Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) celebrated the birth anniversary of Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy on July 1, Friday at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. The auspicious occasion was celebrated by waging the flag by CAB president Mr. Avishek Dalmiya. Moreover, honorable secretary Mr. Snehasish Ganguly, former Indian cricketer Gargi Banerjee, and Pranob Roy were also present on that occasion.

Also Read: Bengal Cricket Exclusive: CAB looking to find new coach; Chandrakant Pandit, Laxmi Ratan Shukla, and few IPL coaches are options

Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy was not just a doctor he was also a freedom fighter and a politician. He served West Bengal as the Chief Minister from 1948 to till his death in 1962. Meanwhile, on the same day(July 1) Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy left us in 1962. He was an Indian physician, educationist, philanthropist, and freedom fighter.

Read Also: India's squad for T20I & ODI series against England announced

Cricket Association Of Bengal (CAB) reminds of him and celebrated the day at the Eden Gardens on Friday morning. Former cricketer Gargi Banerjee and Pranob Roy were also present on this lovely occasion.

T20I cricket is returning to the iconic Eden Gardens stadium in Kolkata, where the Indian Cricket Team will face England in the opening match of a five-match T20 series. 

The iconic stadium last hosted an international match on November 16, 2023, when Australia and South Africa faced off in the second semi-final of the 2023 ODI World Cup.

However, do you know when Eden Gardens last hosted a T20I match? It was when India faced West Indies in the last match of a three-match T20I series on 20 February 2022. 

In the match, the Indian team defeated the Carribeans by 17 runs to manage a clean sweep, winning the series by 3-0.

When India played a T20I game last time at the Eden Gardens

Having a 2-0 lead, India already had one hand on the trophy when they faced West Indies for the last match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The Kieron Pollard-captained West Indies side won the toss and elected to bowl first.

After an early departure of opener Ruturaj Gaikwad on 4 (8), Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer took a hold to rotate the innings and made a good partnership. Kishan made 34 off 31 and Iyer made 25 off 16 deliveries before going to the pavilion.

Indian captain Rohit Sharma made only 7 off 15 balls, leaving the team in trouble after he was bowled by Dominic Drakes in the 13th over. India was on 93/4 at this point.

However, Suryakumar Yadav took it all on himself and made a blazing 65 runs off just 31 deliveries, studded with one boundary and seven sixes! On the other end, Venkatesh Iyer provided solid support to Surya as he remained not out on 35 off 19, an innings with four boundaries and two over-boundaries.

.@surya_14kumar smashed 7 sixes on his way to 65(31).

📸: Disney+Hotstar#SuryakumarYadav #INDvsWI #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/D0SuufWu5W

— CricTracker (@Cricketracker) February 20, 2022

India finished their innings on a safe total of 184/5, leaving a tough job for the West Indian batters.

In response, West Indies faced early calamities with both of their openers going back to the pavilion within the first three overs. Deepak Chahar took both wickets to startle the Windies innings.

Nicholas Pooran held the ground for the Caribbeans in the first down, building a composed innings of 61 off 47 balls. The rest of the team did not have much to deliver as only Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd tried to build some resistance. 

Although Powell and Shepherd respectively scored 25 (14) and 29 (21); West Indies ended their innings on 167/9, handing India a victory by 17 runs.

India lifted the trophy with a clean sweep over West Indies, whereas Suryakumar Yadav was named Player of the Match and Player of the Series. 

India complete a clean sweep 👏

They win the final T20I against West Indies in Kolkata by 17 runs to win the series 3-0 🙌#INDvWI | 📝 https://t.co/v4n2wgfk91 pic.twitter.com/q4OYX5lDAT

— ICC (@ICC) February 20, 2022

This series win was visibly significant, leaving doors for the selectors to see a potential leader in Suryakumar Yadav for India in the T20Is. Suryakumar indeed has succeeded Rohit Sharma as the captain for the Indian team in T20I.

Suryakumar Yadav is set to captain India in the 5-match series against England, from January 22nd to February 2nd, 2025.

BCCI have announced the opening date of the IPL 2025 as the 18th edition of the world's grandest franchise T-20 tournament will commence on March 21, 2025.

IPL 2025 - Official dates!🏏🏆
Opening match & Final will be played at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata! pic.twitter.com/ohTnD1WBrX

— SportsGully (@thesportsgully) January 12, 2025

Both the opening game and the final on May 21, 2025, will be played at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata, whereas two of the play-off games will take place at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad. 

Kolkata Knight Riders will feature in the IPL 2025 opener at the Eden Gardens

The IPL Governing Council and BCCI adjusted the schedule from its previously proposed window of March 14 to May 25, 2025, to the newly proposed dates from March 21 to May 21, 2025.

This change came after the consideration to allot a two-week gap between the Champions Trophy Final on March 9 and the IPL 2025 Opener. 

To align with the IPL norms, the home stadium of the previous champions hosts the opener and the final of the following season as Kolkata Knight Riders will feature in the opening game at Eden as the defending champions. 

Read Also | BCCI announce days for next three IPL seasons

On the other hand, last year's runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad will be awarded Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator to be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium. 

Cricbuzz reports that the BCCI will soon release the complete schedule at the end of this month. This announcement is expected to come after Devjit Saikia is elected as secretary and Prabhtej Singh Bhatia as treasurer during a Special General Meeting to be held in Mumbai on January 12.

A stand at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata will soon be named after India's legendary fast bowler Jhulan Goswami. 

According to ICC, the Block B Gallery of Eden Gardens will be renamed in her honor. This stand will be inaugurated during the Indian women's team's first T20I match against England on January 22 next year.

Also Read: 2024 ICC Women's T20 World Cup stats: Most Wickets and Everything

Stands have also been built at Eden Gardens in the names of former Indian captain and BCCI president Sourav Ganguly, former Indian cricketer Pankaj Roy, and former BCCI presidents Jagmohan Dalmiya and Biswanath Dutt.

Highest wicket-taker in women's ODI

Jhulan Goswami retired two years ago after an illustrious 20-year career with the Indian women's team. She was considered one of the best fast bowlers in women's cricket. Her career is still reflected in the impressive record that she maintains even after her retirement. Goswami holds the record for taking the highest number of wickets (255) in women's ODI.

Jhulan Goswami ended her career after appearing in 12 Tests, 204 ODIs and 68 T20Is and taking 355 wickets across all formats. In the women's Test format, Goswami has taken 44 wickets in 12 matches at an average of 17.36 and an economy of 2.02.

Goswami has 56 wickets to her name in the women's T20I format, with an average of 21.94 and an economy of 5.45. In the ODI format, she has taken 255 wickets in 204 matches at an average of 22.04.

Also Read: All the ICC Women’s T20 Cricket World Cup winners

Working as bowling coach of MI

The 41-year-old Goswami is currently working as the bowling coach and mentor of the Mumbai Indians in the Women's Premier League (WPL), which won the inaugural season of the league. Earlier this year, Goswami was the team mentor at the Women's Caribbean Premier League franchise Trinbago Knight Riders. 

After retirement, Goswami has worked as a mentor for the senior Bengal women's team and has also been involved in the Women's Premier League.

The Cricket Association of Bengal unveiled the trophy for the first season of the Bengal Pro T20 League in Kolkata on Friday. In the presence of former India captains Sourav Ganguly and Jhulan Goswami, the names of the eight franchises and their marquee players were announced in front of the media. The tournament will start on June 11.

This will be the first time that Bengal will organise their own T20 cricket league after failing to make it happen in previous years. After the successful first-ever pink ball match in India in 2016, CAB were eyeing to become to first state association to organise a T20 league. Since then, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and many other state associations have successfully organised their T20 leagues and their players have benefited from that well.

Know more about the tournament structure of the Bengal Pro T20 League 2024.

However, the fans and players of Bengal had to wait till 2024 to put an end to the question of when Bengal will have its own T20 league. Though, there are a few players from Bengal who are featuring in the Indian Premier League, Bengal as a white-ball team have not been consistent enough in the domestic circuit in the recent past. 

Bengal fans feel this league, if done successfully can bring some good homegrown talent in white-ball format, not only in men's cricket, but in women's too.

Though CAB could not be the first to organise their T20 league, they now have become the first association to have both men's and women's leagues. The Bengal Pro T20 League will have eight franchises with 8 men's and women's teams which will broaden Bengal's strength in Women's Cricket too.

Citing the success of Abishek Porel and Richa Ghosh in both IPL and WPL respectively, Sourav Ganguly said, This is a new era. We are getting to witness something special. T20 cricket is evolving with each passing day and the launch of Bengal Pro T20 League will surely help Bengal cricket in days to come. I hope the men's and women's cricketers will be benefitted immensely." 

"With IPL growing hugely, I hope players from Bengal will represent IPL surely in the coming years. I wish all the players the best for the forthcoming league," he added.

Women's cricket legend Jhulan Goswami feels this league will bring more players from Bengal who will represent many teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Women's Premier League (WPL). 

"To be able to witness the Bengal Pro T20 League launch is truly amazing. I would like to thank the CAB for making this possible. I wish all the players who will be participating to give their best and win it for their team.," Jhulan Goswami said. 

"This league will surely help bring forward more talent from Bengal who will represent IPL and Women's Premier League in the coming years," she added.

CAB President Snehasish Ganguly is also hopeful that the Bengal Pro T20 League will become one of the best leagues in India and will help to create a pool of talent from Bengal in the future days. 

"I would like to thank all the CAB office bearers, franchises and everyone involved in helping this league come together. Bengal Pro T20 League is shaping up to become one of the marquee leagues. The league will help bring forward a pool of talent from Bengal in days to come. I wish all the players the very best who will represent the eight teams," Snehasish Ganguly expressed.

8 teams along with the men and women marquee players for the inaugural season

Lux Industries & Shyam Steel Consortium: Kolkata Royal Tigers - Abishek Porel & Mita Paul

GD Mining: Harbour Diamonds- Manoj Tiwary & Sukanya Parida 

Rashmi Group: Rashmi Medinipur Wizards - Abhimanyu Easwaran & Richa Ghosh 

ServoTec Power Systems: Servotec Siliguri Strikers - Akash Deep & Priyanka Bala 

Shrachi Group: Rarh Tigers - Shahbaz Ahmed & Titas Sadhu 

Adamas University: Adamas Howrah Warriors - Anustup Majumdar & Dhara Gujjar 

Sobisco Ltd: Malda Sobisco Smashers, Mukesh Kumar & Hrishita Basu 

Pritam Electricals & Jalan Builders Consortium: Murshidabad Kings - Sudip Gharami & Deepti Sharma

Sports are an integral part of the cultural fabric of India, and this is reflected in the vast array of stadiums spread across the nation. For those gearing up for competitive examinations like the UPSC, banking, SSC, or insurance exams, having a broad spectrum of knowledge, particularly in the general awareness section, is pivotal. One key area that frequently appears in these exams is the topic of Indian sports stadiums, making it vital for aspirants to be well-versed in this domain.

To support candidates in their quest for success, this article offers a detailed enumeration of India's stadiums, organized by state. This resource is designed to bolster the preparation of exam candidates, equipping them with the necessary information to skillfully navigate questions on this subject. A thorough familiarity with India's stadiums is not just about taking exams; it also significantly enriches one's general knowledge base, painting a vivid picture of the country's sporting infrastructure.

Which Is The Biggest Stadium In India?

The Narendra Modi Stadium, formerly recognized as the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Cricket Stadium, holds the distinction of being the largest stadium in India. It boasts an impressive seating capacity of 132,000 spectators, making it a colossal venue for cricket enthusiasts. Located within the expansive Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave in Ahmedabad, this cricket stadium not only serves as a major hub for sports events but also stands as a testament to India's rich sporting heritage and infrastructural prowess.

Which is the Oldest Stadium in India?

Established in 1864, Eden Gardens is not only Kolkata's but also India's oldest cricket ground. This historic venue is renowned as the second-largest cricket stadium in India and the third-largest globally. With its deep historical roots and grand scale, Eden Gardens stands as a monumental testament to the rich legacy and enduring passion for cricket in the country, drawing countless cricket fans and enthusiasts from around the world. Discover the world of sports with the 1xbet bookmaker. Download 1xbet and enjoy sports betting comfortably.

List of Best Stadiums in India

Number of Stadiums in India

India, a nation with a rich sporting heritage, is home to an impressive array of over 150 stadiums, catering to a plethora of sports that capture the country's diverse athletic interests. These stadiums encompass a wide range of disciplines, from the nation's beloved cricket to football, hockey, athletics, and beyond.

This extensive network of stadiums reflects India's dedication to nurturing and promoting sports at both grassroots and professional levels. These venues, spread across the country, are not just infrastructural marvels but also hubs of cultural and community activities, often becoming landmarks in their own right.

They serve as stages for national and international sporting events, drawing fans and athletes from around the world, and play a vital role in fostering the growth of sports in India.

Popular Stadiums In India That Are Worth Visiting

India's stadiums are not just venues for sporting events; they are landmarks steeped in history and culture. From the colossal Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, known for its massive seating capacity, to the historic Eden Gardens in Kolkata, a mecca for cricket enthusiasts, each stadium has its own unique story. The Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi, rich in cricketing lore, and the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, a modern cricketing venue, offer glimpses into the nation's passion for sports.

These stadiums are more than just sports arenas; they are vibrant gathering places where memories are made, records are broken, and history is written. A visit to these stadiums offers not just the thrill of the game, but also a connection to the heart and spirit of Indian sportsmanship.

In conclusion, the vast array of stadiums in India is a testament to the country's deep and enduring love for sports. From sprawling cricket grounds to state-of-the-art football arenas, each stadium carries its unique charm and history, serving as a melting pot of cultures, passions, and unforgettable sporting moments.

These venues not only provide a stage for athletes to showcase their talents but also unite diverse communities in celebration of sporting excellence. As India continues to grow and excel in various sports, these stadiums will undoubtedly remain at the heart of its sporting culture, symbolizing both national pride and a commitment to athletic advancement.