Lalbhai Contractor Stadium is a cricket stadium in

Surat Surat is a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The word Surat literally means ''face'' in Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of the river Tapti near its confluence with the Arabian Sea, it used to be a large seaport. It is ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. The stadium is owned by the Surat District Cricket Association (SDCA). The first match played at the stadium was a

Duleep Trophy The Duleep Trophy, also known as Mastercard Duleep trophy due to sponsorship reasons, is a domestic first-class cricket competition played in India. Named after Kumar Shri Duleepsinhji of Nawanagar (also known as 'Duleep'), the competition wa ...

match between

West Zone The West Zone cricket team is a first-class cricket team that represents western India in the Duleep Trophy and Deodhar Trophy. It is a composite team of players from five first-class Indian teams from western India competing in the Ranji Trophy: ...

and East Zone in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. The stadium hosted 15 cricket matches over the following 20 years, including

Ranji Trophy The Ranji Trophy (also known as Mastercard Ranji Trophy for sponsorship reasons) is a domestic first-class cricket championship played in India between multiple teams representing regional and state cricket associations. Board of Control for Cr ...

Irani Cup Irani Trophy or Irani Cup also known as the Mastercard Irani Trophy due to sponsorship reasons, is a first-class cricket tournament organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). . It is played annually between the winners of ...

and Duleep Trophy matches. The ground hosted international cricket for the first time during South Africa Women's 2019 tour of India. All five WT20Is of the tour were played at the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium. This stadium was made possible only because of donation of 86,730 Sq. yards of land donated in 1986/87 by Hemant Lalbhai Contractor and their sister Jyoti Contractor in memory of their father Late Shri Lalbhai Ramjibhai Contractor who was himself enthusiast of game of cricket and founder member of

Bombay Cricket Association The Mumbai Cricket Association (formerly Bombay Cricket Association) is the governing body for cricket in Mumbai and surrounding regions such as Thane and Navi Mumbai. Its headquarter is situated at Cricket centre in Churchgate, Mumbai. It ...

. In 2009, SDCA revamped the Lalbhai Contractor Stadium. The SDCA has earmarked Rs 12 crore for the renovation of the stadium which has hosted several

Ranji Colonel H. H. Shri Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji II, Jam Saheb of Nawanagar, (10 September 1872 – 2 April 1933), often known as Ranji or K. S. Ranjitsinhji, was the ruler of the Indian princely state of Nawanagar from 1907 to 1933, as M ...

, Irani and

matches. For 15th Edition of

Indian Premier League The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's T20 franchise cricket league of India. It is annually contested by ten teams based out of seven Indian cities and three Indian states. The leagu ...

, 4-time champion

Chennai Super Kings Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is an Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise cricket team based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Founded in 2008, the team plays its home matches at the M. A. Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. The team is owned by India ...

picked Lalbhai Contractor Stadium for their Preparation.

Future plans

SDCA is actively pursuing plans to enhance its seating capacity from existing 7,000 spectators to 30,000 spectators and thereby becoming an arena for hosting National and International level cricket matches and tournaments. A modern Club House with residential accommodation, specialty restaurants, banquet hall, conference hall, a mini theatre and also locker facilities for the members, is also on the agenda of the association.indianexpress
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References

External links

indianexpress

Cricket grounds in Gujarat Sports venues in Surat 1993 establishments in Gujarat Sports venues completed in 1993 20th-century architecture in India {{India-cricket-ground-stub