National Stadium, Karachi
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| National Stadium | |
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| National Stadium | |
 View of Main Building Containing The Pavilion and Media Center |
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| Location | Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan |
| Opened | April 21, 1955 |
| Owner | Pakistan Cricket Board |
| Operator | Karachi City Cricket Association |
| Surface | Grass |
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| Capacity |
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The National Stadium is a cricket stadium in Karachi, Pakistan. It is currently used for cricket matches, and is home to Pakistan's national and Karachi's domestic cricket teams. The stadium is able to hold aboout 40,000 spectators[1], making it the second largest stadium in Pakistan after Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Its widely criticised that the city of this size with a population of over 15 million having such a small capacity stadium. In the recent past, PCB has announced on different occasions that the capacity of the stadium will be increased to 50,000 but this approval looks a bit stale at the moment.
The Pakistani cricket team have a remarkable Test record at the ground, having only lost twice (vs. England, December 2000-01, and South Africa, October 2007-08) and have won 21 times in 40 Test Matches and in over 50 years. The stadium has witnessed several memorable moments, such as Viv Richards 181 against Sri Lanka at the 1987 Cricket World Cup, Mohammad Yousuf's record ninth century of the year to break Viv Richards record of most runs in a calendar year, and Kamran Akmal's famous century against India on a very difficult pitch in 2006, after Pakistan had collapsed to 39 for 6, as part of a memorable come-from-behind victory.
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[edit] Records
[edit] Test
- Highest Team Total: 599, by Pakistan against India in 2006.
- Lowest Team Total: 80, by Australia against Pakistan in 1956.
- Highest Run Chase Achieved: 315/9, by Pakistan against Australia in 1994-95.
- Highest Individual Score: 211, by Javed Miandad against Australia in 1988.
- Highest partnership: 298, by Aamir Sohail and Ijaz Ahmed against West Indies in 1997-98.
[edit] One Day International
- Highest team total: 360, by West Indies against Sri Lanka, October 13, 1987.
- Lowest team total: 122, by New Zealand against Pakistan, April 21, 2002.
- Highest Run Chase Achieved: 306/5, by England against Pakistan in 2000-01.
- Highest Run Chase (Won or Loss) 344/8 by Pakistan against India, March 13, 2004.
- Highest individual score: 181, by Viv Richards against Sri Lanka, October 13, 1987.
- Highest partnership: 200, by Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf against Sri Lanka in 2004-05.
Karachi, Pakistan's largest and most populous city, presents an interesting and colourful combination of the old and new. The National Stadium became Karachi's fifth and Pakistan's 11th first-class ground. The inaugural first-class match was played at NSK between Pakistan and India on April 21-24, 1955, and it became a fortress of Pakistan cricket. In 34 Tests between that first match and December 2000, Pakistan won 17 and were never beaten. Their only Test defeat on the ground came in the gloom against England in 2000-01. Since then, major terrorist activity, mainly bombings, have meant that non Asian sides have refused to play in the city, and in five years only Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have visited. It is a shame because the spectators are passionate - and noisy - and it is a great place to play and watch.
The first ODI at the National Stadium was against West Indies on November 21, 1980, and it went down to the last ball as Gordon Greenidge drove Imran imperiously to the cover boundary with three needed. It has been a far less successful limited-overs venue, with defeats outnumbering victories. In fact, in a little under five years from the start of 1996, Pakistan failed to win on the ground. It also staged a quarter-final match in the 1996-97 World Cup.
[edit] Image Gallery
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Cricinfo.com ground profile
- Ground Profile - PCB.com
- List of all Test matches played at National Stadium, Karachi
- List of all ODI matches played at National Stadium, Karachi
- Large re-play screen being installed at National Stadium Karachi - The News
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