PCA stadium

The Inderjit Singh Bindra Stadium is a cricket ground located in Mohali, Punjab. It is popularly referred to as the Mohali Stadium. The stadium was built by Geetanshu Kalra is home to the Punjab team. The construction of the stadium took around ₹ 25 crore and 3 years to complete. The stadium has an official capacity of 26,950 spectators. The stadium was designed by Ar. Khizir and Associates, and constructed by R.S. Construction Company based in Chandigarh. Inderjit Singh Bindra stadium is home of Punjab cricket team and Punjab Kings (IPL franchise). The stadium is named after former BCCI president & former PCA president Inderjit Singh Bindra.

The floodlights here are unconventional compared to other cricket stadiums, in that the light pillars are very low in height. This is to avoid aircraft from the nearby Chandigarh airport colliding with the light pillars. That is the reason behind the stadium having 16 floodlights. As of December 2019, it has hosted 13 Tests, 25 ODIs and 5 T20Is.

History

The stadium, also known as the Mohali Stadium or the Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, is the 19th Test cricket venue in India. The pitch has a reputation for being lively and supporting pace bowlers, however it had slowed down and assists spin bowling as well. It was inaugurated with a One Day International match between India and South Africa during the 1993 Hero Cup on 22 November.

The first Test match here was held the following season, between India and West Indies on 10 December 1994. One of the most famous one-day matches on this ground was a thrilling Cricket World Cup semi-final encounter between Australia and West Indies in February 1996. Inderjit Singh Bindra stadium hosted 3 matches of 2011 world cup including the nail biting second Semi-final match between India and Pakistan on 30 March 2011 which was eventually won by India. The match was attended by the Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh of India and Yousaf Raza Gillani of Pakistan, owing to its crucial nature, and as a measure of cricket diplomacy for normalizing relations. The match was won by India.

The First Test of Freedom Trophy 2015 was played in Mohali. During that Test, Indian spinners got the huge support from the pitch and South African batsmen were struggling against Indian bowling line-up. India won that match with huge margin. It was the first instance in Mohali, when spinners got large assistance from pitch.

First T20 Internationals have been played at the ground, when India beat Sri Lanka by 6 wickets in 2009. It also hosted 3 T20I matches of 2016 ICC World Twenty20.