Iqbal Stadium ( ur, اقبال سٹیڈیم) is a

Test cricket Test cricket is a form of first-class cricket played at international level between teams representing full member countries of the International Cricket Council (ICC). A match consists of four innings (two per team) and is scheduled to last f ...

ground in

Faisalabad Faisalabad (; Punjabi/ ur, , ; ), formerly known as Lyallpur (Punjabi, Urdu: لائل پور), named after the founder of the city, but was renamed in 1977 in honour of late King Faisal of Saudi Arabia. It is the 3rd largest city of Pakis ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. Previous names for the ground include Lyallpur Stadium, National Stadium, and City Stadium. It was founded in October 1978.

History

Iqbal Stadium was inaugrated in October 1978. It is named after a poet,

Muhammad Iqbal Sir Muhammad Iqbal ( ur, ; 9 November 187721 April 1938), was a South Asian Muslim writer, philosopher, Quote: "In Persian, ... he published six volumes of mainly long poems between 1915 and 1936, ... more or less complete works on philos ...

. Capacity is 18,000. It has hosted 25 Test matches and 14 One Day Internationals. 14 of the Tests have been draws. In September 2019, the Pakistan Cricket Board named it as one of the venues to host matches in the

2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy The 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy was a first-class domestic cricket competition that took place in Pakistan from 14 September to 31 December 2019. Habib Bank Limited were the defending champions. However, after the new domestic structure annou ...

Ground records

*First Test: 1st Test,

vs.

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 ...

, October 1978. *First

ODI ODI may refer to: * Object Design, Incorporated, a defunct database software company * One Day International, cricket match * Open Data Institute, a UK not-for-profit company promoting open data * Open Data-Link Interface, an implementation of ...

: Pakistan vs.

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

, November 1984.

Tests

*Highest innings total: 6–674 by Pakistan vs. India, October 1984. *Lowest innings total: 53 all out by

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

vs. Pakistan, October 1986. *Highest individual score: 253 by

Sanath Jayasuriya Deshabandu Sanath Teran Jayasuriya ( si, සනත් ජයසූරිය, ta, சனத் ஜெயசூர்யா; born 30 June 1969), is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and a captain. He is credited for having revolutionized one-day in ...

for

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

vs. Pakistan, October 2004. *Best bowling figures (match): 12–130 (7–76 & 5–54) by

Waqar Younis Waqar Younis Maitla HI (Punjabi, ur, ; born 16 November 1971) is a Pakistani cricket coach, commentator and former cricketer who captained Pakistan national cricket team. A right-arm fast bowler, Waqar Younis is regarded as one of the great ...

for Pakistan vs. New Zealand, October 1990.

One-day internationals

*Highest innings total: 7–314 (50 overs) by Pakistan vs. New Zealand, December 2003. *Highest individual score: 106 by

Mohammad Yousuf Mohammad Yusuf, Muhammad Yousuf and other spellings, may refer to: Politicians * Mohammad Yusuf (politician), prime minister and foreign minister of Afghanistan * Mohammad Yousef, a governor of Daykundi of Province, Afghanistan * Muhammad Yusuf ...

for Pakistan vs.

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...

, September 2003. *Best bowling figures: 4–27 (4 overs) by

Mudassar Nazar Mudassar Nazar (Urdu: مدثر نذر; born 6 April 1956) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer with a career in Test cricket for Pakistan and in league cricket in Pakistan and England. He was an opening batsman who played 76 test and ...

for Pakistan vs. New Zealand, November 1984.

Profile

The Iqbal Stadium in

is situated in the north of the province of

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

and is a modern and well-equipped stadium. But no matter how impressive a venue is, not much can be done about the weather and Faisalabad has suffered at the hands of the elements. In 1998–99 fog caused the third Test against Zimbabwe was abandoned without a ball being bowled, while bad light is often an issue especially for matches played during the winter. However, when play has been possible, some memorable performances have taken place. An exciting Test was played out in 1997–98 when South Africa skittles Pakistan for 92, successfully defending a target of 142 on the final day. Then, in 2004–05, Sanath Jayasuriya smashed 253 as Sri Lanka powered to a 201-run victory. But the ground is most famous for the confrontation between Mike Gatting and Shakoor Rana during England's 1987–88 tour, which led to a day being lost during the match and some long-lasting bad feeling between the teams. The Pakistan Cricket Board also conducts its domestic tournaments at this venue. Recently, Super 8 T20 was held here from 11 to 18 May. The stadium itself is only 2 km out of the city centre, which can be reached by a walk through the tree-lined suburbs. In 2016, 4 new cricket pitches were added to take the total cricket pitches to 9 now.

References

External links

Cricinfo Website – Ground Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iqbal Stadium (Faisalabad) Faisalabad District Test cricket grounds in Pakistan Faisalabad Stadiums in Pakistan Cricket grounds in Pakistan Cricket in Faisalabad Memorials to Muhammad Iqbal 1987 Cricket World Cup stadiums 1996 Cricket World Cup stadiums