The stadium’s last T20 international game was played in 2022
After a hiatus of two years, T20 international cricket is returning to the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, also known as the Uppal Stadium, in Hyderabad, Telangana. The stadium is set to host the third T20I match between India and Bangladesh to be played on October 12, marking the stadium’s third-ever T20I match since its establishment in 2001.
Apart from two T20Is, the stadium has six Test matches and 10 ODIs, including an ICC World Cup game in 2023. However, when it comes to the Indian Premier League, the stadium has hosted nearly 120 games, given it is the home ground of Sunrisers Hyderabad. Not to forget, two IPL finals in 2017 and 2019 have also been hosted by the Uppal Stadium.
Speaking about India, the Men in Blue have maintained a clean record in the two T20Is that they have played at this venue.
The first ever T20 international match that the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium hosted was on December 6, 2019. During the West Indies tour of India, the first T20I match of the series was played at this venue.
Batting first, the West Indies batting line-up bombarded the Indian counterpart with sixes and fours. Evin Lewis smashed 40 runs in merely 17 balls, and Shimron Hetmyer played another blistering knock to add 56 off 41 deliveries. Even Kieron Pollard lit the stage on fire with 37 runs off 19 balls, whereas Jason Holder smacked 24 runs in nine balls, posting a hefty target of 207 for India.
Virat Kohli created history, he scored highest score in succesful run for India in T20I history "On this Day" in 2019.
— Tanuj Singh (@ImTanujSingh) December 6, 2023
He smashed 94*(50) in 208 runs chase and he smashed 50* runs in last 16 balls against West Indies - That was Insane by The GOAT. 🐐 pic.twitter.com/SPcrLOUrtn
In response, while India lost six wickets, only three batsmen were enough to do the trick. KL Rahul scored 62 runs quickly off 40 balls, whereas Virat Kohli went all guns blazing to score 94 runs in 50 balls. Rishabh Pant also joined the bandwagon for a short but crucial tenure that saw him scoring 18 runs off nine deliveries.
India chased the target with eight balls remaining.
The second and most recent T20 international match at Uppal Stadium was played between India and Australia on September 25, 2022. A third T20I match of Australia’s tour in India saw the Kangaroos batting first and posting a target of 186 runs. Cameron Green was the initial power hitter who smashed 52 runs off 21 balls. However, the rest of the top order faltered, and the middle-order duo of Josh Inglis and Tim David scored 24 runs and 54 runs, respectively. From the lower order, Daniel Sams added another 28 runs, which proved crucial for the Aussies.
However, in response, the chase seemed to be easy for India as Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, and Hardik Pandya scored 63, 69, and 25 runs, respectively. Not to forget, 11 runs were given away by the Aussies as extras, and India chased down the target with one ball to spare.
Given India has played two nerve-racking matches at the venue and won on both occasions, it seems the third match of the T20I series is likely to go in favour of the Men in Blue.
