Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Kochi)

Kaloor International Stadium
കലൂർ അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര സ്റ്റേഡിയം

Kaloor stadium
Full name Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium
Location Kaloor, Kochi, India
Coordinates 9°59′50″N 76°18′04″E
Owner Greater Cochin Development Authority
Operator Greater Cochin Development Authority
Executive suites 109
Capacity 60,500[1][2][3]
Record attendance 68,000
Surface Grass
Construction
Opened 1996
Renovated 2008
Tenants
India National Cricket Team (1997–present)
India National Football Team (1997–present)
Kerala Cricket Team(1998–present)
Kerala Football Team(1998–present)
FC Kochin(1999–2002)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala (2011)
Chirag United Club Kerala (2011–2012)
Kerala Strikers (2012-present)
Kerala Blasters F.C.(2014-present)

Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium (Malayalam: ജവാഹർലാൽ നെഹ്‌റു അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര സ്റ്റേഡിയം; locally known as Kaloor International Stadium – Malayalam: കലൂർ അന്താരാഷ്ട്ര സ്റ്റേഡിയം) is a multipurpose international stadium situated in Kochi, Kerala. The stadium has a capacity of 60,000[3][4] spectators making it one of the largest stadiums in India. The capacity can be stretched to 75,000[5] (after installation of bucket seats in top tier of the stadium) which indeed makes it the second largest stadium in India currently (though the Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad and the Greater Noida Cricket Stadium are coming up with seating capacities of 100,000 each). The stadium was built in 1996 by the Government of Kerala with Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA). The stadium is widely touted to be one of the most noisiest cricket stadium in the world due to its distinctive architecture, however it is to be noted here that the stadium was originally built as a football stadium.

The Kaloor Stadium (there are many other stadiums named 'Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium') has played host to a number of international cricket and football matches. The extensive grounds of the stadium serve as venue for important exhibitions, cinema events and political rallies in the city. The most innovative aspect of the stadium is its unique lighting towers of 2 kW Floodlights which when switched on fully can provide lighting levels for HD telecast. The Structure of the tower is itself one of a kind in India.[6][7] Greater Cochin Development Authority leased out the Jawaharlal Nehru International stadium at Kaloor to the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) for a period of 30 years.

The stadium acts as the home ground for teams including Kerala cricket team, Kerala Blasters FC (Indian Super League).

Kochi is selected as one of the six host cities for 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup to be held in India. This stadium will be the venue for matches in Kochi.[8]

History

Early years and Football's popularity

The Kaloor Stadium was originally constructed as a football stadium, considering that Kerala is one of the few regions in India where Football enjoys considerable popularity. Indeed, in a match between India and Iraq in 1997, approximately 100,000 spectators filled up the venue, thus overcrowding it, which remains a record at this place. This was in the Nehru Cup International Football Tournament in 1997, which was the first tournament at the venue. The stadium won several laurels for being constructed in a timely manner.[9] The stadium was completed under the watchful eyes of V.J.Thomas who was the head of the Greater Cochin Development Authority.

International Cricket

After 1998, football went down and Cricket took the centre-stage for many years, drawing sell-out games and high money grossers. In fact, the highest money grosser at the venue was made in a cricket ODI match between India and its arch-rival Pakistan on April 2005. The first ODI played on this ground was between India and Australia on 1 April 1998.

Kaloor stadium hosted the first match India played after Sachin Tendulkar's retirement. The pavilion was renamed as Sachin Tendulkar pavilion as an honour to him before this match between India and West Indies on 21 November 2013 which India won by 6 wickets.

The stadium underwent a massive renovation including a modern turf, an aesthetic modern roofing and a four-lane road from the south side of the stadium.

The first Indian Premier League game at the stadium was on 9 April 2011, when the Kochi Tuskers Kerala hosted the Royal Challengers Bangalore. It was the first IPL match for the Kochi Tuskers. Five of their 2011 home games were played in this stadium, and the other two were played at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, Indore. The stadium hosted the semi-final and final of the 2013 Duleep trophy.

Panoramic View of the Stadium

Return of Football and the ISL

In 2011, Chirag United claimed the tenancy of the venue. However, the premier football club of India was still not able to fill up the stadium's massive capacity.[10] Football returned to prominence at the venue after the launch of Indian Super League in 2014. The stadium is the home ground to Kerala Blasters, co-owned by Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who has massive fan-following in the city. Some of the games involving the home team drew crowds in excess of 55,000 in the inaugural edition.[11]

The first Indian Super League game at the stadium was on 6 November 2014, when the Kerala Blasters FC hosted the FC Goa. It was the first ISL match for the Kerala Blasters. The stadium had an average attendance of over 40000 for the Indian Super League matches in 2014.

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kochi
The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Kaloor,Kochi,Kerala,India is the home ground of Kerala Blasters FC which plays in the Indian Super League

The game between Kerala Blasters FC and Chennaiyin FC saw 61,323 spectators on 30 November 2014.

Stadium was venue for 2013 Santosh Trophy finals.

Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Blasters Matchday

Entertainment

The famous "Maro Maro" song composed by A.R.Rahman for the Tamil movie Boys directed by Shankar. Climax scenes of the Tamil movie Velayudham starring Vijay and Malayalam movie Run Baby Run starring Mohanlal and somany other Indian Films were shot in the stadium.

ODI Matches held

1 April 1998
Scorecard
 India
309/5 (50 overs)
v
 Australia
268 (45.5 overs)
A Jadeja 105 * (109)
MS Kasprowicz 3/50 (8.2 overs)
AC Gilchrist 61 (45)
Sachin Tendulkar 5/32 (10 overs)
India won by 41 runs
Umpires: SK Bansal and AV Jayaprakash
Player of the match: Sachin Tendulkar10 (India)
  • India won the toss and elected to bat.

9 March 2000
Scorecard
 India
302/7 (49.4 overs)
v
 South Africa
301/3 (50 overs)
Ajay Jadeja 92 (109)
WJ Cronje 2/48 (8 overs)
G.Kirsten 115 (123)
Rahul Dravid 2/43 (9 overs)
India won by 3 wickets
Umpires: MR Singh and CR Vijayaraghavan
Player of the match: A Jadeja (India)
  • South Africa won the toss and elected to bat.

13 March 2002
Scorecard
 India
191 (48.3 overs)
v
 Zimbabwe
197/4 (44.2 overs)
Mohammad Kaif 56 (78)
Douglas Hondo 4/37 (8.3 overs)
ADR Campbell 71 (119)
Ajit Agarkar 2/28 (10 overs)
Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets
Umpires: Vijay Chopra and Devendra Sharma
Player of the match: Douglas Hondo
  • India won the toss and elected to bat.

2 April 2005
Scorecard
 India
281/8 (50 overs)
v
 Pakistan
194 (45.2 overs)
Virender Sehwag 108 (95)
Arshad Khan 4/33 (6 overs)
Mohammad Hafeez 42 (75)
Sachin Tendulkar 5/50 (10 overs)
India won by 87 runs
Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and AV Jayaprakash
Player of the match: Virender Sehwag
  • India won the toss and elected to bat.

6 April 2006
Scorecard
 India
238/6 (47.2 overs)
v
 England
237 (48.4 overs)
Rahul Dravid 65* (73)
Ian Blackwell 2/41 (10 overs)
Geraint Jones 49 (66)
Yuvraj Singh 2/34 (8 overs)
India won by 4 wickets
Umpires: K Hariharan (India) and RE Koertzen (South Africa)
Player of the match: Yuvraj Singh
  • England won the toss and elected to bat.

2 October 2007
Scorecard
 India
222 (47.3 overs)
v
 Australia
306/6 (50 overs)
MS Dhoni 58 (88)
George Hogg 3/40 (9.3 overs)
Bradley Haddin 87* (69)
S Sreesanth 3/67 (9 overs)
Australia won by 84 runs
Umpires: SA Bucknor (West Indies) and SL Shastri
Player of the match: Bradley Haddin
  • India won the toss and elected to field.

17 October 2010
Scorecard
v
Match abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain
Umpires: Billy Bowden (New Zealand) and AM Saheba (India)

15 January 2013
Scorecard
 India
285/6 (50 overs)
v
 England
158/10 (36 overs)
MS Dhoni 72 (66)
ST Finn 2/51 (10 overs)
Kevin Pietersen 42 (44)
B Kumar 3/29 (10 overs)
India won by 127 runs
Umpires: Vineet Kulkarni and Steve Davis
Player of the match: Ravindra Jadeja (India)
  • India won the toss and elected to bat first.

21 November 2013
Scorecard
 India
212-4 (35.2 overs)
v
 West Indies
211 (48.5 overs)
Virat Kohli 86 (84)
J Holder 2/48 (8 overs)
DM Bravo 59 (77)
R Jadeja 3/37 (10 overs)
India won by 6 wickets
Umpires: VA Kulkarni( India) and RJ Tucker( Australia)
Player of the match: Virat Kohli (India)
  • West Indies won the toss and elected to bat first.

8 October 2014
Scorecard
 India
197
v
 West Indies
321
Shikhar Dhawan 68 (92)
Marlon Samuels 2/10 (3 overs)
Marlon Samuels 126 (116)
Mohammed Shami 4/66 (9 overs)
West Indies won by 124 runs
Umpires: IJ Gould( England) and S Ravi( India)
Player of the match: MN Samuels (West Indies)
  • Indies won the toss and elected to bowl first.

Indian Premier League

The cricket stadium in Kochi was expected to serve the Chennai Super Kings or the Royal Challengers Bangalore as a home venue apart from Chennai and Bangalore for the initial IPL seasons. However both the franchises initially refused and later promised to reconsider the offer, fearing decline in revenues. Eventually no matches of the first 3 IPL seasons were played in Kochi.

The auction for expanding the initial eight franchises to ten for the 2011 season was held on 22 March 2010. Rendezvous Sports World made the second highest bid of ₹ 15333 million, and elected to base its team in Kochi.[12]

All renovation works at the stadium had been completed with new pitches, an improved outfield with better drainage facilities. The floodlight system were also renovated to the standards needed for day and night cricket. Kochi Tuskers Kerala opened their office at the stadium for staging the IPL in 2011. Their principal sponsor was Federal Bank and tickets for all matches were available at select branches of Federal Bank. Tickets were available online through Kyazoonga who were Kochi's exclusive online ticket partner.

The first IPL match held at the stadium was between Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Royal Challengers Bangalore on 9 April 2011. The match was also Kochi Tuskers first ever IPL match.

9 April 2011
(Scorecard)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
161/5 (20 overs)
v
Royal Challengers Bangalore
162/4 (18.4 overs)
B McCullum 45 (32)
D Vettori 1–17 (4 overs)
AB de Villiers 54 (40)
R Jadeja 1–28 (4 overs)
Royal Challengers Bangalore won by 6 wickets
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SL) and Krishna Hariharan (Ind)
Player of the match: AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore)
  • Kochi Tuskers Kerala won the toss and elected to bat

18 April 2011
(Scorecard)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
135/3 (15 overs)
v
Chennai Super Kings
131/4 (17 overs)
B McCullum 47 (33)
R Ashwin 2–31 (4 overs)
SK Raina 50 (40)
RV Gomez 1–20 (2 overs)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala won by 7 wickets (D/L method)
Umpires: Krishna Hariharan (Ind) and Tony Hill (NZ)
Player of the match: BB McCullum (Kochi Tuskers Kerala)
  • Kochi Tuskers won the toss and elected to field
  • Match reduced to 17 overs per side due to rain. Kochi's target was adjusted to 135 runs from 17 overs via the Duckworth–Lewis method.

27 April 2011
(Scorecard)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
74 (16.3 overs)
v
Deccan Chargers
129/6 (20 overs)
Ravindra Jadeja 23 (35)
Ishant Sharma 5/12 (3 overs)
Kumar Sangakkara 65 (47)
Vinay Kumar 3/25 (4 overs)
Deccan Chargers won by 55 runs
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SL) and Tony Hill (NZ)
Player of the match: Ishant Sharma (Deccan Chargers)
  • Kochi Tuskers Kerala won the toss and elected to field.

30 April 2011
(Scorecard)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
119 (18.5 overs)
v
Delhi Daredevils
157/7 (20 overs)
Ravindra Jadeja 31 (22)
Morné Morkel 3/18 (4 overs)
Virender Sehwag 80 (47)
Sreesanth 2/10 (4 overs)
Delhi Daredevils won by 38 runs
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SL) and Tony Hill (NZ)
Player of the match: Virender Sehwag (Delhi Daredevils)
  • Delhi Daredevils won the toss and elected to bat.

5 May 2011
(Scorecard)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala
156/5 (20 overs)
v
Kolkata Knight Riders
139/7 (20 overs)
Mahela Jayawardene 55 (41)
Jaydev Unadkat 2/25 (4 overs)
Eoin Morgan 66 (51)
Raiphi Gomez 2/14 (4 overs)
Kochi Tuskers Kerala won by 17 runs
Umpires: Rod Tucker (Aus) and S. Ravi (Ind)
Player of the match: Brad Hodge (Kochi Tuskers Kerala)
  • Kolkata Knight Riders won the toss and elected to field.

ODI Records at the Venue

Batting

Bowling

Highest Partnerships by wicket

Wicket Runs Team Players Opposition
1st 235  India srujan Sachin  Australia
2nd 76  India Rahul Dravid IK Pathan  England
3rd 201  India Rahul Dravid Virender Sehwag  Pakistan
4th 165  West Indies Denesh Ramdin Marlon Samuels  India
5th 121  India HH Kanitkar Ajay Jadeja  Australia
6th 96  India MS Dhoni Ravindra Jadeja  England
7th 17  Pakistan Shahid Afridi Mohammad Hafeez  India
8th 25  India Mahendra Singh Dhoni Ramesh Powar  Australia
9th 28  England MJ Hoggard GO Jones  India
10th 42  Pakistan Naved-ul-Hasan Arshad Khan  India

IPL Records at Venue

Highest Partnerships by wicket

Wicket Runs Team Players Opposition
1st 80 Kochi Tuskers Kerala Brendon McCullum V.V.S.Laxman Royal Challengers Bangalore
2nd 51 Kochi Tuskers Kerala Brendon McCullum P Patel Chennai Super Kings
3rd 51 Kochi Tuskers Kerala Klinger M Jayawardene Kolkata Knight Riders
4th 90 Deccan Chargers CL White KC Sangakkara Kochi Tuskers Kerala
5th 41 Delhi Daredevils Virender Sehwag TR Birt Kochi Tuskers Kerala
6th 22* Kochi Tuskers Kerala Brad Hodge R Gomez Kolkata Knight Riders
7th 36 Kochi Tuskers Kerala RA Jadeja NLTC Perera Deccan Chargers
8th 26 Kochi Tuskers Kerala RA Jadeja R Vinay Kumar Deccan Chargers
9th 1 Kochi Tuskers Kerala R Vinay Kumar S Sreesanth Deccan Chargers
10th 1 Kochi Tuskers Kerala R P Singh R Vinay Kumar Delhi Daredevils

Indian Super League

The stadium is the home ground for Kerala Blasters team in Indian Super League since 2014. Kerala Blasters had won their first ISL home match against FC Goa for 1-0 conducted on 06/11/2014.

The game between Kerala Blasters FC and Chennaiyin FC saw 61,323 spectators on 30 November 2014. Kerala Blasters has the highest average attendances (47.427) for football clubs outside of Europe in domestic league matches.[13]

In the inaugural season of Indian Super League, Kerala Blasters finished fourth in the group stages with 19 points from 14 games and qualified for Semi-final after beating Pune City FC . Kerala Blasters FC was unbeaten in six of their seven home games. In semi-final which happened to be the last home match of this year for Kerala Blasters FC, Kerala Blasters FC won in emphatic fashion by trouncing toppers Chennaiyin FC with scoreline 3-0. One of the goals was scored by Malayali medio Sushanth Mathew away from 30 yards through a curling long-ranger, shot over renowned footballers Alessandro Nesta and Mikaël Silvestre and it became a proud and memorable moment for sports fans in Kerala.[14] The goal is now competing for top goal of this season.

Chirag United Club Kerala

The I-League football team Chirag United Club Kerala (erstwhile Viva Kerala) played their home matches in the stadium for the 2011–12 I-League season.

2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup

On 5 December 2013, the FIFA Executive Committee chaired by FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter decided that host of 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup will be India [15] upon evaluation of bid sent by AIFF with Kochi as one of the eight possible venues.[16] Later, Chief Minister of Kerala Mr.Oommen Chandy stated that they will soon sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sports Ministry in that regard after an exclusive cabinet meet on the issue.[17] Government has appointed senior IAS officer Mr. APM Mohammed Hanish as Nodal Officer as per Fifa's direction.[18]

On December 11, 2014, FIFA team inspected the stadium and emphasised to improve the quality of pitch and need of bucket seats in the second tier of the stadium. With Kochi registering an average crowd of 47000 for ISL, the city has gathered attention from the authorities in terms of attracting crowd.

On 6 April 2015, AIFF cleared Kochi as one of the venues after receiving FIFA's technical committee report. Delhi, Mumbai, Guwahati, Goa and Kolkata are the other venues.[8]

Kerala Strikers

The Celebrity Cricket League team Kerala Strikers is playing its home matches in the stadium since 2012.

Future

With the undergoing construction of Kerala Cricket Association Stadium, not far from the venue, and another 55,000 seater Trivandrum International Stadium already in place with arguably better infrastructure to be used for cricket, it is likely that the Kaloor Stadium will become a football specific stadium in the future.

As of now, the Kerala cricket association is the only state cricket association that does not own a cricket stadium.[19] Once the new stadium is constructed, it is expected that KCA will shift its base from the Kaloor Stadium to the new venue. However the new stadium proposed to be built at Edakochiis currently facing problems from environmental activists who feel that the construction of the stadium could have adverse effects on the environment.

See also

References

  1. ↑ http://www.keralacricketassociation.com/jawaharlal-nehru-stadium-kaloor-kochi
  2. ↑ "Nehru Stadium, Kaloor, Kochi, India". ESPN Cricinfo.
  3. 1 2 Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium. worldofstadiums.com
  4. ↑ "kochi stadium capacity". Retrieved 7 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "PARKS AND OPEN SPACES". GCDA - Greater Cochin Development Authority.
  6. ↑ "Manorama Online".
  7. ↑ "Ground Capacity".
  8. 1 2 "Kochi to host U-17 FIFA World Cup matches". Manoramaonline.
  9. ↑ "Cochin Stadium". Official Website. 10 May 2016. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  10. ↑ "StadiumDB".
  11. ↑ "Kochi Stadium record crowd welcomes football again".
  12. ↑ Pune and Kochi to join 2011 Indian Premier League, BBC Sport
  13. ↑ "Kerala Blasters has the highest average attendance". 2014-12-15.
  14. ↑ "Sushanth Mathew: 'I pulled off Cristiano trick'". Nikhil Jitendran. Goal.com. 2014-12-15.
  15. ↑ "FIFA launches 2014 FIFA World Cup Legacy Trust". FIFA.com.
  16. ↑ "Official: India to host U-17 World Cup in 2017". Goal.com.
  17. ↑ "Kerala Government backs U-17 World Cup India bid". Goal.com.
  18. ↑ "Hanish appointed Nodal Officer for 2017 Fifa U-17 World Cup". The Times of India. PTI.
  19. ↑ http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/kcas-first-cricket-stadium-at-krishnagiri/article5473008.ece. Missing or empty |title= (help)

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Coordinates: 9°59′50″N 76°18′04″E / 9.997253°N 76.301036°E / 9.997253; 76.301036

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