Visakhapatnam: After a gap of one year, Vizag will host One-Day International (ODI) cricket match on December 17, when host India will clash with Sri Lanka (third and final ODI in the series) at Dr Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy ACA-VDCA stadium.
For team India, it is all about carrying on the momentum on Vizag stadium where India played six ODI matches and won five matches. While the BCCI is yet to confirm the schedule, sources said India will play three Tests, three ODIs and three T-20 internationals against Sri Lanka from November 16 to December 24.
Secretary of Andhra Cricket Association (ACA) Ch. Arun Kumar said the last time an ODI was played in Vizag city on Oct. 20, 2016, when host India beat visitors New Zealand. The ACA-VDCA stadium was accorded Test status in 2015 and the first Test match was played between India and England in November 2016, when India registered a thumping victory, he added.
The ACA-VDCA stadium proved to be the luckiest for Team India in 2016. India under Virat Kohli’s captaincy won the T20 match against Sri Lanka, ODI against New Zealand and Test against England in 2016. Kohli himself said Vizag is his lucky ground along with Adelaide in Australia as he scored many runs, including tons, said Ravi Teja L., a cricket buff in Vizag city. It was at the ACA-VDCA stadium in Vizag that Team India discovered one of its greatest cricketers who would rule the game for over a decade, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, he added.
Cricket buffs in Vizag and surrounding districts were a disappointed lot as Vizag stadium has not hosted a single match of the 10th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2017 and hardly one cricketer from Andhra Pradesh squeezed into IPL.
“Vizag is so beautiful in the winter season and watching an international cricket match at Vizag stadium in December will be unforgettable for us,” said Kabita B, a cricket lover.
Cricket Matches
ACA-VDCA stadium has hosted one Test Match, 6 ODIs and one T20 match.
India won 5 ODIs in Vizag, besides Test matches and T20s
Mahendra Singh Dhoni scored his maiden one-day international century (148) in Vizag in 2005.
The capacity of Vizag stadium is around 27,500.
