By Vishesh Roy
Ahmedabad (Gujarat) [India], February 23 (ANI): While most cricket grounds are built round in shape, the Motera Stadium — world’s largest — in Ahmedabad is oval. And the reason behind that is to ensure that the size of the boundary remains same irrespective of the pitch on which a match is being played. There are a total of 11 pitches on the ground — six are of red soil and five of black soil.
Speaking to ANI, a Gujarat Cricket Association (GCA) official explained how the oval shape of the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium makes it unique.
“This is an oval shaped ground. Traditionally on other grounds, when you play a match on pitch 1, one boundary fence is longer and the other shorter, but this is not the case here. It has all been done keeping the pitches in mind.
“Sydney or Melbourne has round shaped grounds. When the pitch is shifted at these grounds, then boundary rope on one side is affected, but this is not the case here,” the GCA official explained.
The official also explained how crowds would be able to enjoy the match, irrespective of their ticket price. Every fan would be able to have the best view possible and it is not the case that the expensive ticket holders would enjoy an advantage in terms of view of the match.
Crowd evacuation is a little bit difficult when the match ends and there is chaos on show, but Motera has also sorted this out as a big ramp has been created and the entire crowd capacity can leave the stadium within 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, not only the Indian cricket fraternity, but also the England players are in awe of the Motera Stadium. The visitors’ skipper Joe Root on Tuesday said the atmosphere within the “phenomenal” stadium will be “electric” when they take the field on Wednesday.
“It is a phenomenal stadium. I am sure you are going to see some brilliant cricket over the years at this ground. It looks fantastic, hopefully, the wicket can produce some very good cricket. I am sure the atmosphere within (the stadium) will be electric. It is also great to see fans back in the previous game. I am sure with the capacity of this ground that noise will go up and you want to be a part of big games,” Root said during a virtual press conference.
England pacer Jofra Archer said that the newly-built Motera Stadium is probably one of the best he has ever been to. “The stadium is beautiful, the seats are beautiful. The ground is probably one of the best I have ever been to,” he said while speaking to ECB’s media team on Monday.
The four-match series between India and England currently stands level at 1-1. The two teams will now lock horns in the third Test at the Motera Stadium on Wednesday. (ANI)
