Eden Gardens

Eden Gardens is an international cricket stadium in Kolkata, India. Established in 1864, it is the oldest and second-largest cricket stadium in India and third-largest in the world. The stadium currently has a capacity of 68,000. It is operated by Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and is the home ground of the Kolkata Knight Riders. It houses the headquarters of Cricket Association of Bengal.
Eden Gardens is often referred to as home of Indian cricket and has also been described as "cricket's answer to the Colosseum" and called the "Mecca of Indian cricket", due to it being the first purpose-built ground for the sport. Eden Gardens has hosted matches in major international competitions including the World Cup, World Twenty20 and Asia Cup. In 1987, Eden Gardens became the second stadium to host a World Cup final. The 2016 ICC World Twenty20 final was held at the stadium, with the West Indies beating England in a closely fought encounter. Eden Gardens witnessed a record crowd of 110,564 in the 1996 India Vs Sri Lanka Cricket World Cup Semi Final.
The stadium was established in 1864. The origins of its name are uncertain. According to some, the stadium is named after the Eden Gardens park where it is located, itself named after the Eden sisters, Emily and Fanny, of Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of India (1836–1842). Initially named the 'Auckland Circus Gardens', the park was renamed to the 'Eden Gardens' in 1841.
However, according to popular culture, Babu Rajchandra Das, the zamindar (landlord) of Janbazar, Kolkata and husband of Rani Rashmoni, gifted one of his biggest gardens, Mar Bagan, besides the river Hooghly, to Lord Auckland and his sister Emily Eden in gratitude for their help in saving his third daughter from a fatal disease. The garden was then renamed to the Eden Gardens.
The cricket grounds were built between Babughat and Fort William. The stadium is in the B. B. D. Bagh area of the city, near the State Secretariat and across from the Calcutta High Court.
The first Test match at the venue was held in 1934 between England and India, its first One Day International in 1987 between India and Pakistan and its first T20 international in 2011 between India and England. The 1993 Hero Cup semi-final featuring India and South Africa was the first day/night match.
The stadium also hosted matches of the inaugural edition of Nehru Cup in 1982.
The Eden Gardens also hosted the India versus Uruguay football match in 1984 Nehru Cup.
16 people were killed in a stampede and riot inside Eden Gardens during a Mohun Bagan-East Bengal Calcutta Football League (CFL) match on 16 August 1980.
The stadium is the headquarters of the Cricket Association of Bengal. Apart from international matches, the stadium hosts the Bengal cricket team and the Kolkata Knight Riders, an Indian Premier League franchise. The stadium's Club House is named after former Chief Minister of West Bengal Dr. B. C. Roy.
The stadium's capacity was expanded to 100,000 from 40,000 for the 1987 World Cup. The expansion also included renovations to the press area. 42 columns were added to provide the support for large roofs and multi-tiered covered stands. Even after the renovation, not all seats were covered, and many sections lacked individual seats.
However, match day attendance of more than 100,000 spectators has been recorded on at least 6 occasions until the early 2000s.
Eden Gardens underwent renovation for the 2011 Cricket World Cup. Renovation had been undertaken to meet the standards set by the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the 2011 World Cup. The Cricket Association of Bengal hired a consortium of Philadelphia-based Burt Hill Architects and Ahmedabad-based VMS architecture firms for a two-year project to renovate the stadium. The plans for the renovated stadium included a new clubhouse and players' facilities, upgrades of the exterior walls to give the stadium a new look, cladding the existing roof structure with a new metal skin, new/upgraded patron amenities & signage and general infrastructure improvements. The upgrade also meant reduction of the seating capacity to about 68,000 from around 94,000 before the upgrade.
Due to unsafe conditions arising from the incomplete renovations, the ICC withdrew the India vs. England match from the Eden Gardens. This match, scheduled on 27 February 2011, was played in Bengaluru at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The stadium hosted the remaining three scheduled World Cup 2011 Matches on 15, 18 and 20 March 2011. In the last of these three matches (Kenya vs Zimbabwe), the stadium had the lowest ticket-purchasing crowd in its recorded history with 15 spectators having bought tickets.
Eden Gardens stands have been named after prominent local cricketers and soldiers. On 22 January 2017, two stands were named after Indian cricketers - Sourav Ganguly and Pankaj Roy while two more were named after cricket administrators - BN Dutt (BCCI President 1988 to 1990) and Jagmohan Dalmiya (BCCI President 2001–04, 2013 - interim, 2015). Dalmiya served as ICC President from 1997 to 2000.
On 27 April 2017, 4 stands were named after Indian soldiers - Colonel Neelakantan Jayachandran Nair, Havildar Hangpan Dada, Lieutenant Colonel Dhan Singh Thapa and Subedar Joginder Singh Sahnan. Lt Col Thapa and Subedar Singh are Param Vir Chakra awardees - the highest wartime military decoration in India while Col Nair and Havildar Dada are Ashok Chakra - the highest peacetime military decoration.
In 2024, a stand was decided to be dedicated to star Indian pacer and the highest ODI wicket taker among women, Jhulan Goswami. It was unveiled on January 22, 2025.
Eden Gardens is renowned for its large and passionate crowds. Former Aussie captain Steve Waugh considers the Eden Gardens as 'Lord's of the subcontinent'. Former Indian Captain and Kolkata-native Sourav Ganguly confessed once in an interview that the roar of crowd at the stadium he heard when India defeated Australia in the Second Test of 2000–01 Border–Gavaskar Trophy was the loudest he had ever heard.
In 2016, a bell was added to the stadium to ring in the start of day's play for test cricket and start of match for ODI & T20I matches. Kapil Dev was the first person to ring the bell to start the test match between India and New Zealand in September 2016.
Eden Gardens has hosted 15 Cricket World Cup matches hosted in India across formats and men's and women's cricket. Eden Gardens has hosted 11 Cricket World Cup matches in 1987 (2), 1996 (1), 2011 (3) and 2023 (5, including a semi-final). The stadium hosted 5 T20I matches during 2016 ICC World Twenty20. The stadium hosted 2 Women's Cricket World Cup matches - one each in 1978 and 1997 and one Women T20I match during the 2016 ICC Women's World Twenty20 tournament.
Eden Gardens has hosted 4 finals (1987 ODI CWC, 2016 T20I, 1997 Women's CWC and 2016 Women's T20I) and 2 semi-finals (1996 ODI CWC, 2023 ODI CWC).
Eden Gardens was meant to host a Group B Match between India and England on 27 February 2011. The ICC, however, stripped the stadium of the match after deciding that the renovation of the grounds would not be completed in time.
( as on 16 November 2023)