Which city hosted the first One Day International on Indian soil? If such a question is asked, it is also natural that the answer like Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi comes in the mind. But the fact is that this honor goes to the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium (Navarangpura Stadium) in Ahmedabad. Exactly 41 years ago i.e. on 25 November 1981, the India-England ODI was played at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, the first ODI on Indian soil. In this ODI of 46 overs, England captain Keith Fletcher won the toss and decided to field first. The Indian team led by Sunil Gavaskar included Chris Srikanth, Dilip Vengsarkar, Gundappa Vishwanath, Kirti Azad, Madanlal, Syed Kirmani, Ravi Shastri, Roger Binny, Dilip Doshi, Randhir Singh. Ravi Shastri, Srikanth and Randhir Singh made their ODI debut with this match. On the other hand, the England team included stars like Graham Gooch, Geoff Boycott, David Gower, Mike Gatting, Ian Botham, Decare Underwood. No one could have imagined that when there were stands on all sides of the field. But the host Gujarat Cricket Association had tied the awning that time. Each of these shamianas was owned by a different organization. These companies-organizations made the ticket rates in their own way. However, the stadium was bound to be packed. Batting first, India got off to a poor start and both openers Gavaskar-Srikanth returned to the pavilion without opening their account. With the help of Dilip Vengsarkar's 46 runs off 85 balls, India scored 156 runs for 7 wickets. Only 11 boundaries and 1 sixes were seen during the Indian innings. Mike Gatting 47 off 68 balls, Ian Botham 25 runs off 13 balls, England achieved this target by 5 wickets in 43.5 overs. By the way, this is the first and final one-day international held at Navarangpura Stadium. Navrangpura Stadium has since hosted several Ranji Trophy and Indian Cricket League matches in the year 2007. But there are some memories that are just fun to relive from time to time.
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