Established before India’s independence in 1945, Green Park Stadium is a world-class cricket stadium located in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Situated in the Civil Lines area in the northeastern part of Kanpur near the banks of the river Ganga, the stadium is named after Madam Green who used to practice horse riding in the 1940s. It is the only international venue in the country which is not owned by a state cricket association and is run by the Sports department of Uttar Pradesh.
Kanpur’s cricket stadium staged its first international Test match in 1952 against England and has since then hosted 22 Tests, 15 ODIs and one T20I.
Currently, the stadium has a seating capacity of around 45,000 including a student gallery and possesses the world's largest manually operated scoreboard.
The Indian cricket team has remained unbeaten at this venue in Test cricket since 1983, last losing to the mighty West Indies. India have won seven Tests, lost three and drawn 12 matches at Green Park Stadium.
It is the home ground of the Uttar Pradesh cricket team and has also hosted several first-class matches at this venue.
Here, we look at the Test and first-class records made at Green Park.
Green Park Stadium Test records
Highest team total: India posed 676/7 against Sri Lanka in a Test match in 1986, which is the highest team total at Green Park in the longest format. After Sri Lanka registered 420 in their first innings, the hosts rode on Sunil Gavaskar’s 176, Mohammed Azharuddin’s 199 and captain Kapil Dev’s 163 to put up a mammoth score on the board. The Test match ended in a draw.
Highest individual score: Former West Indies opening batter Faoud Bacchus boasts of the highest individual score at Green Park Stadium in Test cricket. Bacchus’ 250 powered the visitors to 452/8 in reply to India’s 644/7d in the first innings in 1979. The Test ended in a dull draw.
Best bowling figures: Former India off-spinner Jasubhai Patel holds the record of the best bowling figures at Kanpur in the longest format. Jasubhai Patel picked nine wickets for 69 runs to restrict Australia to 219 in their first innings in 1959. The off-spinner brought India back into the game after the hosts were bowled out for 152 in the first innings. India eventually won the match by 119 runs.
Most runs: Former India cricketer Gundappa Viswanath has scored the most runs at Green Park in Kanpur in Tests. The right-handed batter amassed 776 runs in seven Test matches at a staggering average of 86.22. He has smashed three hundreds and four fifties at this venue.
Most wickets: Former India cricket team captain Kapil Dev has claimed the most wickets at the Green Park Stadium. The right-arm pacer has bagged 25 wickets in seven Test matches with best bowling figures of 6/63.
Highest partnership: Mohammad Azharuddin and Kapil Dev hold the record for the highest partnership at the Green Park Stadium. The former Indian duo forged a massive 272-run partnership for the sixth wicket against Sri Lanka in a Test match in December 1986. While Mohammad Azharuddin scored 199, Kapil Dev slammed 163 as the opening Test of a two-match series later ended in a draw.
Green Park Stadium first-class records
Highest team total: Tamil Nadu posted a mammoth 696/5d against Uttar Pradesh in a first-class encounter in the 1999-2000 season, which is the highest team total ever posted at the venue.
Lowest team total: Uttar Pradesh’s 62 is the lowest team total at this venue in Kanpur. After Bengal posted 193 in their first innings, their bowlers bundled out the hosts for a humiliating score. Ranadeb Bose was the wrecker-in-chief for Bengal, picking five wickets for just 18 runs.
Highest individual score: Tamil Nadu’s Sridharan Sriram had smashed 288 against Uttar Pradesh in a first-class game in the 1999-2000 season. It is still the highest individual score registered at Green Park.
Best bowling figures in an innings: Uttar Pradesh’s Ashish Zaidi holds the record for the best bowling figures in an innings at Green Park. The former fast bowler scalped nine wickets for 45 runs against Vidarbha in a first-class encounter in the 1999-2000 season.
Highest partnership: Karnataka’s Ravikumar Samarth and Mayank Agarwal registered the highest partnership (unbeaten 262) at the venue against hosts Uttar Pradesh in first-class cricket in 2017-18 season.
Featured photo: BCCI
