The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium is one of the oldest stadiums in India and is popularly known as the Chepauk Stadium. The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium was named after the former president of Board of Control for Cricket in India and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, M.A. Chidambaram. The stadium is the home ground of the Tamil Nadu cricket team and the Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings</b>.
Location of M.A. Chidambaram Stadium
Located at Chepauk, the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium is a few 100m from the Marina Beach along the Bay of Bengal. The stadium can be accessed from Wallajah Road in the north, Babu Jagjivanram Road in the west and Pycrofts Road in the south. Adjacent to the east of the stadium is the Chepauk MRTS railway station which lies on the Chennai Beach in the Velachery section of the Chennai MRTS. While the Cooum River runs tangentially to the north side of the stadium.
History of M.A. Chidambaram Stadium
Established in the year 1916 under the architectural venture of the East Coast Constructions and Hopkins Architect, London, the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium is the third oldest cricket stadium in the country after Eden Gardens, Kolkata and Feroz Shah Kotla Ground in Delhi. Formerly known as the Madras Cricket Club Ground, the stadium hosted its first Test match on 10th February, 1934 between Douglas Jardine`s England and CK Nayudu`s Indian cricket teams. The first ever Ranji Trophy match in 1936 and the Indian cricket team"s first ever victory in 1952 against England was held in the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.
Pitch of M.A. Chidambaram Stadium
The nature of the pitch of the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium is bouncy which is beneficial to the batsman and the bowlers. This is a dry, spinning, low, flat wicket. Sunil Gavaskar, the former Indian captain scored his highest test score 236 not out against West Indies in this ground. This stadium played host to the second tied-test in the history of test cricket. Saeed Anwar`s 194 against India are the highest One Day International score in this ground. The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium has encountered many records, but its atmosphere and crowd are most reputed in the country. The audience gave a standing ovation for the Pakistani team in the year 1999 after they won a very closely fought test match.
After the renovations of 2011, the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium can currently accommodate 50,000 spectators. The stands are at a gradient of 36 degree and let the sea breeze in to get the ground`s traditional swing back. But on March 31st, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the renovations violated the regulations relating to public safety, thus sealing I, J and K stands.
Visiting Information on M.A. Chidambaram Stadium
The Chepauk railway station is merely a minute away from the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium at about 74 m. The Chennai International Airport</b> is the nearest at about 18 km from the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.