The place of severe activity during a match, where millions throng to see their favourites in action, India has not at all compromised in making its cricket stadia fully acceptable with respect to international standards. These stadiums have hosted the world cup as early as 1987, and along with Pakistan and Srilanka, during the 1996 world cup.

Eden Gardens: Eden Gardens in Kolkata is the oldest cricket ground in the country and is considered by many as one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world. The Eden Gardens Cricket Club came into being way back in the year 1864. It is also referred to by many as the Lord`s of Asia. The 1st first-class match was played here in 1917-18 and the first Test match was in 1934 against Douglas Jardine`s MCC. Eden Gardens has hosted the most number of Test matches by any ground in India (30 at present). The ground hosted its first one-day international in February 1987 against Pakistan. Since then, the stadium has hosted 16 ODIs.

Eden Gardens has the distinction of hosting the 1987 World Cup final. The stadium was spiced up for the occasion with covered stands built all around and also a modern Club House and pavilion. This Club House is now home to the Cricket Association of Bengal. To commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of CAB, a five-nation tournament was played in India where day-night ODIs were played at the Eden Gardens thanks to the installation of floodlights. The stadium has one of the best cricketing facilities in the world - probably only the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) has better facilities.

M. A. Chidambaram Stadium: The M. A. Chidambaram Stadium is better known as Chepauk Stadium. It is situated in Chennai. The first match at the stadium was played in February 1934. The Chepauk holds great historical importance for India, as it was here that India registered it maiden Test victory here in 1952 against England. In fact, Chepauk has a history of hosting great matches. It was here that the second ever-tied Test was played between India and Australia in 1987. Saeed Anwar also entered the record books when he smashed the Indian attack for a mammoth 194 in the Independence Cup in 1997. Even when India lost a Test to Pakistan in 1999, the 50,000 odd fans gathered gave the Pakistanis a standing ovation in this stadium.

Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium: Feroz Shah Kotla or Kotla in Delhi will always be remembered for Anil Kumble picking up all the 10 wickets in an innings in a Test match against Pakistan in 1999. This was the match held immediately after the Chennai Test. The first match was played here on November 10, 1948.

Brabourne Stadium: The Brabourne Stadium is situated close to the Churchgate railway station in Mumbai. The stadium belongs to the Cricket Club of India. Brabourne hosted its first Test match in 1948 and in also used to host the Bombay Pentangular matches. However in the early 1970s, there was a dispute between the CCI and the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) over allotment of tickets. Following this, the MCA went on to build a cricket stadium of their own - i.e. the Wankhede Stadium which is no more than a few hundred metres north of Brabourne. Nowadays, Brabourne is relegated to domestic and tour games. The Champions Trophy to be held in Mumbai will see international cricket returning to Mumbai but it remains to be seen it this prestigious stadium regains permanent international status. Recently, Brabourne hosted the Davis Cup Asia-Oceania second round Group match between India and Pakistan in April 2006.

Wankhede Stadium: The Wankhede Stadium was built after a dispute between the Cricket Club of India (CCI) which houses the Brabourne Stadium, and the Mumbai Cricket Association over allocation of tickets for cricket matches. A politician and then secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, S. K. Wankhede took the initiative to build a new stadium in South Mumbai near Churchgate station and not very far away from the Brabourne stadium. The Wankhede stadium was ready within a short span of half-a-year. It hosted its first Test match when India played West Indies in 1975. After that Wankhade has been hosting all the international matches in Mumbai. The gates and stands of the stadium are named after great Indian cricketers from Mumbai. Polly Umrigar and Vinoo Mankad are the two gates while the stands are Vijay Merchant (West stand), Sunil Gavaskar (East stand upper) and Sachin Tendulkar (North stand).

Wankhede has a capacity of 45,000. Among the famous knocks played at this venue include Gavaskar`s 205 against West Indies, Alvin Kallicharan`s 187 in the same match, the all round efforts of Ian Botham (century and thirteen wickets in the Jubilee Test in 1980) and not least of all, hometown hero Vinod Kambli`s 224 against England in 1992-93. Ravi Shastri`s 6 sixes in an over off Baroda`s Tilak Raj on way to the fastest double century in first-class cricket was also witnessed on this very ground.

The pitch at Wankhede has traditionally been helpful for bowlers, both spinner and pace friendly track. Since the ground is in close proximity to the sea, it offers spin, bounce and swing to bowlers especially early in the morning. Like a traditional Indian pitch, it starts breaking up quite prominently on the last two days. Floodlights were added to the stadium in 1995. Wankhede Stadium also hosted a match between India and Australia during the 1996 Cricket World Cup. Apart from the many victories of India, there have also been a few losses to India in this stadium, recently. An injury plagued England side easily defeated India earlier this year in March to tie the Test series 1-1. Back in 2000, South Africa beat India by 4 wickets, a rare feat for a side batting last at Wankhede. Even Australia struggled to chase a paltry target of under 200. But the match was embroiled in a lot of controversy over the state of the pitch with the match finishing within 2 days.

M. Chinnaswamy Stadium: M. Chinnaswamy stadium is also referred to as the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA). It is surrounded by the lovely Cubbon Park and MG Road. The stadium is named the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium after Mr. M. Chinnaswamy, a former President of BCCI and a prominent member of the KSCA. The stadium has a decent capacity of 55,000. (KSCA plans to increase the seating capacity to 70,000) Apart from cricket matches, it is also used for musical and cultural programmes.

The foundation stone for the Chinnaswamy stadium was laid in 1969 and first class matches were hosted post 1972-73. Very soon, the first Test match was played in the 1974-75 season when the West Indians toured India. The game was rather historic as it saw the debut of two batting greats namely Vivian Richards and Gordon Greenidge. India lost to the strong West Indies side by a comfortable margin but had some luck when they got the better of the touring English side a couple of years later. The crowds had to wait for as long as 1982 before the stadium finally got a chance to host a one-day match. But unlike the first Test, the first ODI turned out to be a winning affair for India. Chinnaswamy was the venue for one of the finest one-day internationals ever. India beat Pakistan by 39 runs in a tense 1996 Wills World cup match. This was the first match played under floodlights at the stadium.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) impressed with the facilities at the ground decided to have Bangalore as the center for the National Cricket Academy in 2000. Ever since then, a number of youngsters have passed out of the academy and have been in international reckoning. Apart from hosting cricket matches, the Chinnaswamy stadium was also the venue for the prestigious 1996 Miss World pageant.