Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

The Gaddafi Cricket Stadium is located in the historical city of Lahore. Designed by the eminent architect Nayyar Ali Dada, Gaddafi Stadium is inspired by Mughal architecture as is evident from the lovely brickwork that gives the stadium a unique look. The stadium is named after Colonel Gaddafi of Libya. Gaddafi Stadium hosted its first test match as early as in 1959, when Pakistan played against the touring Australians. It underwent renovations in order to host the 1996 World Cup final. It is the largest ground in Pakistan. In the new stadium the concrete benches are entirely replaced by plastic cover seats. The stadium holds the capacity of more than 60000 people. The 1996 Cricket World Cup was hosted by the Gaddaffi Stadium which was played between Australia and Sri Lanka. The ground was initially named the Lahore Stadium but was later on renamed to Gaddafi in 1974. The ground has been a good hunting ground for Pakistan and has some memorable milestones to its name. The Gaddafi stadium witnessed the record fifth-wicket stand of 281 between Javed Miandad and Asif Iqbal against New Zealand in 1976. Inzamam's famous triple-ton also came at this very stadium and that too against the Kiwis. But in recent times, the stadium is criticised for having sparse crowds for one-days and Test matches.