Lucknow Becomes Second Neutral Test Venue in India, 11th Overall

The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday became the second neutral venue in India to host a Test match.

The Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow on Wednesday became the second neutral venue in India to host a Test match.

Afghanistan, who play their ‘home games’ in India, are playing West Indies in a one-off Test at the stadium where the two teams earlier played three ODIs and three T20Is.

The first neutral venue to host a Test in the country was Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Dehradun where also Afghanistan were the home team, hosting Ireland for a one-off Test in March this year.

The Test got underway from Wednesday with West Indies opting to bowl first.

Overall, the Ekana Cricket Stadium is 11th such venue internationally. Dubai International Cricket Stadium and Sheikh Zayed Stadium (Abu Dhabi) have played host to the maximum number of 13 neutral Tests so far.

Sharjah Cricket Stadium has hosted 9 followed by the Lord’s, where two such Tests have been played.

S. no	Venue	No. of Tests	Year
1	Dubai International Cricket Stadium	13	2010-18
2	Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi	13	2010-18
3	Sharjah Cricket Stadium	9	2002-16
4	Lord’s London	2	1912-2010
5	Trent Bridge, Nottingham	1	1912
6	Old Trafford, Manchester	1	1912
7	Bangabandhu National Stadium, Dhaka	1	1999
8	P Sara Oval, Colombo	1	2002
9	Headingley, Leeds	1	2010
10	Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Dehradun	1	2019
11	Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow	1	2019