Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, abbreviated as the HPCA Stadium, is a picturesque cricket stadium located in the city of

Dharamshala Dharamshala (; also spelled Dharamsala) is the winter capital of Himachal Pradesh, India. It serves as administrative headquarters of the Kangra district after being relocated from Kangra, a city located away from Dharamshala, in 1855. The ...

in the

Kangra district Kangra is the most populous district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. Dharamshala is the administrative headquarters of the district. History Kangra is known for having the oldest serving Royal Dynasty in the world, the Katoch. In 175 ...

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

, India. The town of Dharamsala is best known internationally as the home of the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

. It is also considered as one of the most beautiful cricket grounds in the world.

Location and history

left, 400px, The snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background The stadium served as the home ground for the

Himachal Pradesh cricket team The Himachal Pradesh cricket team is a domestic cricket team based in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It has competed in the Ranji Trophy since the 1985–86 season. They have won their first ever domestic trophy, by winning the 2021–22 ...

for Ranji Trophy matches and other domestic matches. The stadium also hosted some IPL matches as a home stadium for

Kings XI Punjab Punjab Kings (PBKS) are a franchise cricket team based in Mohali, Punjab, that plays in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Established in 2008 as the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), the franchise is jointly owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Preity Zi ...

. The picturesque venue is unique in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

as it is situated at an altitude of 1,457 m above the sea level and has the snow-capped Himalayan mountains in the background. Getting to Dharamsala from the nearby Kangra Airport, which is about 8 kilometres away through the hilly terrain and the harsh winters, during which it rains and snows, is a deterrent to organizing regular matches.

Dav Whatmore Davenell Frederick Whatmore (born 16 March 1954) is a Sri Lanka born Australian cricket coach and former cricketer. A right-handed batsman, Whatmore played seven Test matches for Australia in 1979, and one One Day International in 1980. At ...

, the former Director of the

National Cricket Academy The National Cricket Academy is a cricket facility of the BCCI for the purpose of developing young cricketers who have been identified as having the potential to represent the Indian cricket team. It was established in the year 2000 and is loc ...

in India had recommended during his tenure that the stadium is suitable for hosting international cricket matches. The first international team who played in this ground was the

Pakistani cricket team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International ...

, when they played a warm-up match against an India A side in 2005. The first One Day International (ODI) at this stadium was played between

and

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on 27 January 2013. England won the match by 7 wickets. The first

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

at this stadium was played between

and Australia from 25 to 29 March 2017.India won the Test match comfortably by 8 wickets. In November 2015, the HPCA stadium was selected as one of the six new Test match venues in India along with the

Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium is a cricket stadium situated in the city of Pune, India besides the Pune Mumbai Expressway nestled between the hills of the Western Ghats. It is the home venue for the Maharashtra cricket team and is ...

, JSCA International Stadium Complex,

Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, also known as the Khandheri Cricket Stadium, is a cricket stadium in Rajkot, India. It is Gujarat's first solar-powered stadium. In 2013, the first international match took place in this stadium. The ...

Holkar Stadium The Holkar (Pronunciation: �o(ː)ɭkəɾ dynasty was a Maratha clan of Dhangar origin in India. The Holkars were generals under Peshwa Baji Rao I, and later became Maharajas of Indore in Central India as an independent member of the Marat ...

and Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium.

ACC Centre of Excellence

In December 2015,

Asian Cricket Council The Asian Cricket Council also known as ACC is a cricket organisation which was established in 1983, to promote and develop the sport of cricket in Asia. Subordinate to the International Cricket Council, the council is the continent's regional ...

decided to set up Centre of Excellence at

2016 ICC World Twenty20

On 21 July 2015, the BCCI announced the names of the eight cities which would be hosting matches during the 2016 ICC World Twenty20.

was announced as one of the eight venues for the event. On 11 December 2015, ICC announced the fixtures of the event where the HPCA Stadium was scheduled to host all the first round Group A matches and a single Super 10 Group 2 match. Originally the marquee India vs Pakistan match was scheduled to be hosted by this venue. Due to security concerns for the Pakistani team, the match was moved to Eden Gardens,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

List of centuries

Key

* * denotes that the batsman was

not out In cricket, a batter is not out if they come out to bat in an innings and have not been dismissed by the end of an innings. The batter is also ''not out'' while their innings is still in progress. Occurrence At least one batter is not out at t ...

. * Inns. denotes the number of the innings in the match. * Balls denotes the number of balls faced in an innings. * NR denotes that the number of balls was not recorded. * Parentheses next to the player's score denotes his century number at Edgbaston. * The column title Date refers to the date the match started. * The column title Result refers to the player's team result

Test Centuries

One Day Internationals

Twenty20 Internationals

List of Five Wicket Hauls

Key

Tests

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:HPCA Stadium Cricket grounds in Himachal Pradesh Buildings and structures in Dharamshala Rugby union stadiums in India Test cricket grounds in India 2003 establishments in Himachal Pradesh