The newly build Motera stadium in Ahmedabad is set to host seven international matches in a matter of the next 30 days, starting from the third Test between India and England that is scheduled to be commencing on February 24. Current and former cricketers are in awe of the world’s largest cricket ground that has a seating capacity of 1,10,000.
Former English skipper, Kevin Pietersen was one of the first cricketers who took to social media and praised the cricket facility in Ahmedabad. Pietersen posted a couple of pictures of the ground and captioned them as, “My goodness! How spectacular does this stadium look for the next Test match in Ahmedabad?! 110K capacity. A Theatre Of Dreams!”
https://twitter.com/KP24/status/1362797770227273730?s=20
BCCI president and former Indian skipper, Sourav Ganguly had said that the tickets for the match were “completely” sold. According to the current protocols, 50 percent of the crowd capacity will be allowed to witness the game in the stadium to reduce the chances of Covid-19 transmission.
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Posting the pictures of the venue, the Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya wrote: “It feels surreal to be out here at the world’s largest cricket stadium, Motera. Absolutely magnificent.”
It feels surreal to be out here at the world’s largest cricket stadium, Motera.
Absolutely magnificent 💙💙@JayShah @GCAMotera @mpparimal @DhanrajNathwani pic.twitter.com/EL8l7G4hFj
— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) February 19, 2021
England pacer Stuart Broad was also impressed as they stepped foot on the ground on Friday.
1st look at Cricket’s 🏏 largest stadium 🏟 110,000 capacity pretty impressive 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/TvkPmti8y5
— Stuart Broad (@StuartBroad8) February 19, 2021
India wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant also applauded the world-class facilities that are on offer at the newly build Motera stadium.
Fantastic to be at the new facility in Motera, great to see such world class facilities for cricket in Ahmedabad. Looking forward to taking the field here on 24th. @BCCI @JayShah pic.twitter.com/d15O7afdeB
— Rishabh Pant (@RishabhPant17) February 19, 2021
Some stadium this is……and a bit of local music to help get through to the end 🎵 🎵 🎵 https://t.co/FTrS8sTWHJ
— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) February 19, 2021
Apart from hosting the last two Tests of the ongoing four-match series between India and England, the Motera stadium will also be hosting the five-match T20I series between the two teams. In the series opener, the hosts suffered a 227-run defeat, but they made comeback in the second game on a raging turner as Ravichandran Ashwin stole the show with his all-around performance.
Ashwin picked up eight wickets in the match and also scored a century in India’s second innings to set up a big win and help the hosts level the series at 1-1.
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Talking about the world’s largest stadium, GCA joint secretary Anil Patel revealed that they have 11 center pitches. He explained, “This is the only stadium in the world with 11 center pitches on the main ground. Also, we are the only stadium in the world with the same soil being used for practice as well as center strips. This along with a state-of-the-art drainage system will remove the rainwater very quickly in comparison to other regular grounds.”
Notably, Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCC) has a seating capacity of 1,00,000.
