figures: Tom Hartley: 26.2-5-62-7

Most dismissals: MS Dhoni: 9

Most catches: Virender Sehwag: 7

ODI records 

Highest total: 350/4 by Australia vs India 

Lowest total: 174 by England vs India

Most runs: Yuvraj Singh: 233(225)

Highest score: Shubhman Gill: 208 runs 

Most hundreds: Yuvraj Singh: 2

Most wickets: Umesh Yadav: 6

Best bowling figures: Mitchell Santner: 10-0-59-5

Most dismissals: Scott Edwards: 5

Most catches: Rahul Dravid: 3

T20I records

Highest total: 297/6 by India vs Bangladesh 

Lowest total: 164/7 by Bangladesh vs India 

Most runs: Virat Kohli: 157 runs

Highest score: Sanju Samson: 111(74)

Most wickets: Ravi Bishnoi: 3

Best bowling figures: Ravi Bishnoi: 4-1-30-3

Most dismissals: Dinesh Karthik: 1

Most catches: Rohit Sharma: 4