Facts:
Opened 2003
Capacity 23000
Ends River End, College End
Location Dharamsala, India
Home to Himachal Pradesh, Kings XI Punjab
Description:
Stunning. Breathtaking. Awesome. The adjectives roll out as one enters the most beautiful ground in India. The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association [HPCA] Stadium in Dharamsala, with a capacity of 23,000, is as picturesque as the Adelaide Oval and Newlands, if not more. A small and glittering green plate, the ground has a snow-capped background in the form of the Dauladhar hill-range. The mountains add to the serenity of the venue, which lies at an altitude of 1317 metres above sea level. Another impressive feature is its openness and small-sized stands, which allow for winds to sweep across, giving fast bowlers assistance in the air. The venue is the first in India to use winter rye grass scattered around the outfield, which prevents the grass from dying when temperatures fall below 10 degrees.
The harsh winters, during which it rains and snows, can be deterrents to organising international matches here but it hosted its first ODI in January 2013, between India and England, despite snow falling at the ground in the preceding weeks. The 2010 expansion of the IPL brought Dharamsala wider attention and it has the potential to become one of India's most popular venues.
Even though international cricket made its first appearance here only in 2013, the HPCA stadium has already established itself as a world-class cricket destination in a very short time. Best known for being the abode of the Dalai Lama, this quaint little town first found its place on the cricketing world map in 2010, when Chennai Super Kings locked horns with Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Trivia: Virat Kohli averages 106 at Dharamsala in ODIs. He has scored 212 runs with one ton and one fifty in 3 ODIs he has played here.
Records and Statistics ODI Total matches 4 Matches won batting first 1 Matches won bowling first 3 Average 1st Inns scores 214 Average 2nd Inns scores 201 Highest total recorded 330/6 (50 Ov) by IND vs WI Lowest total recorded 112/10 (38.2 Ov) by IND vs SL Highest score chased 227/3 (47.2 Ov) by Eng vs IND Lowest score defended 330/6 (50 Ov) by IND vs WI TEST Total matches 1 Matches won bowling first 1 Average 1st Inns scores 300 Average 2nd Inns scores 332 Average 3rd Inns scores 137 Average 4th Inns scores 106 Highest total recorded 332/10 (118.1 Ov) by IND vs AUS Lowest total recorded 137/10 (53.5 Ov) by AUS vs IND T20I Total matches 7 Matches won batting first 4 Matches won bowling first 2 Average 1st Inns scores 140 Average 2nd Inns scores 124 Highest total recorded 200/3 (19.4 Ov) by RSA vs IND Highest score chased 200/3 (19.4 Ov) by RSA vs IND Lowest score defended 59/5 (6 Ov) by NED vs IRE
