Gaddafi Stadium, located in the historical city of Lahore, was built in 1959. It was known as Lahore Stadium then. In 1974 Stadium was renamed as Gaddafi Stadium in honour of Colonel Gaddafi of Libya who was very popular among Pakistani people in that era. The Stadium was designed by the famous architect, Nayyar Ali Dada. He followed the Mughal style of Constrution, using red hand-laid brick work and arches. The Stadium was completely renovated in 1995, for the Final match of World Cup 1996 was to be played here.
The basic shape of the building is a circular plan of about 260 metres in diameter. The perimeter of the building is made of red brick. At ground level an arcade runs along the perimeter of the building and houses retail spaces. Two towers mark each entrance. The towers contain ticketing offices and restroom facilities. The towers are solid in contrast to the perimeter of the stadium. To shade the seating areas a special steel structure was devised. The basic unit is a 20-metre long space frame of a semi-circular cross-section. The frames are supported in the back by concrete columns and covered with fibreglass. These frames not only provide shade and shelter to the spectators but also give an elegant and unique look to the stadium. This new Stadium’s seating plan is such that 100% individual have their individual chair.
Gaddafi Stadium was the first stadium in the Pakistan to be equipped with modern and powerful floodlights which have their own standby power generators. Light poles are six in number. Modern facilities to the media and dressing rooms of both teams are provided there.
Stats:
Name: Gaddafi Stadium Lahore Formerly known as Lahore Cricket Stadium End Names: Pavilion End and College End ODI’s Played 45
Test Matches Played 35 (till today)
ODI Stats: (45 played, 1 tied only)
- First Match was played on January 13, 1978 between Pakistan and England. Pakistan won by 36 runs.
- Highest total is 327 made by England against Pakistan. England won the match by 42 runs.
- Lowest total is 137 made by Pakistan against Sri Lanka. SriLanka won the match by 104 runs.
- Top Score by an individual in one match is 139 on 84 balls scored by Ijaz Ahmad against India in 1997
- Most runs scored are 369 with average of 63.90 by Inzamam-ul-Haq. His highest at this stadium is 123 against India. Inzamam’s Strike rate is 90.13 here. He has scored 3 fifties and a century here. He has played 17 matches and played 14 innings out of those he was not out 4 times in the end.
- Highest wicket taking bowler in a match is L Klusener. He took 6 wickets in 10 overs giving 49 runs against Sri Lanka in 1997.
- Most Wickets are taken by Wasim Akram in this gruound. He has taken 23 wickets in 18 matches giving 621 runs. His best at this ground was 4/33. and RPO=4.43 with average of 27.00
Team Stats (ODI): (Played-Won-Tied-Lost-No result)
- Pakistan (37-23-1-13-0)
- India (5-3-0-2-0)
- India played all matches against Pakistan.
Test Stats:
- Highest Team total is 699 made by Pakistan against India in 1989. Match ended in draw.
- Lowest Team total is 73 made by New Zealand against Pakistan in 2002. Pakistan won the match by one innings and 324 runs.
- Highest Individual score in one innings is made by Inzamam-ul-Haq in 2002 against New Zealand.
Team Stats (test cricket): (Played-Won-Tied-Lost-No result)
- Pakistan and India have played 5 test Matches at this stadium. 3 Matches ended in draw and 2 matches were won by Pakistan. India has never won a match on this pitch yet. Let’s see what happens in upcoming match which is starting from January 13, 2006.