It was almost a year ago that the BCCI had, in its Apex Council meeting in Delhi, had discussed the prospect of hosting a Day-Night Test at the refurbished Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera when England tour India in February 2021 (the tour that is now underway).
In December 2020, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had confirmed the dates for England's tour of India and that a day-night Test will be held at Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium from February 24. The Motera Stadium in Ahmedabad, apart from hosting the day-night Test, will also be the venue for a 5-match T20I series.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium which is also known as Motera Cricket Stadium is the largest cricket stadium in the world with a capacity of 1,10,000, which trumps the MCG in Australia that can accommodate 90,000 people, and four world-class dressing rooms. As many as 55,000 fans (fifty per cent capacity) are expected to be present at the stadium for the Day-Night Test match starting in Motera on February 24.
“I have to say that this new stadium at Motera, the biggest in the world, is so impressive that it has a bit of an aura about it even when empty. It’s like a coliseum. I can only imagine what it will be like at 50 per cent capacity, with 55,000 people in, from Wednesday. And with 110,000, at a World Cup match later this year for example, I don’t know if we would be able to hear ourselves think,” England cricketer Stuart Broad said ahead of the Pink Ball Test.
England all-rounder Ben Stokes shared a video of the stadium and captioned it ‘Some stadium this is and a bit of local music to help get through to the end’.
Ahead of the 3rd Test between India and England at the Motera Stadium, located in Sabarmati, the ground will be inaugurated by President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday (February 24).
The cricket stadium was originally named the Gujarat Stadium, but it was later changed to Sardar Patel Stadium which is also known as the Motera Stadium. While the stadium hosted its first international One Day match in 1984, it was closed down for reconstruction in 2015 and the renovation cost around Rs 7 billion.
The four-match Test series between India and England is currently level at 1-1 and the 3rd Test would be crucial for both the teams with respect to the World Test Championship final as well. The hosts played their maiden Day-Night Test against Bangladesh in November 2019 at the Eden Gardens within a month of Sourav Ganguly being appointed as the Board President.