Visakhapatnam is one of the most loved venues for many Indian cricketers, for its warm hospitality, the love shown by the cricket fanatics here, and most importantly, the short boundaries at Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. The stadium has witnessed numerous iconic moments since its establishment in 2003. No cricket fan from Vizag can ever forget the historical knock by M. S. Dhoni in 2005, in which he smashed 148 runs against arch-rivals Pakistan. This was the highest score by an Indian wicket-keeper in ODIs, a record that he rewrote within a year. The walls of the stadium have also witnessed the innings in which Virat Kohli has surpassed the 10,00 runs mark in ODIs, against the Carribeans in 2018. Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium was named as a venue for the mega cricket carnival, IPL, for the first time in the 2012 edition of the tournament. Since then, the Visakhapatnam stadium has hosted a total of 13 IPL matches to date. With the BCCI hosting the last two editions of IPL in UAE, it has been quite a while since the Vizagites witnessed the star-studded teams compete against each other.
Here is a brief history of IPL matches in the City of Destiny.
IPL 2012
Visakhapatnam has witnessed the IPL fever for the first time in 2012 when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has decided to host two matches at Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium. The Visakhapatnam stadium was named as one of the home grounds for the Hyderabad franchise, Deccan Chargers (DC).
Deccan Chargers (DC) vs Mumbai Indians (MI)- 9 April 2012
As the Vizagites were excited to witness the ensemble of Indian and international cricketers, the home team, Deccan Chargers, have disappointed the fans by losing to the Mumbai Indians by a narrow margin. After scoring 138 runs for 9 wickets in the first innings, the Chargers have failed to defend it. Rohit Sharma has dominated the DC bowlers, by scoring 73 runs and taking his team past the margin. The Mumbai Indians have won by 5 wickets.
Deccan Chargers (DC) vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK)- 7 April 2012
The South Indian derby has disappointed the home team fans yet again, as the Chennai Super Kings defeated the Deccan Chargers by a huge margin of 74 runs. Ravindra Jadeja has dominated DC in both batting and bowling departments, who scored 48 runs in the first innings and picked up a 5-wicket haul in the second innings.
IPL 2015
After not hosting any IPL matches for two years, the Visakhapatnam stadium was given the opportunity to host three matches in 2015, by when the Deccan Chargers was terminated by the BCCI. Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) has replaced DC, in 2013 and the ACA-VDCA Stadium has been named as one of the home venues for SRH, for the 2015 edition. Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium has hosted 3 IPL matches in the year 2015.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Rajasthan Royals (RR)- 16 April 2015
This low-scoring thriller was a nerve-wracking last-ball finish, with the Royals finishing on the winning side. SRH have scored a mere 127 runs for 5 wickets in the first innings. RR has successfully chased down the target, with Ajinkya Rahane being the top scorer for Rajasthan, who scored a match-defining 62 of 56 balls.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Delhi Daredevils (DD)- 18 April 2015
The Delhi Daredevils have scored 167 runs for 4 wickets in the innings, with Shreyas Iyer contributing 60 runs to the total. South African batsman, JP Duminy, has scored a quickfire 54 runs, helping the Daredevils to put up 167 runs on the board. SRH failed to cross the 167-run mark and fell short of 4 runs, thus losing the match.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)- 22 April 2015
This match has marked the first victory for any Hyderabad based franchise at Visakhapatnam. The Sunrisers have scored an impressive total of 176 runs for 4 wickets, in the first innings. The openers, Shikhar Dhawan and David Warner have put up an impressive partnership for the first wicket, scoring 54 and 91 runs respectively. Due to an unexpected rainfall, the second innings was reduced to 12 overs, with a revised target of 118 for KKR. The Knight Riders fell short of 16 runs, scoring 101 runs for 4 wickets.
IPL 2016
Owing to water scarcity in Maharashtra, the BCCI has decided to name Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium as one of the home grounds for Rising Pune Super Giants (RPSG) and Mumbai Indians (MI). The city was selected to host as many as six matches during the 2016 season. The happiness of cricket lovers in Vizag knew no bounds, as they were about to witness the likes of M. S. Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Ravi Ashwin, and many other stars over a period of 15 days.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Mumbai Indians (MI)- 8 May 2016
The Sunrisers have put up a score of 177 runs for 3 wickets in the first innings, with Shikhar Dhawan dominating the MI bowlers. The southpaw has scored a brilliant 82 runs, assisted by Yuvraj Singh with a crucial knock of 39 runs down the order. The Mumbai batsmen, who couldn’t handle the brilliance of SRH pacers, have fallen like a house of cards. MI has managed to score a mere 92 runs in the second innings, before getting all-out. Veteran pacer, Asish Nehra, and Bangladeshi young gun, Mustafizur Rehman, have bowled highly economical spells and took 3 scalps each.
Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) vs Rising Pune Super Giants (RPSG)- 10 May 2016
Yet another brilliant performance from the SRH bowlers have won the match for the Hyderabad franchise. Defending a comparatively low total of 137 runs, the Sunrisers have limited RPSG to 133 runs and picked up 8 wickets. Nehra has recreated his brilliant performance from the last match and picked up 3 wickets for 29 runs. In the first innings, Australian spinner, Adam Zampa, representing RPSG, has picked up as many as 6 wickets. Despite his heroics, The Pune team couldn’t make it past the line.
Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)- 13 May 2016
Batting first, the Mumbai Indians have failed to make it big, scoring only 124 runs in their quota of 20 overs. Marcus Stoinis was the pick of the day, who picked up 4 wickets for just 15 runs during his spell of 4 overs. It was an easy chase for the Punjab team, as Murali Vijay and Wridhhiman Saha steered their team past the victory line by scoring half-centuries.
Mumbai Indians (MI) vs Delhi Capitals (DC)- 15 May 2016
In the first innings, the Mumbai Indians have put a humongous total of 206 runs for 4 wickets. A blistering knock of 86 runs from 37 balls by Krunal Pandya has set the stands on fire, as the audience had gone bonkers over his innings. Later in the second innings, the Delhi Capitals were all-out for 126 runs. While Bumrah picked up 3 wickets for 13 runs, Krunal Pandya has shone yet again by picking up 2 scalps for 15 runs.
Rising Pune Super Giants (RPSG) vs Delhi Capitals (DC)- 17 May 2016
The Delhi Capitals have put up a low score of 121 runs for 6 wickets, with the Pune bowlers, Ashok Dinda, and Adam Zampa, picking up 3 wickets each. Pune had put up 76 runs on the board for the loss of one wicket before it started to pour down heavily. RPSG was declared the winner of the match by the D/L method.
Rising Pune Super Giants (RPSG) vs Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)- 21 May 2016
This match was a thrilling last over finish, as M. S. Dhoni scored 22 runs off Axar Patel’s final over of the match, to win the match for his team. KXIP put up a score of 172 runs for 7 wickets in the first innings, with Murali Vijay scoring 59 runs. Later in the second innings, M. S. Dhoni took his team past the line with his match-winning knock of 64 runs from 32 balls. Though RPSG ended up not qualifying for the playoffs, the last over heroics by the chase master have satisfied the fans.
IPL 2019
During the 2019 season, Visakhapatnam has hosted the knockout stages for the first time in its history of hosting IPL matches. It was decided as the venue for Qualifier 2 and the Eliminator.
Eliminator: Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)- 8 May 2019
SRH has put up a decent total of 162 runs, losing 8 wickets in the first innings. During the chase, the heroics of the youngsters, Prithvi Shaw, and Rishab Pant, have ensured the Delhi Capitals a place in Qualifier 2. Pant has scored a quickfire 49 runs off 21 balls, which has won him the Man of the Match award.
Qualifier 2: Chennai Super Kings (CSK) vs Delhi Capitals (DC)- 10 May 2019
In the first innings, the Delhi Capitals have put up 147 runs on the board, losing 9 wickets. The experienced campaigners, Shane Watson, and Faf Du Plessis have taken the Super Kings past the line, scoring half-centuries. Du Plessis was adjudged the Man of the Match for his 50 runs off 39 balls. This win has ensured CSK a place in the finals for the second consecutive year.
Will the BCCI consider Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam to host IPL matches for this year’s edition of IPL? Will BCCI quench the thirst of the Vizag cricket fans this year? Feel free to express your opinions in the comments section below.
Discussion about this post