M. Chinnaswamy Stadium is one of the prime cricket stadiums in India. The stadium is located in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The stadium was established in the year 1969. It lies near the beautiful Cubbon Park and uptown MG Road. This three-decade-old stadium is located at the heart of the city of Bangalore. The Chinnaswami stadium was previously known as Karnataka State Cricket Association Stadium (KSCA). Later the ground was named after Mr. M. Chinnaswamy who served for the KSCA for four decades and was the president of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 1977-1980.
The Chinnaswami stadium has the seating capacity of 55,000 and it regularly hosts Tests and One Day International matches as well as other first class cricket matches. Beside these the stadium also arranges for the other musical and cultural events. The Chinnaswami stadium is the home ground of the Karnataka State Cricket Team.
Karnataka State Government laid the foundation stone of the Chinnaswami stadium in 1969 and the construction work was started in the year 1970. The stadium was first used for first class cricket matches during the year 1972-73. After that when West Indies team came to tour India in 1974-75, the stadium earned the status of test playing. The first test match played in the Chinnaswami stadium was the match between India and West Indies on 22-29 November 1974. This was the debut test match for the West Indian batting legends Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge. In the ground of Chinnaswami stadium the first test won by India was against the touring English team in the year 1976-77. The first One Day International match played in the venue of Chinnaswami Stadium was on 6th September 1982, against Sri Lanka.
During Wills World Cup in the year 1996 floodlights were first installed in the Chinnaswami stadium. The first match played under the floodlight was the quarter final against Pakistan on March 9, 1996, which India won by 39 runs. In the cricket matches played against South Africa, Australia and Pakistan the winning situations were achieved many times. So the stadium is a lucky venue for India. Anil Kumble took his 400th test wicket in this stadium.
When Bangalore was chosen as the centre for the National Cricket Academy in 2000 by Board of Control for Cricket in India, BCCI, many budding cricketers have passed out of the academy housed in the ground. The Chinnaswami stadium served as venue for the 1996 Miss World ceremony. Chinnaswami stadium plans to increase the seating capacity to seventy thousand.
M. Chinnaswamy stadium is the home ground for the Bangalore Franchise, named Royal Challengers Bangalore. This ground has hosted the first match of the Indian Premier League in the year 2008 against Kolkata Knight Riders. M. Chinnaswamy stadium also hosted some of the best 2011 World Cup matches.
